How to look after your mental health during the coronavirus pandemic

It’s no secret that we’re living in unprecedented times. We’ve heard the phrase so much over the past eight months it’s practically become a mainstay of our daily conversations. But it has become a coronavirus cliché for a reason. The pandemic is truly unlike anything we have encountered in our lifetime – so it’s to be expected that we might be struggling to mentally adjust to the circumstances.

While news headlines cite miserable statistics, personal finances suffer and we have had to adjust to an entirely new way of working, it might be easy to tell ourselves that other people have it worse or we that we simply need to adopt a stiff upper lip, keep calm and carry on - dismissing our own mental health along the way.  But looking after our wellbeing is more important now than ever.

Data and evidence to date show that self-reported mental health and wellbeing (including anxiety, stress and depression) worsened during the pandemic and still remains worse than pre-pandemic levels.

The coronavirus outbreak has changed our lives dramatically, leading many of us to feel anxious, stressed and sad. Being separated from loved ones and having to spend more time indoors during the winter months only serves to compound these feelings.

And yet, despite this, the NHS reported a reduction in referrals to mental health services during the the first lockdown, as people tried to stay away from services during the pandemic. The government is urging people to seek help when they need it.

Looking after our mental health is more important than ever. Doing so will make us better equipped to tackle other issues that may be adding strain, such as caring for loved ones, maintaining a healthy work/life balance and looking after our finances.  But where do we begin?

It’s completely understandable that the current situation may be causing us to feel more anxious, stressed or low than normal. Recognising that there is no shame in struggling and being able to reach out to someone to talk is an important first step.

“It's normal to feel a bit worried, scared or helpless about the current situation. Remember: it is OK to share your concerns with others you trust – and doing so may help them too,” says Every Mind Matters from Public Health England.

If you don’t have a support network or anyone you feel you can speak to and if you feel anxiety or depression is having a direct impact on your ability to cope with your daily life, it’s a good idea to reach out and speak to a professional. You can do so by asking your GP for a referral, or you can refer yourself for talking therapy online via nhs.uk/talk.

If you need help for a mental health crisis, emergency or breakdown, NHS urgent mental health helplines offer 24-hour advice and support for people of all ages. Find a local NHS urgent mental health helpline via nhs.uk/urgentmentalhealth (England only). Alternatively, you can contact the Samaritans who are available day and night to speak confidentially with you or text the Shout Crisis line.

When our to-do lists are rattling through our minds, we feel the pull of a Netflix binge or simply want to make the most of our free time outside work, it can be all too easy to abandon one of the most important things for our mental health: rest.  

We know sleep is important for our physical health, but if we’re habitually missing out on it, or suffering sleepless nights, it can negatively impact our mental wellbeing too. The NHS recommends most adults get around eight hours of good-quality sleep every night. They also suggest adopting a regular routine across the week and on weekends to maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle by aiming to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time each day.

Of course, if you’re struggling with an anxious thought pattern, actually getting to sleep can become a source of stress in itself. There are myriad apps and podcasts designed to help you nod off but implementing a wind down process before bed can also help.  

The NHS recommends avoiding using electronic devices as much as an hour before you go to bed to help your brain get into sleep mode. Gentle stretching, reading a book or taking a warm bath before bed are all positive ways to help your mind switch off.

You can find more tips on how to have a restful night’s sleep if you’re struggling to nod off here.

While it may often feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to set aside and dedicate time to your mental health, developing techniques that can help you cope when things begin to overwhelm you can provide an invaluable toolkit for learning to cope.

Giving yourself a mental health boost by allowing time to unwind during the day can make an enormous difference. Mindfulness – the practice of focusing on the present moment – can help when catastrophic thoughts begin to spiral. This can be done through short breathing exercises or longer meditation sessions. Taking just a couple of minutes to step away from screens can help you feel calmer and more able to deal with the task ahead of you. This two-minute breathing exercise from Every Mind Matters teaches the basics.

Progressive muscle relaxation is also a simple technique designed to help relieve tension in the body and allow your physical stresses to melt away. The process sees you mentally scan your body, tensing and then relaxing your muscles until your whole body feels more at ease and your mind is focused. This tutorial explains how to do it.

We may think that our mental health is out of our control but learning to reframe your negative thoughts can make a world of difference. Recognising, challenging and then replacing negative thoughts can help us see our problems from a fresh perspective. This video explains how to get started.  

Offloading your worries by writing them down and setting aside dedicated worry time at the end of the day (but not just before bedtime) can also help you put aside any concerns that may be distracting you until you have time to properly address and assess them.

The initial novelty of zoom workouts and exercising in the park may have worn off for many. As the nights draw in and the cold weather returns, it can become ever more appealing to stay indoors and slip into a lethargic existence. But keeping active is an important part of maintaining positive mental health. 

“Any exercise is better than none,” says the NHS. “Even a brisk 10-minute walk can clear your mind and help you relax.” Try to find a regular time for exercise and wrap it into your daily routine, perhaps even combining a socially distanced walk with a catch up with a friend.

Try not to worry about the type of exercise you do, the most important thing is that you find something you enjoy, says Dr Alan Cohen, a GP with a special interest in mental health. “Otherwise, it will be hard to find the motivation to do it regularly.”

Additionally, while a steady diet of takeaways may be appealing and time-efficient, healthy, well-balanced meals and ensuring you drink plenty of water will boost our physical health – which has a direct impact on how we feel.  

Technology gets a bad rap for exacerbating anxiety and depression and, in many cases, this is a legitimate issue, but there are a lot of positives to be found in tech, too.  

While we’re currently unable to see many of the people we love, maintaining a support network via the phone or social media can help us feel connected – and staying in touch with friends and family is vital for our mental wellbeing.  

For those struggling with feelings of isolation and loneliness, joining support groups online or reaching out to people on social media can be a positive way of feeling connected.  Groups like the Mind’s Side by Side online community and the SANE Support Forum are available 24 hours a day.

There are also a lot of online resources and apps specifically designed to provide invaluable mental health support. Feeling Good is an app designed to help break you out of a negative thought cycle and develop a positive mindset, build self-esteem and confidence, using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques. The Stress & Anxiety Companion offers guided breathing exercises, relaxing music and games to help calm the mind and distrACT offers quick, easy judgement-free advice for those suffering from suicidal thoughts.

The free “Your Mind Plan” quiz asks a few simple questions to help you build a personal action plan showing you simple steps to look after your mental health and wellbeing.