{"id":30835,"date":"2020-04-13T16:50:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T22:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=30835"},"modified":"2023-06-23T11:49:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T17:49:42","slug":"connecting-during-covid-pandemic-with-primal-howl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/connecting-during-covid-pandemic-with-primal-howl\/","title":{"rendered":"Go ahead and give us your best primal howl"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Laporte resident Janine Pendleton films her 3-year-old son, Noah, during a night of howling. Courtesy of Janine Pendleton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 8 p.m. each evening from the front porches of Colorado, you can hear \u201cpacks\u201d of people howling in solidarity during this unprecedented time.<\/p>\n

For many people, including Elizabeth Davis, of Laporte in northern Colorado, howling is comforting.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowling every night is the only consistent thing in my life right now — something to look forward to. I love hearing all my Laporte neighbors getting louder each night \u2014 coming together while staying apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

One neighbor, Janie Pendleton<\/a>, has given much thought to howling, an unorthodox affirmation that we\u2019re all in this together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make sure I\u2019m barefoot when I go out to howl,\u201d she said. \u201cI need to find that primal confidence, to ground myself, to make sure I\u2019m not swept up in the spiraling fear and to know that we are not alone in the solitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howling isn\u2019t all that Colorado has turned to as a way of connecting during physical distancing and stay-at-home orders. Arapahoe County Sheriff employee Josh Kraus turned to bagpipes<\/a>. Others are finding inventive ways to keep themselves entertained, celebrate life\u2019s special moments and continue to stay physically and mentally healthy.<\/p>\n

Celebrating life\u2019s special moments<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Jill wishes her father, Don, happy 84th birthday with his favorite candies and a sign outside his window. Photo courtesy of Jill and Columbine Health Systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeana Woody, of Montrose, wasn\u2019t going to let her husband\u2019s 40th<\/sup> pass without showing him love from friends and family. She had planned for a big \u201cSouthern\u201d party in the backyard, complete with his favorite foods and closest friends. But when that couldn\u2019t happen, everyone rallied together (separately, of course) to celebrate his birthday by way of a one-hour surprise drive-by party.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople hollered and hooted, made signs and threw his favorite things to him, like popcorn,\u201d Woody said.<\/p>\n

In Loveland, Don, a resident of Columbine Health Systems\u2019 North Shore Health & Rehab Facility, celebrated his 84th<\/sup> birthday with his favorite candies and a visit outside his window<\/a> from his daughter, Jill. Along with candies for her dad, she brought a cake for his caregivers.<\/p>\n

At Columbine West Health & Rehab in Fort Collins, the usual monthly birthday party for residents is now a chicken dance celebration<\/a> in the halls so that monthly birthdays can still be celebrated.<\/p>\n

In Castle Rock, local police and firefighters put on a mini-parade to celebrate<\/a> local kids\u2019 birthdays.<\/p>\n

Besides birthdays, creative Coloradans are figuring out how to enjoy concerts, holidays, happy hours, and playdates while remaining physically distance from one another.<\/p>\n

For the children<\/strong><\/h3>\n

School-aged children \u2014 and for that matter, adults \u2014 are entertaining themselves for hours with the funny faces and games on Facebook Messenger\u2019s video chatting and other similar apps.<\/p>\n

Bear hunts \u2014 teddy bears, that is \u2014 have also taken off throughout Colorado. Participants place an item outside their home — a stuffed animal, drawing or thankful saying — and add their address to a Google map. Families use the map to find the items in their neighborhood, a take on an old-fashioned scavenger hunt.<\/p>\n

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Teddy bear hunts have popped up in different communities as a fun physical-distance activity for families. Photo courtesy Shelly Roehrs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis has been so much fun,\u201d said Shelly Roehrs, of Colorado Springs, who after seeing the idea in another Colorado Springs neighborhood, decided to bring it to hers and created a larger bear hunt map<\/a>. \u201cI think it\u2019s as much fun for the neighbors putting the items out as it is for the kids hunting them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Live music<\/strong><\/h3>\n

People aren\u2019t able to see live bands now, but there are no shortages of virtual events. The Colorado Sound<\/a> has a list of Colorado artists performing online, but many artists around the country are doing live shows (from their homes) during this time.<\/p>\n

Liz Janssen is a \u201cred-dirt country\u201d enthusiast who lives just up the road from Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, which has canceled or postponed upcoming shows. She and her partner, West Davis, have found an outlet every Friday night with Wade\u2019s World, a live show hosted by Texas singer-songwriter Wade Bowen<\/a>, who usually invites another musician to join him.<\/p>\n

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Liz and West enjoy a Friday night with Wade\u2019s World, one of the musicians they can catch live as they follow stay-at-home order. Photo courtesy of Liz Janssen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI turn them on and cook dinner, or we sit outside and watch, hooked up to the Bluetooth speakers,\u201d Janssen said. \u201cThey talk about (the coronavirus pandemic) a bit, but most of the time they just (chat), tell jokes, play music, and you just forget about it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some bands are asking for donations; others have a ticket price for their show but with proceeds going to support various organizations.<\/p>\n

Staying active<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Janssen is also taking advantage of online mental and physical opportunities. She\u2019s doing yoga, and meditating with Emily Fletcher<\/a>, who offered a discount for her online class, and free access to frontline health care workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely amazing,\u201d Janssen said. \u201cI meditate with her two times a day, and it\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others are using exercise as a way to stay social connected, such as this Denver woman, who hosts a Zumba class<\/a> for her neighbors each day. Even a delivery man took a few minutes to stretch his legs and get the blood flowing.<\/p>\n

Even while people are isolated at home, it\u2019s still important to exercise. Adults should be getting 150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75-100 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, plus strengthening with resistance training two times per week, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services physical activity guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"facebook<\/a>The good news is that any activity \u2014 walking, dancing, vacuuming the house \u2014 counts, according to those guidelines. So join in a lip sync challenge like Michael and his daughter, Ali Hoffman<\/a> or, like this Parker family<\/a>, educational dance video.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the times seem a little dark, it\u2019s just a call to be more LIGHT!\u201d wrote Michael and Ali on their YouTube channel. \u201cLet your joy fly, crank the tunes and dance in the kitchen!\u201d<\/p>\n

Barb Ritch, 88, of Fort Collins, said she has \u201cnever had this much free time in my whole life.\u201d All of Ritch\u2019s exercise classes, as well as her volunteer job, have stopped, but she and a friend from her UCHealth Aspen Club<\/a> walking group have decided to meet every Monday and continue with their walks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go in separate cars and then stay apart \u2014 as if we are mad at each other,\u201d she chuckled. \u201cI can walk around my neighborhood, but I\u2019m not as motivated. When you have someone else with you \u2014 we just keep going and going. It\u2019s so enjoyable and is something I look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why we should continue connecting during COVID pandemic<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Exercise and other creative outlets to social interact with others, often through virtual connection, helps support oxytocin, one of the body\u2019s feel-good hormones that, when low, can lead to detachment, loneliness, irritability and fear, said Christina Gerteis, a licensed therapist with UCHealth Mountain Crest Behavioral Health Center.<\/p>\n

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Don’s excitement to see his daughter, Jill, for his 84th birthday at his nursing home is evident in this photo she had to take through her dad’s window. Photo courtesy of Jill and Columbine Health Systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHigh periods of stress can drive times of low levels of oxytocin,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really amazing the way people are finding that relief and distraction. It will all support that oxytocin going up,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we must not forget that we not only need that emotional connection, but we also need that physical connection for balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, besides connecting with others during this COVID pandemic, try a little self-care while you\u2019re stuck at home \u2014 here are some great home spa tips<\/a> to do just that.<\/p>\n

There is so much more<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There is so much more people are doing to stay positive, show unity and support their health. Here are some great ideas we found people on social media were sharing.<\/p>\n

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  • Putting up Christmas lights to show solidarity.<\/li>\n
  • Putting a rainbow on the front door or outside to bring cheer, a reminder of rainbows after a storm.<\/li>\n
  • Hanging a heart in a front window to show solidarity for health care workers.<\/li>\n
  • Promoting neighborhood library boxes.<\/li>\n
  • Putting boxes of games and puzzles in the front yard for neighborhood kids to borrow and swap out, similar to the library box concept.<\/li>\n
  • Leaving delivery drivers snacks and thank-you notes at the front door.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    You\u2019re doing an extraordinary job of staying home. Thank you.<\/strong><\/h3>\n