Improve your mental health during Covid-19 lockdown

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As millions of Kiwis are put on lockdown, mental health specialists are encouraging people to take precautions to care for their well-being and to get assistance if necessary.

Infectious illness outbreaks, such as the current coronavirus (COVID-19), can be frightening and have an impact on our mental health. While it is critical to be informed, there are many things we can do to help and manage our wellness at such times.

Here are some pointers that we hope will assist you, your friends, and your family in caring for your mental health at a time when there is much talk about possible dangers to our physical health.

Practising self-compassion, allowing yourself to feel how you feel, trying to eat healthy foods, doing something active, talking to friends and family and seeking professional help are among the tips experts are sharing.

Try to avoid speculation and look up reputable sources on the outbreak 

Rumours and conjectures can exacerbate anxiety. Having access to high-quality viral information might make you feel more in control.

Wash your hands more frequently than normal for 20 seconds with soap and hot water (you can sing “happy birthday” to yourself twice to ensure you do this for 20 seconds). When you arrive home or to work, blow your nose, sneeze or cough, eat or touch food, you should do this. If you can’t wash your hands right away, use hand sanitiser and then clean them when you get the chance.

You should also use tissues if you sneeze and discard of them immediately, and stay at home if you are ill.

Try to anticipate distress 

It is normal to feel vulnerable and overwhelmed as we learn about the coronavirus outbreak, particularly if you have previously experienced trauma or a mental health issue, or if you are shielding, have a long-term physical medical condition, or fall into one of the other groups that makes you more vulnerable to the coronavirus’s impacts.

It is critical that we identify these sentiments and urge each other to take care of our physical and mental health. We should also be mindful of and avoid developing habits that may be detrimental in the long run, such as smoking, drinking, and overeating.

Try to comfort anybody you know who is frightened, and check in on anyone you know who is living alone.

Find ways to connect

Connecting with others is so important for our well-being and helps to make us feel safer, less stressed and less anxious. We can support each other to get through this. 

Some ideas to connect include: writing emails that share a favourite memory, playing video games with mates, playing online scrabble or other board games, joining or starting a virtual book club, sharing a favourite karakia or waiata with your friends on social media, having video catch-ups with workmates, calling friends and whānau who are in self-isolation and reaching out to neighbours to ensure everyone has what they need to get through.

Do not forget to Focus on yourself

Have you wanted for a while now to learn to do something new, to start reading a new book, or to devote time to playing an instrument? Now is the time to do all that.

Self-care tips:2

Self-care is different for everyone but some of these practical steps could have a positive impact:

  • Giving yourself good feedback for everything you accomplish, think of it as offering yourself appreciation in the same way you do for others
  • Fuelling your body with nutritious food
  • Reaching out to friends and family, a chat can be a mood-booster
  • Making time to be active every day.

Information and websites

The Depression.org.nz website provides a range of advice.