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Words by Naomi Adjei
During the current pandemic, it's normal to feel anxious, stressed and low in mood. To combat these feelings, it is important to accept that it is simply just a tough time and instead focus on the things that you can control during this time. Assistant Psychologist, Naomi Adjei gives us her top tips on how to effectively manage our mental health whilst on lockdown.
Maintain a routine during this time of isolation. Set a time to be up each day. Refrain from spending the entire day sleeping or lazing around in your pyjamas. Also ensure that you are eating and drinking well and also attending to your personal hygiene.
Keep your mind and body active every day. Use YouTube for exercise, challenging your mind, learning new recipes, reading and learning something new. Coordinate your day and make sure you are doing a range of activities as you normally would.
Maintain your support system by staying connected to others. We may have to physically isolate ourselves from others but stay in contact with others via text, calls and video calling apps.
If you do find yourself continually feeling anxious, it is important to identify your anxiety trigger points and avoid them. An example of this would be too much time spent reading or listening to the news or a lot more time spent on social media. Identify your trigger point and manage it by cutting back.
If you suffer from severe mental health issues or live with someone that does, ensure that contact is being maintained with yours or their key support worker. Make sure you are adequately prepared and have all their details at hand.
Always remember that support is available if you do find yourself overwhelmed. You can call or email the ‘Samaritans’ online support via the website the “Mind” is also available.
In case of a mental health emergency, 111 can put you through to your local NHS mental health crisis team. Although there has been an overwhelming demand in these services, please do not hesitate to call, a lot of people have begun to volunteer and are offering a helping hand so do not suffer in silence.
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