With October being Depression Awareness Month and the pandemic keeping many of us in our homes, we thought it best to share our tips for staying mentally healthy. Whether you’re feeling a little blue or feeling extreme cabin fever, these tips will help you nurture and maintain positive mental health.
- Take care of your body
While lounging on the sofa and eating junk food can be soothing for some, it’s important to make sure you’re taking care of your body by getting at least 30 minutes of exercise each day and eating healthy meals.
Studies have shown that there is a direct link between your mental and physical health. In fact, the Mental Health Foundation in the UK states that “Poor physical health can lead to an increased risk of developing mental health problems. Similarly, poor mental health can negatively impact physical health, leading to an increased risk of some conditions.” Therefore, daily exercise and healthy eating can help contribute to keeping your mental and physical health in check.
While exercising options might look different from state to state as regulations are everchanging, there are always reasonable options to stay active inside and outside of your home. This could mean going for a jog, exercising at home with a video, going for a walk, or even weight training at a gym. Just make sure you are always following local and state regulations regarding masks and social distancing. If you’re living in a state that is still locked down, there are still many great exercise resources online such as Healthline articles and an endless selection of exercise videos on YouTube.
In addition to exercise, you should make sure that you are having 3 balanced meals each day. Apps like MyfitnessPal are great tools to help you track your calorie and nutrient intake to ensure that your body is getting the fuel it needs.
- Self-care
A great way to fend off depression, anxiety, and stress is to make time each day for self-care. Selfcare is often described by mental health professionals as “any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.” For some, this means taking a relaxing bath or meditating and for others, it means doing a hobby or working on a project that brings them joy. Between virtual learning, working from home, and the typical hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to push off self-care. Through these acts of positive self-care, we are able to slow down, relieve stress, connect with and appreciate ourselves.
- Limit your screen time
In the digital age, everyone spends more time scrolling on their phone. As we’re all stuck at home due to the pandemic, our daily screen time has only gotten lengthier. Spending too much time on your phone and especially on social media can begin to directly affect your mental health. In fact, a recent population-based study found that “…increasing screen time was generally linked to progressively lower psychological well-being.” And “High users of screens were also significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression.”
To limit your screen’s impact on your mental health, keep a close eye on how long you’re spending in front of your screens and build in some time to go off-grid. If you, like many others, struggle with tracking and monitoring your screen time, consider using Apple’s Screen Time settings or the Screen Time App for Android users. These apps track how long you and your family are on their devices, how long you’re spending on each app, and even sends a notification when you’re reaching your set screen time limit for the day.
- Stay connected
While we want to limit our screen time to help care for our mental health in isolation, it’s important to stay connected to your support systems at a safe distance. As human beings, interpersonal communication is often vital to our overall quality of life and the quality of one’s mental health. Staying connected and communicating how you’re feeling to those who care about you can often help foster better mental health for both parties. Just make sure you’re following social distancing and safety guidelines.
In some states stay-at-home orders, social distancing regulations and limits on gathering sizes are still very limited but there are plenty of creative ways to keep in touch. Video calling apps such as Facetime are a great tool to keep the conversation going at a distance with one or even multiple people at a time. If you’re looking for a little fun, consider using the Watch Party Chrome Extension. Downloading this extension allows you to synchronize your favorite TV shows and movies with your friends so that you can watch them together from afar.
- Get help
If you find that you’re struggling to cope with your mental health, it’s important to know how and when to seek professional help. Resources such as Psychology Today’s Find a Therapist feature can help you connect with professionals in your insurance network ranging from counseling to psychiatry. If you’re experiencing prolonged symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses, it’s important to see a mental health professional so that you can be properly diagnosed and treated. Being seen by a mental health professional early on can prevent your condition from worsening and becoming detrimental to your well-being or even becoming life-threatening. If you think you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or might be a risk to themselves or others, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255.
As we’re approaching the end of 2020 and the pandemic still has some of us on lockdown, keeping our mental health in check is vital now more than ever. Through healthy living, self-care, limited screen time, connection, and even some professional help, we know you’ll be able to make a positive impact on your mental well-being.
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