Mental health tips, campus activities for coping with Thanksgiving during pandemic

salvetoday Posted On November 20, 2020
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A Note from Meghan DeCarvalho, director of Counseling Services

November tends to be a month focused on remembrance. We start with All Souls’ Day and conclude with Thanksgiving and a focus on things we are thankful for in the past, present and future. It is also a time of change: a new season, dipping temperatures and less light with daylight saving time.

While this is season is a natural time of transition, the community at Salve Regina recently learned that there is no longer the option to travel to see family or friends for Thanksgiving and return to Salve Regina and Newport for the remainder of this fall 2020 semester. This is another loss among a season of changes that Salve Regina students and families have navigated now for eight months.

While our students are handling this beautifully and with much resolve, as director of Counseling Services, I wanted to take a moment to breathe and acknowledge that we as a Salve Regina community are having to handle yet another adjustment and disappointment.

For some of us, holidays and family are a great time of predictability, joy and resetting ourselves before our “final push” of the semester. We may be grieving the size of our family gathering shrinking, the grief of the lost ritual of watching the Thanksgiving Day parade or playing a family game not occurring this year.

What is hard about being a college student in a pandemic is having to come face-to-face with how what you hoped for or expected for your college experience likely does not match these COVID-19 restrictions. Similarly, some juniors and seniors have shared with me about how they are marking the time of their 21st birthday in an unanticipated way with statewide curfews. Other students who were expecting to have internships in their field in person, study abroad or just simply be able to have their partner over to their apartment on campus find themselves having to pivot with the reality of COVID-19 and the University’s expectations.

In essence, we as a community are continuously being called to adapt to and accept a different reality than what we may have been expecting. We remain in this unchartered new territory of trying to make rituals together, but sometimes apart. But we are Salve Regina, and we can continue to meet these challenges with solidarity and strength.

Tips to handle Thanksgiving during Covid-19

As we all prepare to navigate the Thanksgiving season and the home stretch of the fall semester, please consider the four tips that Mental Health America has offered in their article “Preparing for the Holidays During COVID-19“:

  • Identify how you are feeling.
  • Acknowledge what you have lost.
  • Make the most of it.
  • Don’t romanticize your typical holiday plans.

Another tip would be to practice gratitude (see a former SalveToday article and video on this here), or take a moment to read through the following few articles you may find helpful:

For undergraduates, please consider dropping into a “Let’s Chat” session, which are informal, 20-minute non-therapy conversations with a counselor. We are offering one in-person and one virtual option:

  • Monday, Nov. 23, at 2:30 p.m. outside to the left of Gerety Hall at the tables under the awning.
  • Monday, Nov. 30, at 1:00 p.m. online through teletalk. Follow Counseling Services on Instagram for details on how to log in to the virtual room.

It is important to remember that if you are feeling sad or tired or irritable that these are reasonable responses to a highly unusual situation. As humans, we are not built to live in isolation with life, time and rituals unmarked. We encourage you to find ways to create novel rituals and to honor yourself and mark time and celebration in these next few months.

Also, if you would like to talk about any of these feelings or others, please reach out to Counseling Services by email counselingservices@salve.edu or phone 401.341.2919 to set up a virtual appointment.

A list of activities for Thanksgiving week

For those staying on campus and in the Newport area, please join Salve Regina in attending the following events and activities that are being offered the week of Thanksgiving.

Anytime: Campus Activities Board Holiday Scavenger Hunt

  • Download the app “Goose Chase.”
  • Enter code: EZGLGZ
  • This scavenger hunt can be played from home or on campus.

Monday, Nov. 23

  • Noon –  Building Norman Bird Sanctuary Stone Wall (service project with the Center for Community Engagement and Service)
  • 7 p.m. – Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Service in Bazarsky Lecture Hall
  • 8 p.m. – MEGA Mac-n-Cheese Bar in Gerety Hall
  • 8 p.m. – Let Hope Grow: DIY Air Plants in Gerety Hall

 

Tuesday, Nov. 24

  • Noon – Housing Hotline Mask Making in Gerety Hall (service project)
  • Noon – Building Norman Bird Sanctuary Stone Wall (service project)

Wednesday, Nov. 25

  • Noon – Building Norman Bird Sanctuary Stone Wall (service project)
  • Noon – Village Nursing Home Floral Arrangements (service project)
  • 2 p.m. – Make DIY Cat Scratchers (service project)
  • 6 p.m. – Donovan Manor Sweet Treats for Thanksgiving (service project)
  • 8 p.m. – Virtual Games on Zoom (follow Salve Activities on Instagram for more information)
  • 8 p.m. – Wing Night in Gerety Hall

Thursday, Nov. 26

  • 11:00 a.m. – Thanksgiving Meal Prep for Donovan Manor (service project)
  • 11 a.m. – Thanksgiving Day Mass in Our Lady of Mercy Chapel
  • 7 p.m. – Hallmark Movie Marathon/Football Viewing in Gerety Hall

Friday, Nov. 27

  • 11 a.m. – Donovan Manor Fall Cleanup (service project)
  • 1 p.m. – Newport Auto Museum Trip (register for this trip here)
  • 4 p.m. – Make Tie-Dye Socks for Boys & Girls Club in Gerety Hall (service project)

Saturday, Nov. 28

  • Noon – Beach Clean up at First Beach (service project)
  • 6:30 p.m. – Holiday Movie Night in the Mercy Center for Spiritual Life
  • 7 p.m. – Make Your Own Cannoli in Gerety Hall

Sunday, Nov. 29

  • 3 p.m. – Seasonal Crafting in Makerspace at McKillop Library

Written by Meghan DeCarvalho, director of Counseling Services