Simple Tips to Improve Your Mental Health During Social Distancing
8 Mental Health Tips During Social Distancing
How are you doing? Really. How are you feeling? thinking? eating? living right now?
It’s a challenging time for all of us. Home-schooling children, working from home, watching the news and being cooped up at home without being allowed to leave is putting your mental well-being into a pressure cooker…. and yeah, we are all ready to just pop!
As a Holistic Nutritionist and Mindfulness Life Coach in Wyckoff, NJ, I help others virtually alleviate stress and stay healthy, even during this difficult time. Here are some tips for you to maintain a healthy outlook and to keep your nervous system calm during this pandemic.
Before you read these tips, feel free to check out this FREE Beat the Stress Guide that I created for you to enjoy and implement 24 powerful ways to reduce your stress and improve your quality of physical and mental well-being, especially now during the Covid-19 pandemic.
1. Virtual happy hours, chats, and playdates
Just because you can’t visit friends, family and coworkers in person, doesn’t mean you can’t see their familiar faces. Your kids can join in the fun too with virtual playdates, like my 3 year old son did this morning with his daycare class. It was adorable! If you’re using Zoom (which I recommend), make sure your audio and video are turned on and choose the panel view so you can see everyone at once. While it may be hard to have multiple conversations going at once, it’s worth giving it a try and simply enjoying the human interaction. You can always use other sources of technology for videochats such as Facetime, Google Hangouts, Google Duo or Skype. My husband and I are having a virtual game night tomorrow or you could even start a Netflix watch party. The point is, stay in touch and interact with other people to keep your mental health in optimal condition while reducing stress and anxiety.
2. Stay active.
This is one of my favorites. Exercise is critical to our mental health. Working out releases endorphins (the feel-good hormone) and alleviates the feeling of flight or fight. Getting outside for your exercise is an added bonus for fresh air, nature, and exposure to the sun for some added vitamin D. Being outside is proven to help with depression and anxiety, so try to get outside every day. And your kids will go stir crazy inside, so make sure they get outside and run around as much as possible. If the weather isn’t great, you can exercise indoors with a fitness video or tap into the plethora of fitness studios and instructors who are offering virtual fitness classes.
3. Eat healthy and stay hydrated.
Many of us are increasingly turning to bags of sweets, salty-crunchy, wine and refined carbs right about now. And it’s probably not because you’re hungry. We are eating because we are stressed, bored, lonely or tired. As a Holistic Nutritionist who focuses on intuitive eating and emotional attachment to food, I can tell you how important it is to listen to your body and to make sure you are eating quality nutrients in the form of fruits, veggies, lean proteins and healthy complex whole grains. Certain foods actually make us feel better and improve our immune and stress response and certain foods aggravate our stress response. For 20 healthy and delicious recipes that you can make with non-perishable foods, check out this free recipe book. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water too!
4. Get enough sleep … but not too much.
Sleep is essential to combat the stress response, so make it a priority to get your zzzs. When you’re not worried about making a certain train time or beating rush hour traffic, it’s easy to succumb to sleeping in. But be careful. It’s a slippery slope so set your alarm for the same time as usual (or no more than 30-45 minutes later than usual). Get up and stick to normal routines - eg. shower, eat breakfast. Get a good night’s sleep by having a healthy bedtime routine. Perhaps go to bed a bit earlier than usual. Avoid fluids close to bedtime. Avoid stimulating activities right before you shut your eyes (phones, tvs) and practice relaxation and calm before hitting the sack. Pick up a book, breathe or meditate, listen to music, or journal away your worries so you’re not up all night thinking about them.
5. Self Care!
Give yourself unconditional permission to focus and care for yourself. Yes, we are stressed and we are undoubtedly worried and caring for everyone else in our lives. But, it’s ok to take a breather, have some alone time, do things you like to do. Self care is the core of our health and happiness. Come join our FREE Facebook community to fully embrace self care, healthy eating and stress management.
6. Practice gratitude.
It’s easy to feel stress, frustration and overwhelm. It’s often helpful to take a step back and remember all the good things in your life. Finding the silver lining in an otherwise undesirable situation or feeling and expressing your gratitude, no matter how trivial, not only gives us perspective but can actually reduce depression and anxiety, improve our physical health, foster resiliency and help us sleep better. Be specific about what you are thankful for and why in your daily gratitude practice.
7. Enjoy your alone time. Encourage others to have alone time.
Being stuck in a house all day, every day with your family can take a toll. As I mentioned in self care, it’s important to take time for yourself. But also encourages those around you to take their own personal space and quiet time too so no one feels too burnt out. You also may want to try to reconnect with yourself through journaling, creative outlets, or breathing exercises.
8. Seek professional help if needed.
The strategies can help improve your mental health and help you achieve balance, but sometimes they are not always enough. There are plenty of mental health therapists and specialists available who are providing virtual sessions if you find yourself feeling depressed, hopeless, panicked, anxious or overwhelmed. If you need a recommendation or referral, please reach out to me at jessica@loyowellness.com and I can direct you to an appropriate professional.