These are fact-checked tips to help you cope with behavioral and mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the end of the pandemic so close, yet so far, your mental and behavioral health will go a long way in determining how your weather the storm. In this quick review, we’ve captured some handy tips to keep your mental health in check amid this relentless pandemic. With that said, let’s dive straight into the various techniques covered in this quick roundup.
How to Maintain Good Mental Health
Here are some techniques for maintaining a good mental health. These tips will also help you avert stressful situations:
1. Exercise Regularly
Exercising, working out, hitting the gym, jogging, call it however you like but the need for daily jogging can’t be emphasized enough. Countless scientific research studies have attributed workouts to improved mental health. In part, this is linked to the fact that exercise directly improves circulation, boosts immunity, and stimulates the secretion of endorphins.
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Indirectly, working out keeps your thought processes on the positive by increasing your social contacts with real people. And it helps with weight loss too, which goes a long way in making you happy with your new self-image. So, whenever you feel worried and tense because of the pandemic, maybe it’s time to hit the gym for some refreshing workout.
2. Watch what you eat
You are what you eat! This maxim is often used by nutritionists to try and sum up a person’s weight condition. It also holds true for mental and behavioral health. Too much bad food and you may have to struggle with weight loss and yes, depression, anxiety, and some other mental health issues. So, in order to keep your mental and behavioral health fortified, you need to watch what you eat.
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If you’re struggling with weight loss and would love to start seeing some tangible results, it’s advisable to eat more veggies and fruits, then add everything else in measured amounts. For rapid results, you may want to consider intermittent fasting, OMAD, among other extreme techniques.
3. Seek help from a qualified therapist
Sometimes depression, anxiety, and other stress-related mental health issues may be so overburdening. You may want to visit a therapist before reaching a breaking point. It’s important to note that there’s strength in seeking help. As a person, you can only do so much, especially during this pandemic. When the pressure is too much to bear, it’s wise to seek the services of an expert therapist. Before it gets to that point though, you may want to comb through the web for experts in your locality. Alternatively, you may want to share your struggles with a trusted friend who may then advise accordingly.
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4. Too much news isn’t good for you
During the pandemic, staying up to date with info is crucial. However, remember there’s such a thing as being too informed, and it does come with very damaging consequences like depression, anxiety, and unnecessary apprehension. The mainstream media can at times be skewed in their coverage and reporting of the pandemic.
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That often comes with subtle, yet disastrous consequences such as panic and anxiety. Instead of filling up on hourly news briefs, you can watch your favorite movies, TV shows, TV serials, play video games, virtually meet up with friends and family, etc. That way, you should be able to stay in the know about the pandemic while also keeping mental stress at bay. You may want to get updates once in a while though; you don’t want to live in a bubble.
5. Try something new
By challenging yourself with new things, you’ll not only learn new skills but also expand your mind. That’s really good for your mental health. Trying something new doesn’t mean trying overly challenging or difficult activities that might only add to your stress. It simply means trying something new. For instance, trying gardening, coding, biking, swimming (with a professional instructor), etc. So, despite all that’s been going on with the pandemic, you can always find something new to try out.
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Do not give despair and idleness a chance, especially now that most people are at home. That would be a perfect recipe for mental stress that might then precipitate other health conditions such as depression.
6. Keep in touch with friends & family
The pandemic has been hard on virtually all aspects of our lives, especially the social component. Physical meetups have become rare and in some instances, outright impossible.
However, some things haven’t changed. For instance, our natural inclination to want someone to talk to hasn’t changed a bit. Luckily, there are social media platforms that are making virtual meetups possible.
Keep your mental health in check with such platforms whenever physical gatherings aren’t an option. In case you’re not a big fan of social media, then I guess phone calls will do the trick. Call your friends and family every once in a while.
7. Drink responsibly
With the end of the COVID-19 not clear, we’ve got to learn to deal with the new normal as long as it lasts. Some people love their liquor. Some drink for leisure, others do it to pass time, while others drink to deal with challenging life situations like loneliness, fear, disappointments, etc. No matter your reason for drinking, alcohol should be taken in moderation.
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If not, liquor consumption not only predisposes one to disastrous mental health issues but also death. Yes, you heard that right. Alcohol kills. From heart conditions to diseases of the liver, kidneys, and other systemic infections, too much alcohol indulgence inflicts more damage than just messing with your brain.
So, you really want to moderate your consumption, especially now that we’re in a pandemic.
8. Offer help to those who in need
The best way to feel wanted and appreciated in any society is to make yourself useful. Join communities, self-help groups, religious groups, etc., and seek out opportunities to offer a helping hand to persons who need assistance within those groups. The idea is to make yourself useful. This is very good for your mental health as well as behavioral health.
9. Distinguish between work and family time
With many people working from home, you don’t want office work to eat into your family time. Though you need the job to pay your bills and meet other financial obligations, family time is equally great for your mental health. Too much focus on work has been associated with depression and general stress among couples, according to a research study. Therefore, whether you’re working remotely or not, it’s important to balance your daily routine between work and family time. This is not only good for your mental health, but also for your loved ones.
10. Don’t suppress your feeling and thoughts; speak out!
Unhappy with your wife, hubby, son, daughter, or friend? Let them know that you didn’t like the way they conducted themselves. Do not close it in in the hope they figure out you aren’t impressed. That might only worsen the situation especially if the offender isn’t aware of your unhappiness. As such, they could easily repeat the mistake thereby inadvertently hurting your feelings. Always speak out whenever you’re unhappy with someone’s conduct or opinion. Suppressing your thoughts and feelings only hurts you, not them. It’s not good for your mental health.
