Taking care of your mental health and well-being is now more important than ever. For most of us, daily life does not look the same since COVID-19 and living in this time of uncertainty can be overwhelming. It’s normal to feel stressed and anxious in today’s uncertain times. You are not alone – we are all facing this challenge together.
Mental Health and You
Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood and older adulthood, and includes the focus on our emotional, psychological and social well-being. How you think, feel and act are all affected by the ways in which we try to manage our thoughts. Mental health also influences the ways we deal with stress, relate to others and make decisions, especially influencing how we react and care for ourselves during these unprecedented times. Being healthy mentally promotes productivity and effectiveness in many areas of life. It also empowers us to lead lives that are more meaningful and fulfilling. Just as you would take care of your body by eating right and exercising, you can also do things to protect your mental state.
Wellness Tips and Coping Strategies for a Healthier Mind
Emory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, through the Caring Communities, has created an extensive library of wellness resource guides to help people better cope with COVID-19 and the associated uncertainty and stress. In each wellness guide, tips are shared to ensure you and your family are coping as best you can. The contents of each wellness guide is a collection of ideas and recommendations compiled by an interdisciplinary group of Emory mental health professionals. The online guides offer a unique and useful approach and can be easily shared in PDF form. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Living alone during shelter in place
- Ways to empower and support frontline staff
- Family challenges related to virtual schooling
- Newly unemployed
- Sleep issues
- Racial and ethnic disparities and discrimination
- Anxiety management
- When you have a loved one in the hospital
Emory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences continues to develop and update these wellness guides to reflect the latest progress in the COVID-19 response and relevant scientific evidence.
During challenging times like these, it is understandable that stress and anxiety can influence your mental state. But it is important to remember there are many coping strategies and tools to help us get through this pandemic together. Now is the time to take as much control as you can so you can find your healthier and stronger self. And as Dr. Nadine Kaslow, director of the Caring Communities, reminds us, “now, in these challenging times, we must be kind and compassionate toward ourselves and toward others. This means being nice and accepting of ourselves and the mistakes we make. It means staying as connected as we can to other people, helping each other out in small and large ways, and showing grace toward others as they struggle to do their best.”
