Mental health is just as important as your physical health, and now is the time to accept that more than ever. Even if you are not physically ill, being stuck at home 24×7 during a worldwide crisis that can harm you or your loved ones can cause you great pain. Here are some tips to look after your mental health during the COVID-19 Pandemic:

Focus on Work

You should have a routine resembling that of your normal life so that you don’t lazy around and are constantly thinking about the worst-case scenarios. Those of you who are working from home can try to set up a workspace with everything similar to your office so that you can work efficiently. Also, don’t try to act like everything is perfectly normal and meet deadlines like you used to. Take a break now and then, everyone at work will understand since they’ll be going through the same thing.

Increase Communication

Self-isolation can have a big impact on mental health. So, try to interact with people as much as possible. Talk to your coworkers about work or even rant about it, text/call your friends to check up on who’s up to what, eat and play with your family members in the house so that it no longer feels like a hostile environment.

Get a Hobby

Boredom can lead to frustration at times, and you can’t always depend on talking to others as an escape from work. You can use this time to do things that you previously were too busy to. You can get better at a skill or two, or just plain enjoy yourself doing things you love.

Trust Reliable Sources

You may want to read up on articles to stay updated, but please remember to only trust reliable sources. Otherwise, you might get overwhelmed with false information. Don’t follow any guidelines unless WHO verifies it to be true. Nobody can risk falling sick because of random viral WhatsApp recordings now.

Exercise

More and more studies are showing that physical exercise can be good for your mental health. Try to make time for it and watch online fitness videos as you can’t go to the gym. You can do it with your family as well to make it more entertaining and fun.

Stay Calm and Help

Understand that everyone around you might be scared, including kids, and their mental health is just as important as yours. Stay calm when people ask you questions incessantly or give you false information. Help them by finding the answers with them and prove what reliable sources or guidelines are. Moreover, reassure kids, as well as others, that they are safe and can be vulnerable with you about their thoughts, feelings, and concerns.