Maintaining Good Mental Health in The Midst of a Pandemic
The Coronavirus crisis has been a stressful time for all of us. Maintaining good mental health can therefore be far-fetched given that it has created major challenges around mental health care. As a public health approach to stem the spread, people are forgoing-personal connections and conversations, touch and/or the serendipitous encounters that make up the social fabric of people’s lives, this thus triggers Anxiety, Stress and Depression. For LGBTQ+ persons, the environment we live in unfortunately can be aggressive and with this pandemic going on we find ourselves on the edge. The government’s directive of staying at home and social isolation can eliminate our access to private spaces and lead to an increase in homophobia this is because social spaces such as clubs that would otherwise offer some respite are closed down.
The CDC stresses that during these times, mental health is just as important as physical health.
Here are some tips from the CDC on how to deal with the stress and cope with being at home:
- Take a break from coverage of the coronavirus.
Whether it’s reading, watching, or listening to the news about the virus, it can be overwhelming. Even social media can cause over stimulation if you do not take a break from the corona virus updates. So make sure to take breaks whenever you can, but still, keep informed on what you can.
- Take care of your body.
Physical health is not just good for your body, it is also great for the mind. The CDC recommends taking deep breathes, stretching or meditating, eating healthy, exercise however you can and regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid drugs or alcohol.
- Make time to unwind.
This is a very stressful time, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy yourself. Read a book, play a video game, finish that Netflix series, or even work on that house project you have been planning to do for the past year. Do something to distract yourself from the stresses around you.
- Connect with others.
We live in an age of technology. You can call, text, face time, and do all sorts of other things to communicate with people. Just because you are social distancing, does not mean you cannot socialize. Talk to people about your concerns and what is going on. Also, do not forget to reach out to the elder and the people most effected by the virus outbreak. For more information on tips to make it through this tough times click the link here for the CDC’s website
