The pandemic is a major health crisis that the world experiences. However, one thing that cropped up during the pandemic is that this isn’t just a health crisis. It’s also creating a mental health crisis.
Therefore, you should take active steps in protecting and taking care of your mental health during the pandemic. And here are seven simple ways to do so:
Connect with others
The pandemic has forced many people to spend more time inside their homes and distancing themselves away from others.
Although this can reduce our risk of getting the virus, its side effect is that we are more socially deprived than ever before. This deprivation can harm the mental health of many people to different degrees.
However, just because we’re distancing ourselves from one another doesn’t mean that you can’t find ways to connect.
You can use plenty of video messaging apps these days that will allow you to still see and interact with the people you love. You can even work with your colleagues for accountability, even if you are not in the same space.
Get good sleep
Since many of us are most probably working from home, the boundary between your work life and home life has perhaps blurred.
This has changed because some people are working longer hours and spending less time taking breaks when working from home. You might think this means improved productivity, but you’re running yourself ragged.
Eventually, you might end up crashing and burning because of it. It can also impact your sleeping habits. If you lack good sleeping habits in place, it’s going to affect your state when you’re awake.
Therefore, you should be stricter with your sleeping hours and the prep that you need to go to sleep.
Enjoy some relaxation time
Aside from getting a good night’s sleep, it would help if you also had some time to relax while you’re awake. Your mind and body must get the rest to come back for the next workday productive and active.
At the same time, having the time to relax will help reduce your overall stress levels.
Find the time to do what you love doing and can do at home and carve out a period when to do it. Doing something you love is going to help relax you.
Stay physically active
Staying physically active allows you to focus on nothing else but what your body is doing. It can be beneficial when you’re stuck at home all the time ruminating on all sorts of things. At the same time, since you’re stuck at home most of the time, your body probably needs that physical activity anyway.
You can do different things to stay physically active. You can do indoor activities, like yoga, if you’re unable to go out of your house yet.
You can also grab your hiking poles and go on a hike if the hiking trail is open to the public.
It’s a way for you to stay physically active without having to interact with a lot of people during this pandemic. At the same time, it gets you away from home, which you’ve probably been in for a while.
Limit your news consumption
Inevitably during the pandemic, you’re going to hear a lot of not-so-nice news from all over the world.
It doesn’t help that we are overwhelmed with information all the time just because of how easy they are to access. Some people even find themselves “doom scrolling” on social media, which will undoubtedly harm one’s mental health.
That’s why you should discipline yourself to stop scrolling through social media. Start doing something other than consuming any and every piece of news that you hear.
Read a book, do yoga, listen to music, or take a dance lesson. Maybe even a podcast.
Acknowledge your feelings
Burying your feelings is not the best way to handle your mental health. You first need to acknowledge what you’re feeling to identify triggers and how you can treat yourself better.
After all, you can’t solve a problem if you don’t know what the issue is in the first place. Therefore, you should take the time to acknowledge your feelings and know that your negative emotions are valid. However, you shouldn’t let it rule you.
Maintain a sense of hope
Instead of keeping up with the latest number of active cases, look at the number of recoveries. Doing so can give you a sense of home that we can recover from a pandemic.
As the old saying goes, “This, too, shall pass.”
Final Thoughts
The tips listed above are an excellent way to maintain an overall positive mental well-being during the pandemic.
Although mental health has its ebbs and flows, taking the time to do things that positively affect your mentality will be a massive help. Hence, we encourage you to do these tips, especially during a pandemic.
