Cara Santana has been keeping her head high as she self-isolates from COVID-19.
The 35-year-old Vida actress told the spring issue of Retreat Magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday, that she has felt ‘anxiety’ during this difficult time but has used journal writing, positive affirmations and a course on happiness from Yale University to stay balanced.
‘Having just celebrated 16 years of sobriety, I think being honest with who you are and taking the time to get to know yourself and to take a critical look at who you are is the most important thing you can do,’ said the beauty who has been linked to Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe for 13 years.
Hard time: Cara Santana has been keeping her head high as she self-isolates from COVID-19. The Vida actress told the spring issue of Retreat Magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday, that she has felt ‘anxiety’ during this difficult time
She added, ‘I don’t think advice diminishes with age and a lot of what I was feeling as a young person that led me down the road of addiction, which I believe is a disease, was that I didn’t recognize that so much of that inherent worry and fear created so much insecurity, and drugs and alcohol were just an escape.
‘So,if you just make things right with yourself, you can get right with anything.’
Cara also said that it is important for a woman to give herself happiness.
When asked ‘What should every woman try at least once in her life?’ she said: ‘A good orgasm. To give yourself a good orgasm. That’s what it is. To be able to have the power to own your sexuality.’
Positive moves: But has used journal writing, positive affirmations and a course on happiness from Yale University to stay balanced.
Healthy gal: ‘Having just celebrated 16 years of sobriety, I think being honest with who you are and taking the time to get to know yourself and to take a critical look at who you are is the most important thing you can do,’ said the beauty who has been linked to Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe for 13 years
As far as the pandemic, she said it has taught her to be more mindful.
‘Nothing is guaranteed and that we have to be creators of our vision and our own life and our own business because, at a moment’s notice, it could be taken away,’ began Cara.
‘As a woman, especially at this time, it’s about really owning your worth and owning your creativity and owning your work, because all we have is ourselves,’ noted the Salem actress who was photographed at Sofitel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills.
‘Given that the total landscape of our world has changed, It’s been a really interesting time to reflect and reconnect,’ shared the Beverly Hills Chihuahua star.
‘As I have been self-isolating in my home in Los Angeles, I was looking for opportunities to connect with myself and use this time to re-centre and come out of this, different than when it started.’
Her escape: She added, ‘I don’t think advice diminishes with age and a lot of what I was feeling as a young person that led me down the road of addiction, which I believe is a disease, was that I didn’t recognize that so much of that inherent worry and fear created so much insecurity, and drugs and alcohol were just an escape’
Her love: The couple have been together for 13 years and seemed to have hit a rough patch earlier this year when he was spotted with other women, but she did not bring him up in the interview
And Cara feels this is a time for everyone to self-reflect.
‘I think just the journey that I’ve been on since the beginning of the year of really reconnecting to myself and trying to figure out what drives and fulfills me, coinciding with a time of literally, quarantine, where I have no external gratification whatsoever, has forced me to be internal,’ added the El Paso, Texas native.
‘I do think it has happened for a reason. I think everything does and every situation is what you make of it.’
Cara added she still feels like life is happening. ‘Do our circumstances define us, or do we define our circumstances? I want to use this time to the best of my ability and hopefully come out of it with a greater understanding of myself and the world that I live in and society in general.’
Private talk: Cara also said that it is important for a woman to give herself happiness. When asked ‘What should every woman try at least once in her life?’ she said: ‘A good orgasm. To give yourself a good orgasm. That’s what it is. To be able to have the power to own your sexuality’
Her mother sent the star an article from Business Insider about universities offering free courses.
‘I thought was a bit of my mom trying to get me to go back to college like she always wanted me to do,’ she said.
Yale’s course called The Science of Well Being by Dr Laurie Santos takes scientific research and data to prove that people can have an impact on their well being and create a life that is happier and more fulfilling.
‘It’s a 10-week course with a mix of reading, writing and watching lectures by Professor Santos, and it has been fascinating,’ she said.
Staying stable: As far as the pandemic, she said it has taught her to be more mindful. ‘Nothing is guaranteed and that we have to be creators of our vision and our own life and our own business because, at a moment’s notice, it could be taken away,’ began Cara
‘I’m so grateful for this time to be able to do it.’
And she says that she took a happiness test which surprised her.
‘I think of myself as a pretty happy person so I thought I was going to get a 10. I got a 3.5, so there is so much more that I could be doing to create a much more centered well being for myself.
When asked if she feels like it’s ‘divine intervention’ to allow ‘you to go back into yourself and seek that happiness’ she replied, ‘I believe everything happens for a reason and I believe that the universe is far more powerful than we could ever be.
Hopeful: ‘As a woman, especially at this time, it’s about really owning your worth and owning your creativity and owning your work, because all we have is ourselves,’ noted the Salem actress
‘I think that part of the silver lining and potentially why this all sort of happened is that we as a society have gotten to a place where we have lost a full connection with ourselves.
Time heals: ‘Given that the total landscape of our world has changed, It’s been a really interesting time to reflect and reconnect,’ shared the Beverly Hills Chihuahua star
‘We go, go, go! We’re always looking for the next thing. I feel at times that we’ve lost our moral compass. We’ve disconnected from our values, we’re destroying the planet, and literally, this pandemic has caused everyone to stop,’ said the star who was photographed by Filbert Kung and styled by Aisha Rae for Retreat.
‘I feel like we can either come out of this the same or we can come out of it differently, in a good way.’
The brunette has been seen with her fiance Jesse lately as they seem to be self-isolating together.
The couple have been together for 13 years and seemed to have hit a rough patch earlier this year when he was spotted with other women, but she did not bring him up in the interview.
Sources have said the pair had been having ‘ups and downs’ for some time. ‘They truly have been on and off several times throughout the duration of their relationship. Recently, they hit a breaking point and have been having issues,’ an insider spilled to E! News earlier this year.
Cara and Jesse ‘own a home together, and have made the mature decision to self-isolate together with Jesse living in the guest house.’
Though she would not touch on Jesse, she did share what makes her feel happy.
One of her solutions is doing ‘morning pages.’
‘Every morning when I get up before I do anything, I write three pages of just free thought, whatever comes out. When I don’t have anything to write, I write that I don’t have anything to write and suddenly something comes,’ said the cover girl.
Inside: ‘As I have been self-isolating in my home in Los Angeles, I was looking for opportunities to connect with myself and use this time to re-centre and come out of this, different than when it started,’ she mused
‘That’s a great way of cleansing any anxiety that I’ve woken up with and allows me to get everything that’s been garbled in my mind out so that I can start the day fresh.
‘At night before I go to bed, I have a journal at my bedside and I write a gratitude list.
‘They can be big or small, like I’m grateful for my dog or I’m grateful for the opportunity to shoot the cover for Retreat Magazine, or whatever it is just to remind me of the things that I do have in my life.
‘When I go to bed at night, I’m going to sleep with positive thoughts.’
Write it out: One of her solutions is doing ‘morning pages.’ ‘Every morning when I get up before I do anything, I write three pages of just free thought, whatever comes out. When I don’t have anything to write, I write that I don’t have anything to write and suddenly something comes,’ said the cover girl
And she said she would tell her younger self to be ‘honest.’
She added, ‘I still try and tell myself now is just, not to sweat the small stuff. I think like one of my worst qualities is that I take everything to heart and everything matters to me. I really stress about things like what we’re facing right now, and how significant this issue is.
Wow: The star has been documenting her life on lockdown to her 782,000 followers, and posed up in her lingerie for a sizzling snap
‘When I look back at the things that I have gotten upset about or that I worry about, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.
‘My other favorite saying is like not to take criticism personally but to take it seriously, and I think that’s important to reflect and to try to navigate the feedback that you get productively.’
She said her best vacation was in Paris and her worst was this year with Devon Windsor.
‘She was getting married in St Barts, and my best friend, Olivia Culpo, and I were each other’s dates. So we traveled together and shared a villa. I’ve never been to St. Barts so I was very excited.
‘We traveled all day from LA to Miami, spent the night in Miami, flew from Miami to St Croix and then took a boat from St Croix to St Barts and the minute we got to St Bart’s I came down with the worst flu.
She was sick the entire trip.
‘I couldn’t keep anything down. I had chills and a fever and I spent the entire vacation in St Barts during this beautiful wedding by myself, except 10 minutes of the ceremony watching them say ‘I do’.
‘It was the absolute worst trip of my entire life.’
Season three of Vida, which is on Stars, starts airing 26 April, and it’s the final season of the show. ‘I’m proud and excited about it, so I hope everyone will tune in to watch.’
She is also designing Apt. 9 + Cara Santana for Kohl’s over the past year. ‘I’m looking to continue to bring accessible, affordable clothing to all women very soon, directly from me to them.’
Exes: The pair are seen here in January. Sources claimed they have been having ‘ups and downs’ for a while