Taking Care of Your Mental Health This Pandemic

Everywhere you go, information on how to better protect yourself from the COVID-19 virus is already widespread. We know the basics: handwashing, sanitizing, and protective equipment. But there’s another aspect to our health that we need to look at—our mental health.

The emotional toll that this pandemic has taken on all of us is drastic. Not only are our anxieties amplified by the fear of contracting the virus, we’re also spending more time in isolation, leaving us feeling disconnected from other human beings. In a time like today when we’re all facing the same enemy, it still feels like we’re all going through it alone.

We’re listing down all the ways you can take better care of your mental health in these trying times.

1. Work on a passion project.
   Remember that hobby you said you’d focus on once you have the time? Now that there’s not much else to do because of quarantine restrictions, channel your energy into something you’re passionate about.
   
2. Acknowledge what you’re feeling.
   There’s a lot of pressure to be productive even in a time like this, but it’s not healthy to ignore how you truly feel. It’s okay to feel worried, especially because this is something we’ve never experience before. Let yourself feel whatever it is you’re feeling. Write it in a journal or communicate it with your friends. There are many ways to really sit down and take it all in.
   
3. Schedule video calls with the people you love.
   Since we can’t meet up with friends or maybe even family, schedule a video call and hang out with the people you love.
   
4. Listen to your favorite music.
   We all have songs or particular playlists we go to when we’re feeling restless and anxious. Put them on replay. The same way we have comfort food, we also have comfort music. Think of the songs you used to listen to as a child that comforted you, or songs that remind you of fond memories.
   
5. Take little breaks from the news.
   We can’t be completely disconnected from the world’s realities, but when it feels like it’s getting a little too much to handle for you, it’s okay to take a little break from the news.