Maintaining Your Mental Health Amidst the Coronavirus
Coronavirus.
Just a few short months ago, this illness was unknown to most of the world. Today, it seems as though you can’t go a few minutes without hearing the term in conversation or seeing it on social media. It has completely turned life as we know it into something we never expected, yet something we all feared. Despite this ominous
Avoid excessive exposure to social media and the news.
Again, while it is important to stay informed on the topic, it is unnecessary to spend every 10 minutes reading about the virus on social media and news sites. Remember, everything in moderation. Try limiting your exposure to updates on the virus to 3 times per day, or whatever you feel best fits your needs. Excessive reading/watching updates on the virus will generate more stress that can be aversive to your health. According to the CDC, stress associated with an infectious disease outbreak can materialize as difficulty sleeping or concentrating, changes in eating patterns, worsening of other health problems, and heightened use of alcohol or drugs (“Coronavirus Disease 2019”, 2020). Overall, the mind and body connection is imperative to acknowledge and work with during these times.
Practice Self-Care.
Practicing self-care is a wonderful way to cope with the stresses of everyday life and the additional fears that the coronavirus is tacking on. While most people may think self-care should be this grandiose activity, it doesn’t need to be, and that’s the beauty of it. One of the most important things I have learned in my counseling courses is that self-care can be molded to fit every individual’s needs.
Let’s look at a few scenarios:
The Busy Bee
For anyone that defines themselves as the person that constantly has a million things on their mind and is a multitasker to the end, self-care can be made simple. Your techniques could include, spending 20 minutes of your time with your family, being in the moment, and talking about and doing things that don’t pertain to the pandemic. Additionally, you could take 5 minutes to journal 3 positive things about your day. The important takeaway here is that you don’t need to devote 2 hours of your time to self-care.
The Mindfulness Fanatic
For those of you that thoroughly enjoy meditating or would love to learn how to, now would be a great time to practice these techniques. Meditation, and specifically mindfulness meditation, works by teaching the individual to recognize unproductive thoughts and worries. Also, it helps them understand that they are not part of your core self and the thoughts do not serve you in a positive way (Corliss, 2014). While it may seem overwhelming to jump into this technique, apps such as breethe, exist that guide the user through the meditation.
Additional forms of self-care may include taking a bubble bath, cooking a favorite food, taking a walk (if permitted), painting, reading a new book, or working out. The options are endless.
Connect with others through text, facetime, and phone calls.
While the pandemic has isolated many of us, loved ones are never really that far away with technology. So, facetime a friend and watch shows together, call a family member you haven’t talked to in a
Talk about things other than coronavirus.
Although it’s healthy to talk about the situation, taking a break from the topic is beneficial for your mental health. When we continually talk about topics that are saturated with stress and negative energy, we take on that energy ourselves. Despite this, it is healthy to talk to others about the virus, just limit how much is too much.
Take care of your physical well-being.
While this point could tie into self-care, I felt it was vital to highlight the mind and body connection. Like self-care, taking care of your physical well-being will look different for everyone. Some examples may be working out, eating healthy, drinking a lot of water, taking vitamins, etc. The takeaway here is when you feel good physically, your mental well-being also improves.
Overall, while it may feel as though these trying times will never end, they will. Take one day at a time, and remember you are not alone in this, and together we will get through it.
