Managing your mental health during COVID-19 and isolation.
Updated: Mar 29, 2022
Looking after ourselves can be challenging enough in normal times, and especially if you are struggling with your mental health. It can feel daunting or sometimes too much to leave the house and go for a simple walk, but these are the things that are essential to our mental wellbeing, especially during the pandemic.
There are some really accessible things you can do to help support your self-care.
In the green boxes are 10 things you can do to support your mental health, regardless of whether you are in or out of lockdown. These are all simple, free and can be done anywhere.
The two blue boxes are things to avoid or limit for your mental health, namely limiting overconsumption of anxiety-provoking news stories, as well as avoiding speculative news. Remaining informed is important, but consuming news about the pandemic for breakfast, lunch and dinner does not a healthy mind make!
Processing our feelings either within ourselves through journaling, meditating, self-hypnosis or talking it through with a friend or through prayer to a higher power, can be enormously powerful for our health. Taking a new view on the situation, or simply recognising and expressing how we are feeling can help shift the emotions out of suppression in our body and helping them move through us.
Focussing on restorative and enjoyable activities such as a walk through nature, or taking in nature (or even connecting to a plant and mindfully taking in its beauty) can help us connect to something beyond ourselves. Studies on ‘awe walks’ have shown that having admiration of the magnificence of nature itself helps us to connect with the bigger picture, and lead to improvements in our sense of wellbeing.
Are you in need of urgent support with your mental health?
It is of course essential reach out for professional help and support if you are finding yourself struggling.
If you require immediate emotional support, please contact Samaritans helpline on 116 123. For anyone seeking information on help and support in your area, you can find your local NHS mental health helpline number.
Disclaimer: The content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute the providing of medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.