It’s safe to say that most of us are feeling overwhelmed. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on feelings of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. Here are some ways to improve your mental health during this time.

Recognise your anxiety as completely normal

With the loss and many inconveniences COVID-19 brought on, it’s normal to experience occasional anxiety. In fact, most professionals say that this kind of anxiety is a normal and healthy function that alerts us to threats and helps us take the measures to protect ourselves (such as social distancing or vaccinating).

However, severe anxiety can be dangerous to your mental health, and if you or your loved one experiences severe anxiety, please reach out to SADAG or Lifeline for free telephonic counselling.

Learn healthy coping mechanisms 

It’s important to adopt healthy coping mechanisms during this time. With social distancing and the isolation it brings, you can easily adopt bad habits without realising it. Thankfully, there are many healthy coping mechanisms you can try out.

Other distractions include:

Learning a new skill, such as baking, painting or dancing.

Taking a free course online.

Learning a new social media skill, like editing, content creation or photography.

Catching up on your favourite series.

Learning more about yourself.

Find new ways to connect with your loved ones 

We all need contact with other people. Human connection is essential for our wellness and health, especially during these times.

Although COVID-19 regulations advise us to limit our contact with friends and family, we can still find time each day to maintain virtual connections by texts, phone calls, WhatsApp messaging, FaceTime and similar apps.

Unplug

It’s important to create clear distinctions between school/work and non-work time (work/life balance). Try to unplug after work hours by taking a walk, cooking, spending time with family, journaling or any other activity that relaxes and refreshes your mind in a heathy way.

Following COVID-19 regulations, being kinder to yourself, maintaining connections with loved ones and practicing self-care can increase your ability to better cope during these uncertain times. It’s not easy Choma, but with a healthy mindset, we can conquer this virus as a country.

For more information, visit https://sacoronavirus.co.za/

Remember, if you or a friend need advice or help, you can contact me here on Ask Choma, send a Facebook message or a Twitter DM, or a WhatsApp Message (071 172 3657).