What can we do to take care of our mental health during these challenging times?
Sanchia Supramaniam is a psychologist and counsellor who provides mental health services for adults, children, adolescents, couples and families. She completed her BSc in Psychological Science from Deakin University Melbourne, Australia and her MSc in Applied Psychology from Coventry University, UK. In the past, she has worked at World Vision Sri Lanka, and assisted THEME Institute in their research. Here she shares her views on what we can do to take care of our mental health during this challenging period of time.
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Why take care of your mental health?
Taking care of your mental health may seem like the last thing on your mind amidst this crisis. However, it is of the utmost importance. Intense stress over a significant period of time has been known to not only create barriers to one’s mental wellbeing but can also affect one's physical health as it impacts the body's immunity levels. In times of crisis, stress is a common experience for most of us, which makes taking care of your mental wellbeing necessary. Taking care of your mental health means you are taking care of your health. Read below to understand more.
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Self-care does not have to be grand expensive gestures you make for yourself - they can be affordable, and intentional (" I am doing this for myself and my mental health"). To give you an idea about this, listed below are some affordable options for self-care.
-Journal your thoughts and emotions. / Write down what you are grateful for.
-Exercise/ Go for a walk.
-Sit in nature and get regular sunshine.
-Listen to music that makes you happy.
-Put on some comfy clothes and wind down.
-Stretch regularly during the day.
-Do some breathing exercises.
Being intentional with your self-care is an important aspect of it, we are rarely intentional with our rest, needs or even when we eat or drink. Try focusing on these tasks and be in the moment, tell yourself I am doing this to take care of me.
?2. Maintain boundaries with the news.
Constantly being updated with a barrage of news content throughout the day can impact our levels of stress. While it is important to stay informed, we must make sure that we are not consumed by the news, as it can affect our well-being. Flooding our brains with negative content throughout the day can create fatigue and feelings of being overwhelmed.
Tip: Something you can try is to allocate specific times of the day that you will check the news, and for how long (you can even set a timer) eg. at 6pm every evening for 10-15 minutes.
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3. Process your emotions
At the moment we are all experiencing a host of negative emotions and that is normal. It is important that we try our best to process them and not judge these emotions. Remember, self-compassion is very important when doing this. A good way to get started on this is to journal how you are feeling. Always remember that even the most intense emotions will pass.
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Journaling prompts to process emotions:
What is the emotion I am feeling? / Can I label it? (e.g. anger, sadness, shame, guilt)
Be curious about your emotion - What triggered it?
Remind yourself that emotions are information - What are my emotions trying to tell me?
What can I do that would help?
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4. ?Create a routine for yourself
In these uncertain times having a routine can be immensely beneficial. Considering the current situation, maintaining our usual routine might be hard, so adapt your routine to fit your daily needs. A good place to start is by creating a morning routine (right after you wake up) and a night routine (right before going to bed) for yourself. Having structure will benefit your body and mind during these unstructured times.
Morning routine example:
Night time routine example:
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5.?Practice grounding techniques and mindfulness when things are overwhelming.
Grounding techniques help remind us that even though things feel overwhelming in the present moment, we are safe. Mindfulness meditation is also a great way to help navigate feelings of being overwhelmed. Including meditation to your morning routine and right before bed can provide great mental health benefits. (there are great guided meditation resources on YouTube to get you started).
Grounding technique to get started (1):
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????- Breathe in for 4 counts.
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????- Hold your breath for 7 counts.
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????- Exhale for 8 counts.
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????- Repeat this cycle as many times as necessary.
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Something else that you can try to help ground yourself is to have a cold shower, pay attention to how the water feels on your skin and be mindful. This helps tip your temperature and activates natural relaxation components within the body.
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Everyone responds to situations differently, and that’s okay. We hope these tips come in handy in helping you improve your mental health. Taking care of mental health during these tough times may be challenging. However, it is important as mental health impacts everything we do and our overall quality of life. Even the little things you do in your daily life for self-care, can leave a big impact.?