May is Mental Health Awareness month and a time to take stock of our mental health status and needs. Since March of 2020, life as we knew it has changed dramatically. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected so many areas of our lives including our mental health, finances, jobs, social life, family life, and our overall well-being. Our daily lives have been turned upside down.
Pandemic Stress
Words such as "quarantine" and "social distancing" have become part of our vocabulary and roll off our tongues as if this is our new normal. The mental health effects of social isolation, constant fear, and anxiety related to getting the virus, losing a job, or working from home and being on lock-down will be far-reaching into the upcoming months and years. Individuals with preexisting mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety are reporting exacerbations in these conditions.
The stress of the pandemic has created several psychosocial issues and conditions such as depression, anxiety, domestic violence, substance abuse, and social isolation. Thrive Global did a survey of 8,000 individuals in April 2020 and found that 82% surveyed said that the pandemic had a strong negative impact on their stress level. This has affected individuals more than any other historic event in our time. Overall, we have become a country of individuals who have a feeling of uncertainty and fear about our health, our lives, and the future.
Resiliency and Uncertainty
The American Psychological Association (APA) Help Center defines resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy or threats and significant sources of stress.” https://positivepsychology.com/what-is-resilience/
Considering this definition, how do we move forward from feelings of fear and uncertainty to developing resilience and hope given the current pandemic and the effects on our mental health?
Mental health practitioners are saying that there are several things we can do right now to improve our resilience and boost our mental health daily. As a health coach, I want to share a list of tips you can do but I want to first say, be easy on yourself. Maybe the list of what to do is just too much. Get a friend, family member, coach or therapist to support you. Don’t take on too much. You may want to choose one small step to do each week. If it is too much, start over with a smaller step. A step that you can do no matter how small is important.
The Mayo Clinic has outlined the following tips that can help us become stronger and improve our resilience “muscles”, they include:
Getting enough sleep, going to bed and getting up at the same time each day.
Getting physical exercise, walking in nature, biking, moving to keep the body healthy.
Eating healthy foods, avoiding processed foods, avoiding sugar, and junk food.
Avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.
Limiting screen time.
Relaxing and recharging, listening to music, watching a funny movie.
Limiting news time, getting news, and pandemic information from reliable sources.
Keeping your routine as normal as possible.
Focusing on positive thoughts, practicing meditation, and mindfulness.
Spiritual practices of prayer and meditation are helpful.
Maintaining connections with friends and family.
Doing something for others, being helpful, taking the focus off ourselves.
Journaling and expressing our feelings of fear and anxiety.
Looking forward to future events.
Recognizing what is typical and not typical feelings of anxiety and getting professional help when it is needed.
The challenges of the pandemic will certainly be with us for quite a while, however incorporating these self-care strategies are a way of building our resilience and strengthening our coping abilities for now to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and for the future.