Covid-19 has impacted all of us in many different ways. With long days inside, no face-to-face communication with friends and family, and very few available recreational activities, the stress on the mind can become greater and greater. How can you combat this stress and keep your mental well-being in good spirits?
Start Your Day Off Right
The first item at hand for good mental health is to start your day off right. It’s more likely than not that you sleep with your phone right next to you, so it may seem tempting to look at your notifications and scroll through Twitter as soon as wake up. However, this will only add more stress to your mind. Instead, start the day with a simple mindfulness exercise. This can be as simple as a quick breathing exercise, or just a moment of non-distraction before you get out of bed. This will help you stay calm and stress-free as you start the day.
Plan Your Morning
Second, plan your morning. There’s no more morning commute for you to take, so instead start off with a morning walk or listen to a podcast. By laying in bed and constantly checking your phone, you lose valuable minutes where you could be productive. Being productive is a great way to feel good about yourself and cope with stress.
Speak to Friends and Family
In addition, you should also build in time to speak with friends and family through video chats. Connecting with others is proven to release feel-good hormones, critical to dealing with stress.
Mental health after this pandemic
It is also important not to overwhelm yourself with loads of information on Covid-19. Seeing negative and heartbreaking news on your feed can seriously dampen your mood and release stress hormones. Taking the initiative to manage your social media intake each day will help you feel at ease, and you will be able to take in information with a more positive mindset.
Incorporate Breathing Exercises
If you do feel your anxiety levels spike up during the day, it is important to take the time and perform a few simple breathing exercises to help lower those levels. For example, box breathing is a technique where you breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold for four seconds, breathe out through your mouth for four seconds, and hold your empty breath for a final count of four. This simple technique will do wonders for your mental health in the short run.
Maintain a Good Sleep Schedule
Lastly, bedtime. Maintaining a good sleep schedule is key to great mental health in this time of crisis. Avoiding caffeine, sleeping early, and keeping screens out of your bedroom are some remedies to keep up your mental health.
Mental health after this pandemic
With all these steps, nothing, not even Covid-19 will stop you from living your best life with the best mental health possible.
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