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Quarantine has been nothing short of an incubator for mental health problems. The fear surrounding COVID-19 remains, especially since some people report having a mild fever for a few days, while others report massive fatigue, high fevers, and hospitalizations despite being healthy prior to the attack. While we are allowed to go to stores and meet our friends and family with social distancing, it is undeniably not the same as it was before, and an inkling of fear, obsessive for some, continues to linger, tiring our minds. The expectation to be equally, or even more productive working from home and staring at screens, and the terrifying knowledge that one cannot even book a flight to visit and help sick family members in other countries can also take a toll on our mental health. In addition, as we are forced to come to terms with the fact that the holiday season, for many different cultures – the Mid-Autumn Festival, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Christmas – will be spent inside one’s house without the shopping, gatherings with family, and friends, and fun that comes with it, our mental health takes a plunge for worse, with many of us tired of even fantasizing for the hundredth time about a day to come when masks and social distancing are a thing of the past.
While it is normal to feel overwhelmed and depressed as a result of quarantine and the current events, staying so for a prolonged period of time is not healthy in the long term. Here are some tips for self-care to start off. Firstly, make sure to set aside some time for yourself every day. Whether that be twenty minutes or one hour, try and do something that calms you. For example, you can try going on a socially distant walk, meditating, doing yoga, working out, or even taking up a new hobby. Another way to improve your mental health is to get a good night’s sleep and to simply avoid social media or the news as soon as you wake up. While it is important to stay knowledgeable on what is going on in the world, looking at the news or social media first thing in the morning can lead to starting your day with an onslaught of negativity. If you’re already accustomed to this habit, try journaling, reading for a few minutes, or going on specifically positive pages on social media first thing in the morning, in order to begin your day on the right note. While these are great tips to follow if you’ve been feeling down in terms of mental wellbeing for a short period of time, long-term issues should be treated by a licensed professional. Try and schedule an appointment with an online therapist, who can provide you professional treatment. Above all, remember that what we are undergoing right now is temporary, and at some point, even though we may all be tired of waiting for that day, whatever is plaguing you will be behind you.