Covid-19 Mental Health Tips from a Mental Health Consultant
We’re here for you.
We invited Sarah Rigby, Mental Health Consultant at Thrive Active, to provide you with some tips on how to maintain your mental health during this stressful and unpredictable time.
Check our Sarah’s guest post below:
Hi everyone!
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sarah Rigby and I’m the mental health consultant for Thrive Active. I’m also a resident in Clinical Health Psychology. It is very important for us to be following provincial guidelines regarding social distancing and self-isolation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to keep one another healthy and to prevent overloading the healthcare system.
Maintain your social connections
In my opinion, this is the most important recommendation (hence why it is #1)! Humans are social animals, and being physically disconnected from one another will undoubtedly be hard on us. We also know that loneliness can contribute to low mood/depression and feelings of hopelessness, so we want to make keeping connected a top priority! Schedule FaceTime or phone conversations with family and friends. Consider contacting friends you’ve lost touch with or family you only visit with during holiday events. Importantly, if you know people who may struggle with mental health problems, or who are particularly isolated (e.g., living alone or have few social ties), reach out to them and ask how they are doing. Consider using social media platforms for connection rather than as a way to pass the time, and when you do connect with one another, try to limit conversation about COVID-19 and to focus on other parts of your life. In summary, be there for one another even when you can’t physically be there.
Keep a consistent schedule
Our mental health is generally better when we have some consistency and structure to our days. If you are working from home and/or self-isolating, I encourage you to make a daily/weekly schedule for yourself, and do your best to stick with it! Wake up at a consistent time, start your workday (or tasks for the day) at the same time each day, and maintain your regular meal times.
Take care of your physical health
Our physical and mental health are strongly connected, so be mindful of how you’re taking care of yourself! Try to eat healthy foods, drink water, get enough sleep (but don’t oversleep and limit napping!), and exercise. Consider going for a walk or run outside, or try out some of the at home workouts the Thrive instructors have been posting on Instagram. Physical activity does wonders for our mental health, so it’s important to stick with it, even if our typical routine needs to be modified!
Allow yourself to feel your emotions
It’s normal to feel a lot of painful emotions right now, such as anxiety, disappointment, frustration, and sadness. You might also be experiencing a sense of loss—loss of perceived certainty about the future, loss of events that you were looking forward to (weddings, birthdays, socials), loss of employment and/or financial stability, and loss of connection. Rather than pushing these emotions away, or getting swept up in them, try to acknowledge these feelings and allow them to come and go on their own. Say to yourself, for example, “I notice that I’m feeling anxiety and some tightness in my chest,” and choose to re-engage in what you’re doing.
Schedule enjoyable, nurturing, and productive activities to fill your days
This is so important! We need these kinds of activities day to day to maintain our mental health. If you are unable to participate in the activities you typically enjoy because of staying home, be creative! Try something new! Is there a hobby or interest you think you might like? Or is there something that you used to enjoy that you haven’t done in a while? Maybe this includes activities like learning guitar, getting back into drawing, practicing yoga, or playing with your dog (note: these are all things I’m planning to do!). We also need to engage in activities that bring us a sense of accomplishment. This could be organizing emails/taxes, cooking a new recipe, or cleaning part of your home.
Limit news consumption
Of course, keep aware of the current happenings and protocols in place for COVID-19, but consider limiting news checking to once or twice per day, and only check reliable news sources. When we are continuously bombarded with fear messages, we are no doubt going to feel anxiety!
Consider your values and how you can live in line with them during this time
It is always important to reflect on our values and to think about what is most important to us. Once you identify your values, spend some time selecting goals that you can set for yourself that are in line with these values and what would make this time meaningful for you. If you value contribution, consider activities like picking up groceries for someone who can’t, donating money to a local food bank, or fostering an animal through the Humane Society. If you value learning, maybe take an online course or re-read an old textbook on a topic you’ve forgotten. If you value self-care maybe consider establishing new habits, such as a daily mindfulness or gratitude practice.
Shift your outlook
Our outlooks and perspectives are very important right now. Rather than focusing on what you’re missing out on during social distancing, think of how choosing to stay home is a compassionate and caring act toward the people in your life, and also toward people you don’t know. Remind yourself that we are all in this together and that we can choose to make this strange time still meaningful for us.
Take care of yourselves and each other. I know times are tough, but we will get through them together.
Sarah