Six ways to maintain mental health in the face of COVID-19
How to prevent the worsening of mental health in the face of COVID-19 and, how to act and influence emotions, in order to combat fear, anxiety, social isolation, physical activity, prevent depression or the effects of potential trauma, generated by unpredictability and collective distrust?
The prospect of an economic and social catastrophe, motivated by the emergence of the pandemic of COVID-19, installs or reinforces, especially in people who are more vulnerable due to isolation, inactivity or lack of financial resources, a greater concern, suffering by anticipation where scenarios of personal and family calamity are configured and, in some cases, a feeling of helplessness that leads to “giving up” in the face of the perception that nothing can be done. Without prejudice to resorting to specialised help, there are some measures that are within your reach in order to care for or prevent the worsening of mental health.
1. REACT
The more paralysed you feel, the more important it is to react. Some actions that help emotional regulation in a state of emotional ‘collapse’ are: talking to someone, praying, crying, meditating, a hot bath, a massage or others that work for you. The simplest is to arrange a routine for your day with activities that can organize your life.
2. ACT DIFFERENTLY
For psychologist William James, it’s all about acting differently. Maybe it’s time to cut down on your time listening to news, especially when it’s repeated, and select official and reliable sources that enlighten you and give you practical guidance. Or start doing some daily physical exercise that takes you out of immobility, even if it starts by walking for 10 minutes a day and increasing progressively.
3. LEARN TO LAUGH
Look for opportunities that make you laugh, relax and cultivate a sense of humour. Dr Mandan Kataria, an Indian doctor, found that fake laughter combined with breathing exercises had the same physical effects as real laughter. Laughing and learning to breathe helps both to gain more energy and optimism and to relax through the release of natural ‘chemicals’ produced by your own body.
4. REST AND RELAX
Rest, get the sleep you need to invigorate your body and mind , find hobbies that help you distract yourself and maintain the mastery that allows you to think clearly and act.
5. KEEP IN TOUCH WITH OTHER PEOPLE
Take every opportunity to be directly with other people, even with the imposed distances. Maintain the relationship with other people, talk or try to be accompanied even if it is only through a camera on the mobile phone, tablet or computer.
6. BE SOLIDAR
The greatest security comes from loving, paying attention and listening to others, discovering what interests them and makes them happy. The anthropologist Margaret Mead identified as a civilisational and human trait the ability to care for others and not leave them to their fate. Solidarity, service to others, gives meaning to uncertainty, focuses attention on one’s own problems and can be an antidote to paralysing fear. Perhaps this is the best way to win that John Nash, mathematician and author of game theory advocated: the probability of winning is greater when people come together for a common purpose rather than trying their luck on their own.
COVID-19 is not the first pandemic to affect Portugal and the world (for example, the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 which affected so many people and in so many dimensions) and has been overcome. This crisis will also be overcome and we will all come out stronger and wiser, especially if we do not lower our arms and focus: not on the problem, not on what does not work or is wrong, but on what may be the solution to the problem that affects us all.