The year is nearly at its end, but the pandemic certainly isn’t! It’s been a long year of stresses, canceled plans, no hope for the future. It’s certainly not good for your mental health.
That’s why it’s so important to manage your mental health, not just during the pandemic but afterwards as well. Let’s look at some good ways to manage your health.
Keep the Peace in Your Home
If you live with your partner, family, or roommate, it’s important that you’re keeping the peace. These are stressful times, and it can make everyone snap at each other. This is especially true if everyone is home more often because of the pandemic. While you may have missed your partner when they went to work before the pandemic, you may be getting annoyed at them afterwards.
While a bit of fighting in a relationship can be good, it’s important for you to manage conflict and avoid too much confrontation. Give each other some space if needed. If the two of you are having difficulties resolving conflict, look to a third party. Be honest about finances too. Financial issues are a big issue with any relationship.
Get Out (And Social Distance)
Staying at home doesn’t mean that you should stay indoors all the time. In a period of the year where the days are already shorter, not getting enough sunlight can be tragic on your mental health and sleep cycle. Enjoy some time in your yard, or go to some park that’s away from people.
Get a Pet
If you are allowed to and you can afford it, consider adding a furry or scaly friend to your home. The purrs of a cat can calm you down. A happy dog can make you smile. Even watching some fish in a tank can calm you down quite a bit.
Not to mention, if you’re working from home, pets can be good for productivity as well. Just make sure that you can give it lots of love and care, because they deserve it.
Get Into a New Hobby
When you’re depressed over the pandemic and what you used to enjoy isn’t working anymore, one thing you can do is get a new hobby. It can be difficult, but with the Internet, you may be able to find something you enjoy. From learning a new language to building models, you may end up discovering that you love certain hobbies.
Keep Working Out and Eating Right
This season can make us lazier and want to eat more, especially in a time where going to the gym may not be an option. However, it’s important for you to resist that urge. Try working out indoors and try to eat right. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle and try not to eat too much.
Sleep
In order to manage your mental health, getting enough sleep is a valuable tool. Most people need around 7-8 hours of sleep a night, and because of everything that’s been going on, it can be hard. If you find yourself tossing and turning, get out of bed. Avoid using the phone too close to bedtime. Do something to make you feel relaxed. Finally, seek help from a doctor if needed.
Avoid Drinking So Much
The pandemic has made more people drink, and that’s not a good thing. While a drink every now and then can calm your nerves, making it a habit is bad for your wallet, bad for your mental health, and bad for the rest of your body. Moderate how much you drink. If you feel like you’re drinking a little too much, cut back and find another way to calm your nerves. You will be glad you did in the long run.
Get Off Social Media!
With everything that’s been going on, social media can be overwhelming. You may be bombarded with fear, toxicity, and find yourself wasting too much time on it. It can even make it hard for you to sleep. That’s why it’s okay to take breaks from social media, or limit yourself. Instead, why not find another place to make new friends and communicate?
Seek Help
It’s important to take care of yourself mentally, but it’s also important to seek help if you feel like you can’t handle it anymore. This is a period where intense depression, anxiety, and various other mental health issues can impact us quite a bit.
Luckily, there are many ways to seek help in a pandemic. Online therapy has made it a whole lot easier to get diagnosed and seek treatment. One site you can go to in order to get a diagnosis is Mind Diagnostics. Figuring out if you have depression, then seeking proper treatment for it, is a way to go.
Author: 
Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with Mind-Diagnostics. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
