Right now, there’s more focus on caring for physical health than ever before. We take care to protect ourselves and each other from Coronavirus, by wearing masks, regular hand washing, and staying home as much as possible. These are all good steps to take, but you need to think about your mental health too.
As you’re staying home more, it’s easy to start feeling isolated and worry about what’s happening. If you’re finding you’re struggling with mental wellness, try these techniques to take care of yourself during these times.
Don’t Go For Your Phone Right Away
In the mornings, most people will pick up their phone and start scrolling. Right now though, all you’re going to see is bad news and possibly upsetting articles. Of course you need to stay informed, but it’s usually better to do so at a different time of day. It’s a good idea to leave your phone alone for at least 15 minutes after you wake up. If you find that hard, invest in a regular alarm clock and leave your phone in another room while you sleep. You can even consider leaving social media for a while.
Stick To Your Routines
Have you found that your routines have fallen by the wayside? That makes sense, as everything has become upended by self isolation. This will affect your mental wellness, so now’s the time to start putting a routine back in place. What does your normal routine look like? For example, if you wake up and go to the gym, get up at the same time and work out at home. If you can stick to a similar routine, you’ll feel less unbalanced.
Practice Sleep Hygiene
Many have found that while they’re at home, they have developed unhealthy sleep habits. This includes staying up much later into the night, staying in bed later in the mornings, or even struggling to sleep at all. Again, this will affect your mental health, so you want to regain good sleep habits.
The best thing to do is establish a bed time and wake up time, and stick to them. When you do go to bed, keep the room as dark as possible, and keep any electronic devices at least 5 feet away from you.
Stay As Social As Possible
Right now you may not be able to get out to socialise with others, and that’s going to be hard on you. It’s especially hard on those who are naturally out going. While you can’t go out, you can stay social in other ways. If you’d like, you can set up regular video chats and other ways to talk to your friends. If you’re not feeling up to a full event, you can simply take part in a group chat, or just send the odd text to friends to let them know you’re thinking of them.
Try Creating A New Healthy Habit
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do to improve your health? Maybe you’ve wanted to take up yoga, or start cooking healthier meals. This is something you can easily do at home. As you’re staying home, you can find all the info you need online. Find an instructional video or two and give it a go. It’ll give you something new to focus on, and your health will improve too.
Limit Your Media Intake
We touched on this in the first point, but right now you’re probably ‘doom scrolling’ and feeling all the worse for it. You do need to stay informed, but staying glued to the news is only going to make you feel worse. The best thing to do is monitor your media intake.
Set some ground rules about how you view media. You can only allow yourself a set time online a day, or only check the news sites at a certain time, such as after breakfast. Setting limits helps you stay on top of the news without feeling overwhelmed. Doing this will protect your mental health while on social media.
Make Your Home Office Calming
If you’re working from home right now, it makes everything feel more stressful. It’s hard to focus when there’s so much going on, and it’s harder to contact your team mates. Take steps to make that office calmer, wherever it is in your home.
For example, you can bring in some natural items, such as plants and rocks, to help the area feel natural and calming. Aromatherapy devices, such as misters, are another great way to feel more relaxed as you work.
With these tips, you can take care of your mental health as you wait for the end of the pandemic. Set limits on media, keep to a schedule and look for ways to feel happier and healthier while you’re at home. Just taking the first step will help you a lot.
AUTHOR’S BIO:
Emily Henry is a writer, currently writing for Boom Essays service.
