The pandemic isn’t only affecting our physical health but our mental health as well. The CDC recommends a holistic approach to caring for our health at home. Taking care of your mental health doesn’t have to be complicated. There are simple activities you can do every day to make your overall mental state better.
The number of Americans experiencing depression and anxiety has increased due to the pandemic. People are experiencing intense symptoms of depression and anxiety because of social isolation and the lack of physical contact with the outside world. Poor mental health can jeopardize the immune system, leaving you open to the virus. This article will talk about simple activities you can do to keep your overall mental state healthy.
Write a Gratitude List
Before anything else, it’s important to remember why you’re here. Psychiatrist William Glasser believes that most of our problems come from interpersonal relationships, and being able to foster and fix these relationships is the leading solution to these problems. This is why you need to identify who you are grateful for so you know who to include in your daily life.
Call the People on the List
Next up, call the people you have on the list as often as possible. Tell them why you’re calling them and that you miss them. This will help you build a solid social network that will help you get through the problems of the pandemic, and this comes a long way in treating social isolation, the leading cause of depression and anxiety.
Practice Self-Acceptance
To keep your interpersonal relationships intact, you will need your strengths and weaknesses. You must do some introspection and reflection to know where to improve yourself. This is the process we know as self-acceptance.
Improving yourself can’t be done if you don’t accept who you are. Inherently, there are many things we want to be, but that doesn’t mean anything if we can’t reach them. So accept who you are and who you will be in the future.
Get Into Self-awareness Exercises
Self-awareness exercises will help you in your practice of self-acceptance. Start doing self-affirmation; tell yourself the good things you do every day and what makes you such a fantastic person. If you can’t find anything like that, start with the good things people always tell you.
Meditation will also help alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety. It’s also good for general physical health. You should do it if you have fifteen minutes to spare every day.
Keep Yourself Busy
If you don’t think you can do any of these things, the best thing you can do is keep yourself busy. It is more of a way to keep your mind away from such negative thoughts, and it won’t help you become any better, but it’s a good temporary fix for your situation. Get some exercise, read a book, work, etc. These things can keep you afloat while you look for other activities that can save you mentally healthy.
Visit a Mental Health Professional
No one can treat depression and anxiety better than a mental health professional. Many mental health professionals, such as counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, can help you handle any mental health problems you might be experiencing right now, and it’s good to visit one before it worsens.
You’re free to visit a mental health professional during the onset of your problem. They will keep your issues unless you are considered a danger to people and yourself. A psychiatric evaluation should be your first step into having a healthy mind because it will determine whether you need intervention.
If you don’t need intervention or treatment, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow the tips on this list. Proactive healing is so much better than recovery because the former doesn’t have to go through the relapse process. When you heal your mind proactively, you can avoid events and occasions that could worsen your situation. Furthermore, you won’t feel so helpless.
When it comes to choosing which kind of mental health professional you need, it’s all up to you. Each has its strengths and weaknesses; if it’s your first time, it’s all about trial and error. However, you must choose one that offers robust mental health billing. This is because you’ll need transparency for the cost of your sessions and treatments, alongside other services you might need throughout the process.
Mental health is a serious problem during this pandemic, and you must get the help you need when dealing with it. Your health and wellness are dictated by how you can keep your mental health, so do your best to keep your emotions and feelings in check by following the tips in this article. Trust us. It will go a long way in improving your life during the pandemic.
