Tips for maintaining your mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our daily lives up to the point of making it anxious, even scary for some. Under normal circumstances, dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity is a big challenge for most of us. The level of anxiety will inevitably skyrocket if we add a pandemic to our daily lives. Many uncertainties fall under COVID-19; many of these uncertainties are beyond your control, and, whatever your level of concern, this reality will not change. You are the sole master of the positive steps you can take to deal with the unpleasant feelings you are experiencing.
Currently, our duty as a citizen is to be at home, respect social distancing, and wash our hands. We have power over this. These gestures should not be trivialized.
1Coronavirus as a psychological burden
The coronavirus is not only considered a health hazard by the WHO. It has turn people’s everyday lives upside down. With curfews, team sports, restaurant visits, and meeting friends are a thing of the past. It is also no longer possible to shake hands with other people or to hug them in greeting. A large part of the population hardly leaves their own four walls in social isolation. People only go outside for shopping, jogging or a short walk. The fear of the virus leads to permanent stress in some people. This harms mental health. It is also not easy to cope with the crisis if there is no mutual care. Many people feel in the time of “social distancing “Literally left alone. Here are his tips for maintaining good mental health during this unprecedented crisis.
1. Create a routine
One of the aspects of our daily lives over which we have some power is our routine. Although this is upset by the closure of businesses, schools, and daycare centers, it is necessary to create a new one. We must regain possession of our time, reorganize it and give it a framework to ensure that we are less subject to being at home and that we become a bit in control of what is happening. This new routine will have a reassuring effect since it will allow us to anticipate what is coming in our day.
2. Communicate, call loved ones
Even if everyone is confined to their home, it is essential to communicate with loved ones to break the isolation. We are little social beasts. We must not forget that there is a need to be concerning others in our legitimate basic needs. That’s why we live in a community. With all the communication platforms available or even the good old phone, it is easy to get news from our family and friends.
Not everyone lives with the family or partner: Especially in the Corona crisis, everyday life can quickly become lonely without loved ones. That is why the motto is “lonely together” – keep in touch with friends, family, or partners. This protects against too much brooding and stress, fear, and depression. The high possibility of the video call is particularly suitable for contact. Seeing the other person increases the feeling of emotional support. You should report back more often, especially to people around you who know about mental illness: A simple conversation can have a lot of impacts.
They should also focus mainly on the positive. Treat yourself to a delicious meal, listen to pleasant music, and enjoy fantastic news from your surroundings. Take the time to talk to your children about the situation. Children also need help in dealing with stress and protection against corona hysteria. Answer their questions and explain facts about the virus that children can understand. Be supportive, listen to children’s concerns, and give them an extra helping of affection, attention, and support. Show the children that they are safe, but also that it is okay to be sad. Show them how to deal with stress positively so that they can learn from you.
3. Go for a walk outside
Exercise has been shown to reduce the release of stress hormones. Whether a home workout or a jogging round – the mood will be better afterward. Especially people who live in small apartments should go outside at least once a day to avoid a storage bunker as much as possible. Going out allows us to change our air and re-center ourselves. It reconnects us to the present moment, and it is for this reason that it makes us feel good.
4. Follow the news in moderation
News can be scary, and the wealth of information we are exposed to in our digitized world can quickly be fatal. Therefore, if you notice that messages are pulling you down too much, you should pull the emergency brake as soon as possible. Reduce your media consumption or avoid viewing, reading, or listening to news that stresses you. This also applies to social media. Do you use these channels to stay in touch with friends? Facebook and Instagram have a solution for this: Here, you can switch pages and people to “snooze” or “mute” so that their posts are no longer displayed, but you continue to follow the pages. All you have to do is go to a post on the respective page or person. There you will find three items in the top right, which open a menu. Here you have the option to mute posts.
So that you do not miss any information that is relevant to you, ask friends to inform you. So don’t miss it when the situation relaxes again. Since mid-March, all news reports and newspapers have been devoted to the COVID-19 pandemic. While stressing the importance of staying informed, the psychotherapist suggests following the news in moderation and advises against leaving the TV on the story continuously all day. It just feeds our anxiety.
5. To please yourself
More than ever, it is essential to do activities that please us. You have to recharge your batteries in what you like. Doing a puzzle, taking a hot bath, listening to music, or reading a good book wrapped in a blanket can be a positive reinforcement, but we shouldn’t spend all of our days on these hobbies. Listening to a TV series is a reward, but you shouldn’t spend your day in front of a screen because it would lose its meaning. We would contaminate something that resuscitated us.
Do things that are good for you and distracting you. Meeting friends, hugs, having a drink in the evening – all of these fuels the endorphin household for most of us, but are not possible under the current circumstances. Nevertheless, you should always set small highlights that you can look forward to. For some, it is time in the fresh air, a new home improvement project, or a good book, for others, a new episode of the current favorite series, the virtual meeting with friends, or the favorite song at full volume. All of this can have an extremely positive effect on mood and well-being. With such activities, you can also create a reward system. Have you achieved all of the goals you set for yourself in your daily schedule? Then do yourself a treat!
6. Make plans for the post-crisis
Try to focus on the positive things in life. The WHO recommends a targeted search for information sources that spread positive news from people in the region who have contracted COVID-19 and have recovered. Or stories of people who have accompanied a loved one in the process of recovery and are ready to share their experiences.
When it comes to the post-crisis situation, planning too much into the future is a source of anxiety. It is essential to make plans, but it is necessary to dose. The psychotherapist issues these warnings since it is not known when the pandemic will end, which can cause even more stress in some people.
7. Acknowledge your feelings.
It is normal to have a large emotional response in the current situation, whether it be feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, or sad. Allow yourself these feelings, perceive them, and express them, for example, by writing them down in the diary, talking to others about them, processing them creatively, or meditating.
8. Get professional support.
Follow protection and prevention recommendations from healthcare professionals. If none of this helps, consider getting support from a professional counseling center or look for people in a similar situation. Self-help groups are usually organized locally and nationally, so it is best to find the offers in your area. This is how you find contact persons who, in turn, know contact points in regional health care. Keywords such as “self-help group” + your location or “psychological counseling” + your location can help you. There are many ways of getting to grips with the fear of the virus. This is by protecting your mental health and that of friends and family.
