This global pandemic that has hit the US has a detrimental affect on the economy, and the health of members of our country. Millions are filing for unemployment, and millions are loosing their lives to this virus. Another major affect it has is on people's mental health. Anxiety and depression rates have spiked as people cannot leave the house due to strict stay-at-home orders passed. Here are 5 strategies to help keep your mental health in check through the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. Exercise regularly.
I have been seeing a lot of posts on social media where people are complaining of gaining weight while being stuck in the house. Where it is hard to stay active while in the house everyday, one way to give yourself daily motivation is setting a daily exercise routine. Some ways that you can stay active include going on runs, doing at home workouts, and going on long walks. That plus filling your bodies with fruit and vegetables can allow you to think more clearly through classes/ work online. You will find yourself being more productive and having a better perspective through this uncertain time.
2. Keep a daily routine.
It can be easy to become anxious and depressed when you do not have a set routine in your day. Without a routine, you will find yourself missing deadlines, and taking longer to accomplish small tasks. Where none of us expected to be home during this time, if we adjust our routines to accommodate our new lives during the stay-at-home orders we will be able to decrease the anxiety of our current situations.
3. Stay connected with friends.
For many of us, we are in quarantine with our families and not our friends, who we are used to spending time with. For people like me, when we are not physically with people it can be hard for me to stay updated on their lives. A simple phone call can work wonders when stuck in quarantine. Whether it is through zoom or other platforms, the fact that for a small amount of time we can talk to people we have not seen for the past four weeks will help us to power through to the end of quarantine. It is important to be able to express the way that we are feeling with people we trust, and remind ourselves of the good times we have experienced in the past.
4. Use this time to connect with the people you are with.
Where many people do not see it this way, this time is a gift. Where it is easy to become angry at the people we are quarantined with, try to spin those feelings around. Instead, use this time to connect with the people you are with and to learn more about them. Play games with your family instead of locking yourself in your room. You may learn things about your family members that you never knew before. Try finding a show to watch together, or a game to play. Where it might be annoying, you may as well make the most of where you are at this moment.
5. Learn a new hobby.
Having so much time in the same place, it is important to use this time for your advantage. You can do this by learning something new. For example, pick up the guitar you never learned how to play, read more books, try on different makeup that you never tried before. This way, when we all come out of this pandemic, we would have learned something from it. Out of these new hobbies that you have gained in quarantine, you can bring something positive your life once we are allowed out of the house again.
Through this pandemic, the most important thing is to keep perspective. This pain is temporary and will pass, and our lives will resume to normal. After this pandemic is over, try to have learned something more about yourself through this time. If the pandemic is causing you an unbearable amount of sadness and anxiety, please reach out to someone. Although they cannot see you in person, there are therapists who can talk to you.
free therapy is available at betterhelp.com
