Mindfulness: Practicing mindfulness and meditation can be a great way to reduce stress and control your thoughts. You can do it simply by sitting quietly for a few minutes while focusing on your breathing. You can find guided mindfulness exercises on the internet or on your phone. The Smiling Mind is one site that has a free app that you can download.
Exercise: It’s important to keep moving for both physical and mental health. Even if the gym is closed, you can still talk a walk or go for a jog. There are also plenty of online sources for group exercise activities like Zumba or yoga.
Healthy Eating: Food can be an easy go-to under stress. If you are fortunate to have all the food your family needs at home during this time, try to keep the snacking at bay and follow your internal hunger cues, rather than your nerves, to guide eating.
Routines: Even if you don’t have to get up and go to work right now, it can still be worthwhile to get up around the usual time, get dressed, and follow as many of your regular routines that you can.
Not too Much News: Sure it is important to keep informed, but that doesn’t mean you have to be listening to coronavirus news all the time. Unreliable sources can also fuel anxiety with their dire predictions and exaggerated doomsday scenarios.
Help Others! While it can seem these days that you barely have enough in the tank to take care of yourself and loved ones, giving what you can to others during this time of need can benefit everyone involved. Whether it be money, volunteer time, or even messages of gratitude and appreciation to the many people working so hard how for all of us.
Resources for Self-Care
Engaging Health - steps to whole-health and wellness
Feelings of Loss and Grief during the Covid-19 Crisis
Staying Mentally Healthy During Self-Isolation or Quarantine
Stress and Your Mental Health - resources to support well-being
Send DMH a Question
Do you have a mental health related question that you would like to ask experts here at DMH? Have you come up with a useful tip to maintain good mental health for you or your family? Send us an email at AHS.DMHCOVID19Info@vermont.gov and we’ll respond as soon as possible.