West Bloomfield resident Marlo Rencher, 50, takes it a bit easy on herself in the morning.
She used to wake up around 4:30 a.m. every day and exercise at the gym but now she allows herself to get up a bit later. When she rolls out of bed, her brown locs tucked safely beneath her satin scarf, she says her morning libations and prayers and takes the day from there.
“I also allow myself to get up slowly and [have] been much more forgiving of myself,” Rencher said. “Allowing myself to sleep. … I am giving myself more space to breathe.”
West Bloomfield resident Marlo Rencher is mindful of her mornings now and takes things slowly during the pandemic to achieve greatness in her time.
Photo provided by Marlo Rencher
Rencher, a director of technology-based programs at TechTown and mother of an 11- and 13-year-old also drinks lemon-infused room temperature water as part of her morning ritual.
During the pandemic, many people have been lauded, and deservingly so, for their overachieving accomplishments from learning a new language, creating culinary delights and even starting businesses. But for the people who are content with just being in the present moment, they deserve some shine, too. Because living through a pandemic and being centered and okay is more than okay, local mental health experts say.
Dr. Charmeka S. Whitehead, a fully licensed psychologist in the State of Michigan who currently teaches Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University, said that a lot of her clients are emotionally drained at this point.
Dr. Charmeka S. Whitehead helps many of her clients navigate through pandemic-related issues.
Photo provided by Dr. Charmeka S. Whitehead
“[We’ve] been in this almost a year and a lot of people have been trying to cope and that sense of not seeing an end to it really is impacting people’s emotional health and requires people to be creative in ways in which they can cope,” Whitehead said.
She added that for people continuing to miss the traditional milestones from graduations and birthdays to weddings and holidays in person, often, along with dealing with grief, it can be hard to stay the course.
Whitehead said that while the pandemic is out of our control it is important to take control of what you can.
“We can control our emotional health,” she said of making healthy habits to keep people stable.
She added that there is also a hidden pressure to do great professionally and in other areas of our lives. Even on social media people can scroll and see other people who are seemingly flaunting their pandemic wins.
“For some individuals when you are adding on [doing extra tasks] to the pandemic it may be more difficult for individuals to set new goals,” Whitehead said
She added that people, however, should always strive for their best self and if something is not their best then that needs to be fixed. Being one’s best might look like different things to different people but as long as progress is being made in that direction, count that as a personal win.
“Some people doing their personal best may just be getting out of bed making breakfast and that’s okay,” she said. “Each day push yourself and say, ‘How can I do a little more and counteract some of the impacts as it relates to my mental health?’” For more information visit http://www.legacyhealthcenter.com/about.html.
Rencher said that her morning prayers include giving thanks for her current situation: she can work from home, and her family is healthy.
“Just really realizing the blessings that I have helps to center me,” she said, adding that that gratitude has been a major shift for her. Rencher also empathizes with others who are hurting because of the pandemic.
Rencher, who is also co-authoring a book, said that going slower in her daily pace helped her to work on the book called, “Hard Reset: Framing Inclusion as the New Normal.”
The book talks about how inclusion is a necessity and will be used at companies exploring diversity and inclusion conversations.
Rencher, who used to fall asleep beside her computer while working, added that she doesn’t do that anymore and said she’s learned to disconnect and spend more time with her family. She also said that slowing down before it is too late is essential.
“You have to stop sometimes or something else will make you stop,” she said. “Just lean into that stop because it will more than likely make whatever it is you do better than [before]. There is a lesson in the stopping.”
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