How did you maintain your mental health during the covid -19 pandemic

 How did you maintain your mental health during the

Covid-19 pandemic?

1. Recognize that your anxiety is completely normal

If school closures and worrying headlines are making you anxious, you are not the only one.

Actually, th“Psychologists have long recognized that anxiety is a normal and healthy function that alerts us

to threats and helps us take measures to protect ourselves”, says Dr. Lisa Damour, expert

adolescent psychologist, best-selling author and monthly New York Times columnist.

“Your anxiety is going to help you make the decisions that you need to be making right now –

not spending time in big groups of people, washing your hands and not touching your face.”

Such feelings are helping not only you, but others as well. That is how we “take care of

members of our community. We think about the people around us as well.”

Although anxiety about coronavirus is completely normal, make sure “to get information from

reliable sources [such as UNICEF and World Health Organization], or to check any information

coming through less reliable channels”, Dr. Damour advises.

If you are worried that you may have the symptoms, it is important that you tell your

parents/guardians about it. “You should know that the coronavirus disease is usually mild,

especially for children and young people”, says Dr. Damour.

It is also important to know that many symptoms of COVID-19 can be treated. Dr. Damour

advises to tell your parents or a trusted adult if you are feeling unwell or if you are worried about

the virus, so that they can help you.

And remember: “There are many things we can do to keep ourselves and others safe and to

feel in better control of our circumstances: frequently wash our hands, don't touch our faces and

limit face time with others.”

2. Find a distraction

“Psychologists know that when people are in chronically difficult conditions it’s helpful to divide

the problem into two categories: things they can do something about, and then things they can

do nothing about”, says Dr. Damour.

There’s going to be a lot in that second category right now, and that's fine, but what can help us

cope are distractions. Dr. Damour suggests doing homework, watching favourite movies or

reading books, as ways to make it easier for ourselves and to find a balance in everyday life.

3. Find new ways to connect with friends

If you want to spend time with your friends while limiting your face time, social media are a great

way to connect. Be creative: join TikTok challenges such as #safehands. “I would neverat is how you should be feeling.

underestimate the creativity of teenagers”, says Dr. Damour and adds: “My hunch is that they

will find ways to [connect] online that are different from how they’ve been doing it before.”

„[But] it’s not a good idea to have unfettered access to screens and/or social media. That’s not

healthy, that’s not smart and it may amplify the anxiety”, says Dr. Damour and recommends

making a schedule for social media time together with parents.

4. 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.

Focusing on yourself and finding ways to use the time that is now available are a great way to

take care of your mental health.