It wouldn’t be right to do a mental health blog without mentioning the Coronavirus. As we are in the midst of this public crisis, no one seems to be talking about how people’s mental health is going to be affected. So in this blog post I’ve mentioned 5 different points on how to help your mental health during this time.
- Relaxation
Relaxation is a technique used to put your body into a state of calm so that the mind follows suit. These techniques send signals to your brain to turn off the fight/flight response because our body typically wouldn’t be in a state of relaxation while under threat.
Calm breathing involves doing an unconscious act mindfully, by breathing out for longer than we breathe in (e.g. in for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, out for 7 seconds). This is effective as we tend to take in too much oxygen when we’re stressed due to heavy breathing. This technique regulates oxygen and carbon dioxide levels to help calm us down.
Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and relaxing your body. Start from your toes (tense for 10 seconds, relax for 10) and systematically work your way up through every body-part, up to your head. Pay attention to the difference in sensations between tenseness and relaxation as you go along.
- Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the act of allowing yourself to be being present in the moment. Practising this over a period of time may aid stress reduction and sleep improvement. Mindfulness involves paying attention to your senses at that point in time (what can you see/smell/hear/touch/feel?).
Allow distracting thoughts to come and do not supress them. Let them pass and then bring yourself back to your senses. You can incorporate mindfulness into your current schedule by mindfully practising everyday tasks, like walking your dog, washing the dishes or having a shower. The video below shows one way on how to practice mindfullness
- Journaling
Did you know we are often not aware of how we are thinking? Most of our thoughts are automatic, meaning we are not consciously aware of them. Of course, we’re aware of how we’re feeling and it can be useful to journal to help us understand the thought process behind these emotions.
Journaling can involve writing down the antecedent for the negative emotion, the thought process that arose as a result (do your best to think about what it could plausibly have been) and the consequence to these processes. This can help us identify errors in logic or understand why we are feeling a certain way in order to communicate this to others. Many people find the process of self-reflection through journaling to be therapeutic in itself.
- Tolerating and accepting uncertainty
During these uncertain times, those who dislike unpredictability will be put to the test. Use this period as an opportunity to learn to manage distress caused from uncertainty. After all, this won’t be the last time that you can’t be certain of the outcome of a life event.
- Goal setting
The best kind of goals to set are SMART goals. Meaning that your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. What goals might you achieve while social distancing
Keep a journal and write your positive qualities in your journal. Write as many positive things about yourself as you can think of…there is no limit. If you run out of steam, take a break. Come back to it over the course of a few days, until you have a substantial list of your positives. Get help from a trusted friend or family member. Two heads are better than one and an outsider might have a different perspective of you, than you do of yourself. Who knows what nice things you might discover about yourself.
Don’t do this exercise for the sake of it. Reflect on what you have written at the end of the day, week, or month. Let all the positive qualities pile up and ‘sink in.’ This is really important so that you learn to take notice of these things and feel more comfortable acknowledging them.
Like any skill, these things take patience to learn and refine. Practising these skills over time will help you develop self-efficacy and see any tangible benefits from their implementation. Similarly, focusing on too many will dilute any benefit that you will see from one. We suggest taking on one skill at a time and seeing what works for you.
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