26 Tips for Your Mental Health During The Global Pandemic
May is Mental Health Awareness month, and what better time than now — in the midst of a global pandemic — than for us to bring awareness, and compassion, to our collective mental health.
Typically, when thinking about mental health, we might consider those suffering from anxiety or depression, suicidality, bipolar disorder, PTSD, eating disorders or more. This clearly is a noticeably short and condensed list of the various ways in which one may feel imbalance in their mental and emotional lives.
But right now, I think we are all feeling an imbalance in our mental and emotional lives. Am I right??
Part of the reason we have “awareness months” is to not only bring awareness to what we may have not otherwise been aware of (duh, seems obvious, right?) but to bring light to the stigma that these challenges bring with them, and therefore create more compassion and less judgment.
Typically, it can easy for someone to make lots of assumptions about another person’s experience of depression or anxiety. Let’s consider what some of those mis-guided judgments or myths may look or sound like:
· “Your life looks so good from the outside, what do you have to be sad or depressed about?”
· “That trauma was so long ago, why can’t you just let it go?”
· “None of those fears ever come true, so why are you still anxious?”
· “Oh, come on, you look fine; no need to worry about your weight!”
· “Can’t you just be grateful for what you have and not be so depressed?”
· “Just chill out, why are your emotions all over the place…up and down, up and down; just relax!”
One of the ways to shift out of a a fixed mindset is the ability to hold two truths to be possible at once.
For example, someone can be depressed and grateful for their life; they are not mutually exclusive.
Remembering the “and” is one of the key tools for dualistic thinking — allow for more that one possibility or truth to exist at the same time. Sometimes this is easier said than done.
And right now is the most perfect time of all to bring awareness to our mental health.
Because right now, amid this global pandemic, we are all experiencing emotions that can be challenging to our mental health.
We are all to some extent feeling:
Overwhelmed
Anxious
Stressed
Sad
Grieving
Fearful
Hopeless
Angry
Ungrounded
Uncentered
We all need tools right now. And despite your ability to hold your shit together on a regular day, you may notice being overwhelmed by your emotions and thoughts, which may be the very thing keeping you stuck in them.
Of course, how you are responding to the pandemic and its associated challenges will vary based on your circumstance. However, there is no one on this planet immune from the stress, anxiety, overwhelm, uncertainty and fear that has come with Covid-19.
I think the vaccine against this is awareness. And, mental health month or not, I always say the first step towards growth and change is awareness; without awareness we are on autopilot, with reactivity and judgment.
Without awareness, we stay stuck.
But right now, we have a choice: we can stay stuck in our challenge, or we can choose to grow. (And growth can look different for each person; there is no one way it has to look.)
I believe that right now is an amazing opportunity to not just survive, but to actually thrive in your life.
And by thriving, I mean that right now is a great opportunity to slow down, take an honest look at your life, and choose to let go of what’s not working or holding you back, and cultivate resources and strengths to carry with you for the rest of your life.
Don’t let this be confused with the idea that thriving means you have to take up 5 new impressive hobbies, learn a new language and have cleaned out every nook and cranny that you’ve overlooked for the past 10 years. Remember, we are trying for compassion here, not judgment and comparison of the Jones’s.
Thriving implies growth, transformation, forward momentum; these are also the very qualities of being alive. Without growth you’re dying a slow death.
So, let this month be awareness into your own mental health. Ask yourself, “How am I doing, and where do I need support, tools or resources?” And not only be willing to hear the answer, but to take action on the steps you need.
And know that there’s plenty out there right now to help you through this time, and also know that you’re not alone…
I also invite you to ask yourself this: How is it you want to look back on this time?
Do you only want to remember living 24/7 in your pajamas, the shows you binge watched on Netflix or the best cookie recipe you perfected? (And if you do, no judgment; there are some really great shows out there that I’m grateful to have had the time to watch!)
Just know that it’s also a possibility for you to look back at this time and recall with pride that despite the hardships, challenges and fears, despite the unknowns and uncertainties, that you were able to take pause and hit the reset button so you can resume living your life on purpose.
It’s never too late to start being mindful and living an aware and present life.
So, here’s what I’ve done (along with my partner in life and love, Dr. John Schinnerer) to be in service this month: We’ve gathered over 25 experts from all over the world in fields of relationships, parenting, mindfulness, positive psychology, trauma, mindset, resilience, business and leadership, dating and sex, and more to provide a free resource for your growth. It’s an online summit that launched Monday May 11: Surviving to Thriving, Growth Through Adversity During the Pandemic.
We wanted to provide resources, inspiration, motivation and tools to use this time during the pandemic to transform the mindsets, habits, patterns, tendencies or outlooks that can propel you forward in how you choose to live your life. Quarantine or not, remember, growth and awareness is always a choice.
So can come join us and sign up for the summit if you’d like (click here). Each speaker gives two interviews — one 45-minute one in which they share tools pertaining to their area of expertise, and a 5-minute one that shares their three top tips for getting through the pandemic. And unlike most online summits, these interviews are free for 30 days.
But if you want the CliffsNotes version of the summit, here are 25 tools for you to boost your mental health and help you get through this pandemic with greater wisdom, compassion and of course, awareness.
1. Demonstrate daily gratitude for your partner; appreciate the things that are their “job”
2. Be willing to have difficult conversations in your business and/or personal relationships
3. Learn how to be more mindful (slow down, paying attention, being compassionately present) so you stop missing your life
4. Know that uncertainty and challenge are precursors to hope
5. Connecting with, and expressing gratitude for, the people in your community — the grocery store workers, mail delivery, doctors/nurses — is a way that we can heal America
6. You can prevent bad moments from turning into a bad day or bad life
7. We are stronger when we realize that we’re all in this together
8. Establishing new rituals with your children (like late-night talks) can break old paradigms for parents and kids
9. Blessing your bills (being grateful for the opportunity to send the bill, and what the service has provided you) sends out positive vibes and can shift your relationship to your money
10. Only you can turn down the volume on your own anger
11. Movement shifts mood, and energy moves emotion…so get up! Walk, dance, wiggle, do yoga…don’t just sit there
12. Taking a break from porn can reset your brain and sex drive
13. Take a self-compassion break and give yourself a hug, or a neck massage; you need it!
14. Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back; it’s bouncing forward
15. Be willing to do the work to become the person you want to be
16. Get comfortable in the discomfort of uncertainty
17. The skills for a healthy relationship are not necessarily innate; they are learned
18. Greater purpose leads to greater happiness, life-satisfaction, and productivity
19. Trauma is defined as by a dysregulation in your nervous system; it doesn’t have to be life-threatening for it to be threatening to your daily life
20. Be willing to ask your partner if they are available to meet your sexual desires without judgment
21. Parents who practice self-care role model to their kids the importance of self-care
22. Clarity of your values leads to goals and your success
23. You only stress about the things that you care about
24. Masturbation is a great practice during the pandemic to offer yourself some alone time and space (even if you’re married)
25. Overcoming fear of failure will allow you to launch in life
26. Be the CEO of your own life and live the values you seek to demonstrate in your leadership
You got this! Your future self thanks you for taking the time now to pause, look within, hit the reset button and choose to live intentionally.