This pandemic has really brought down a lot of our spirits and to say the least has caused a lot of stress. Not being able to socialize with friends in person, or even go to places you liked to go to during the weekend can cause situational depression for some. I think as we all know the entire world is going through this pandemic right now, and I personally know that I have had my days of breaking down because I started to feel depressed or felt my mental health wasn’t the best during this time. Below I will share a few tips that have gotten me through this thus far, I know some may not be things you are interested in doing but why not take this time to learn more about yourself but stepping out of your comfort zone to help you feel better.
- Take some you time to learn how to meditate (granted this takes practice, but everything counts) . You can meditate anywhere in your house like your room, bathroom anywhere just make sure you give yourself the space where you can really concentrate. Sit down on your bed or the floor, close your eyes and download this app called Headspace which will guide you through 3 / 5/ 10/ 20-minute meditation sessions to your liking.
- Listen to music and go through new albums on your apple account to see what new music you haven’t listened to. Music can be very soothing depending on your mood, you can listen to a “chill” playlist or if you , you can pull up an old school Nsync playlist or album and sing your heart out. Apple usually creates different playlists for different occasions and/or moods so there are many options.
- Clean your room! Your room during this time is probably the place you will spend time in the most. Switch it up, maybe paint your room ( if you have any extra paint laying around at home). I know I personally have started putting flowers in my room because they have made me feel happier, so after I clean I admire how beautiful the flowers in my room look!
- Journal all of your feelings and thoughts! I cannot stress enough how important writing is, and how much of a difference it actually makes to a person once they have been able to write down their feelings. Also writing down each day , 3 things that you are grateful for even if it’s that sip of coffee in the morning can really put things into perspective. According to The Journal of Positive Psychology , writing down what you are grateful for amplifies it’s well-being effects.
- Virtual exercise! Keeping our bodies active during this time is so important overall, of course have your lazy days but make sure to push yourself to get some exercise in. Now on Instagram many gym trainers are providing FREE virtual workouts. In the American Family Physician website, they stress the fact that many people turn to exercise rather than taking medication which obviously at this time you can’t get since we are all quarantined but they state that exercise like yoga for example can improve any symptoms of anxiety or depression.
- Read a book, I am sure that there are many online books that you can look into reading OR you can also read old books that you have enjoyed in the past and re-read them just to get the good feelings that you go from reading it the first time.
- Play games with your family! This time has really shown us how much time we DON’T spend with our loved ones. This is mainly because we are busy with our daily schedules, like school or work. We should really take this time to reset , and really wine down with our loved ones and talk about embarrassing family stories etc.
This has been a very difficult time for all of us, and I hope that each and every one of you are home safe and healthy. There are so many ways to keep yourself busy during this time, and I know that it is definitely hard to feel like there isn’t. WE are all human and have every right to feel disoriented at this time because there is so much scary stuff going on BUT we will get through this.
Of Mental Health 