Guest Post by Doha Boukraa

PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DURING THE CORONA CRISIS #corona_mental_resilience

😷 The corona crisis is unprecedented. 

😷 It has subjected everyone to an unprecedented challenge. 

😷 It has also brought us a huge amount of stress and uncertainty.

😷 Uncertainty in terms of its unfolding, its timeline and its end.

😑 Corona has also brought a change that we did not want. It has forced us to break up with our habits and imposed upon us habits that we didn’t choose.

😑 It is also forcing us to face a loss that we did not expect to face: loss of lives. Loss of wealth. Loss of jobs.

📛 Just as we need to take care of our physical health and protect ourselves (and others) 🚿🧼🧴 from catching the coronavirus 🧻, we need to take care of our mental health 🧘‍♂️ and protect our mental state from any mental virus 🧘‍♀️. 

🆘️ Here some tips on how you can handle your stress, anxiety, fear, frustration, and depressive state.

Tip 1 🆙️: Acknowledge your Mental State and Accept it

📛 In a distressing period, anxiety is normal. It is ok to be stressed out. It is ok to be sad. 

🌬 Instead of fighting your stress and hating it, acknowledge it, lean in to it and accept it. 

🌬 Emotions are mentions: naming our feeling and leaning in to them is the first step to take control over them. 

Tip 2 🆙️: Live in the Present

📛 People get anxious because they allow their thoughts to project them into the future.

📛 By projecting yourself into the future, you get anticipatory anxiety: you begin to picture everyone around you sick. You see all kind of terrible pictures of your future. 

🌬 Each time we do that, we have to bring ourselves back to the moment and say: ✔ I am healthy. ✔ I am safe. ✔ I am at home. ✔ I have everything I need. ✔ Everything is ok in this moment. 

Tip 3 🆙️: Understand What You Have Control Over

🆘️ You have to understand what you have control over versus what you don’t. 

🔝 You can stay 6 feet away from people.

🔝 You can wash your hands.

🔝 You can use sanitizers.

🔝 You can stay at home.

🌬 Act on the things that you control.

Tip 4 🆙️: Focus on the Good Things 

⚠️ Where is your focus, there goes your energy. 

During this period, it is important that you keep your energy up🔝 by focusing on the positive things. 

✔ Focus on the things you have control over and the actions you are able to take.

✔ Focus on the positive things you can do during the lockdown 🎼💽📚

✔ Think of the hobbies you can practice during the quarantine period. 📚🖍🖌🎸

Tip 5 🆙️: Reset Yourself🌬

🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️ In this peculiar time of social distancing, take the time to distance yourself from all the illusionary things that you labelled “life”. 

🤷‍♀️ All the social activities, habits and dictates that you used to identify yourself to and that have proven not to be essential to your life. 

🧘‍♀️ Question your way of life.

🧘‍♀️ Reset your values. 

🧘‍♀️ Recreate yourself. 🔝

#coronavirus  #mentalhealth #corona_mental_health #coronavirusfight #corona_mentalhealth_fight