Make mental health a priority during pandemic; follow these 10 tips

From drawing boundaries between work and home to stepping back from situations that seem overwhelming, it's time to take control and care for your mental health.

Mental health often gets relegated to the background. People focus on their physical health, their fitness but what is happening to their mind – their state of wellness and mental being – can often get ignored.

People have come to recognise how vulnerable all are and have acknowledged the fact that the mental health of any individual can be impacted.

During these last many months, the pandemic has brought to the forefront the need to focus on mental health and well-being. This has gotten highlighted within the context of every individual regardless of where they come from or what age group they are in.

People have come to recognise how vulnerable all are and have acknowledged the fact that the mental health of any individual can be impacted. There is a growing understanding of and appreciation for the need to find ways to combat the innumerable myths and misconceptions that have continued to surround mental health related problems. Concurrently there is also a growing belief that each individual must attempt to find within themselves the ability to accept the experiences of another person, not question them or ridicule them and provide people with support during their times of need to the extent that they can.

This growing multipronged understanding about mental health and mental health related problems has been facilitated on account of the significant toll that the pandemic took on the mental well-being of everyone who was affected by it, both directly and indirectly.

If we look at the extent of the changes that had to be accommodated the challenges were immense. From having to rethink how people live lives, do work, attend schools and colleges, manage their families, take care of expenses to having to cope with loss of work, relationships, people and the familiarity of what was known to be the normal, there was a marked process of adjustment and adaptation that was heralded forth.

No one was prepared for such a massive shift that was required or the duration of the time that it would be required for. The lack of preparedness led to increase in anxiousness, worry, overthinking about the self, families and how the world would look like in some time.

The lingering question of what the future would look like and how people would be able to live this altered existence only exacerbated the levels of distress. Many experienced shifts in their moods, feeling intense emotions of sadness, loneliness, irritability, anger, disappointment, dejection, fear, to name a few. The biggest challenge was the uncertainty that faced people and that they continue to stare at even today. It keeps compromising the positivity and optimism with which people approach life and impacts their ability to cope with the stress of what is going on.

For so many people, there was a growing concern around maintaining their resilience in the face of the biggest challenge in the form of threat to the health and safety of the self and their loved ones. The growing recognition that life as we have known it would go through a massive transformation was scary and continues to create a state of dread within the mind of many. Where there were stories of support and narratives of unconditional help being provided by people, there was also the realization that this would not be easy and would be something that is going to transform everyone’s lives forever.

Finding ways to continue to maintain hope has been a challenge as has been determining pathways towards self-care, compassion and sensitivity towards the self. All of this affects mental health and predisposes people towards developing mental health related problems, particularly if they lack the skills, awareness and support systems to be able to cope with situations while also taking care of their own self.

No one was prepared for such a massive shift that was required or the duration of the time that it would be required for. (Pixabay)

Maintaining mental health during pandemic

The foremost aspect towards maintaining mental health during the pandemic is the understanding that there need to be multiple aspects that individuals do need to focus on.

1. Draw boundaries between work and home. Learn to say a no when you can see yourself being stretched.

2. Build ways of creating time for your own self during the course of the day.

3. Understand what feelings you are experiencing and respond adequately towards them.

4. Step back from situations that seem overwhelming and take your time to respond to them.

5. Take time out to do the things that hold value for you.

6. Be kind and compassionate towards your own experiences and avoid questioning what you go through continually.

7. Reflect and introspect on what holds meaning for you and attempt to immerse yourself in those activities, taking active steps towards making them an integral part of your life overall.

8. Build healthy relationships which are responsive and reciprocal.

9. Take a break from digital media and expose yourself to other stimuli.

10. Be willing to communicate and share what is happening with you.

Make mental health a priority

The pandemic has no doubt highlighted the critical need to make mental health a priority. Be proactive in taking steps and measures that would enable this within your life. Ensure that you share your experiences, communicate if you are experiencing challenges in coping with situations, and reach out to others around you to check in with them regarding their well-being.

Dr Samir Parikh is a Psychiatrist and Kamna Chhiber is a Clinical Psychologist- they are authors of the recently released book "Alone In The Crowd"