Mental Health in Times of Uncertainty

I write this as I sit on my couch, looking out my big front room window at a neighborhood that appears quiet but normal. It’s overcast here in Portland but people are still out walking their dogs, going for runs, and making trips to the store. Looking in, life would seam ordinary but as we all know life is anything but ordinary right now.

A little over a month ago I returned home from a ski trip in Japan. The rising concern of corona virus was mentioned here and there but overall there was little talk of it. When we returned home on February 17th there were 15 cases of coronavirus in the U.S. As of today, April 1st, the U.S. has the world’s most reported coronavirus cases with 200,289 known infections.

The U.S. is usually a bustling country full of people moving in all different directions but now a reported 200 million people have been urged to stay home. We can still leave our homes for necessities — to go to the grocery store, to go to the doctor, and to get fresh air but life has been fundamentally changed in America. With these necessary changes come some big effects on our ability to manage stress, anxiety, and our overall mental wellbeing. No one really knows how long this pandemic will last, or how long our lives will feel upended so in the meantime we’ve all got to find actionable ways to cope. I’ve rounded up some of my best tips, tricks, and new pandemic resources to help maintain your mental health during this time of uncertainty. I should preface this by saying that I am not a mental health professional, these are just some of the tools in my toolkit that have helped me and may help you too.

take care of your body & Mind

Gyms, yoga studios, and trails around the country are closed leaving people to find new ways to exercise at home. As someone who is not very self motivated working out from home is somewhat daunting. My preferred type of exercise is anything in the outdoors, specially backcountry skiing, unfortunately that’s not possible or safe right now. The first couple weeks of my gym being closed I struggled to find ways to cope. I missed the sauna, the bi-weekly classes with my favorite yoga teacher and body mechanics guru Lisa Skaff. Thankfully, almost immediately Lisa began streaming her regular classes live on Facebook. Through word of mouth and a little research I quickly discovered that studios everywhere are moving online to not only provide access to clients but to also generate some income during all the closures.

Last week I signed up for two free live streaming Power Sculpt classes through my local studio Firelight Yoga. Almost 250 people logged on each time to sweat together from their living rooms, bedrooms, and home offices. As much as I miss going to the studio I felt a complete reset after taking virtual online yoga with some many people. Later in the week I signed up for a $25 a month subscription to SEEK Studio’s new online platform, SEEK EVERYWHERE. Their new online platform offers unlimited access to yoga, strength, myofascial, and mindfulness classes - all things that we need during this crazy time.

We all know that taking care of our bodies goes beyond exercise. With restaurants and bars closed we have an opportunity to nourish ourselves and reconnect with food in a new way. When we spend more time preparing our food we can develop a deeper sense of appreciation for it. Trips to the grocery stores have been cut back but so far I haven’t seen a decline in fresh produce, making it easy for us to have some type of fresh produce almost everyday. If you are new to cooking this is the perfect time to mix it up by taking a free online cooking class or pulling out that cookbook that has been collecting dust for the last several months. For some fun easy recipes check out Queer Eye favorite Antoni Porowski’s new mini-series of lessons called “Quar Eye: Cooking Lessons in Quarantine” on his Instagram page. His idea is based on “preparing good food that’s good for us, and that makes us feel good,” using ingredients that we likely already have. 

Taking care of ourselves goes beyond exercise and eating healthy - we need to make sure our minds stay as calm as possible. I realize this is a lot easier said than done but there are some things we can do to help ease the mental chaos. I’ve been spending a couple minutes every day sitting on the floor with my eye closed, taking some long deep breaths. I’ve never been good at meditating but taking some deep breaths every morning has really helped start my day off on the right foot. There are also several different mindfullness apps such as Calm and Headspace that can help keep you centered with sounds of nature, guided mediations, or you can be read a bedtime story by Matthew McConaughey. Additionally, there are plenty of platforms for online therapy and some even match you with a licensed counselor in your state. I recommend checking out Talkspace or BetterHelp.

Connect with nature

A lot of us can’t hit the trails on the weekends to hike or spend time in the outdoors like we used to but that doesn’t mean we can’t find other ways to connect with Mother Nature. I’ve always been an avid gardener so the shelter in place mandate has given me more time to dig in the dirt. I do realize though that having a yard is a privilege and that many people don’t have personal yards or easy access to outdoor spaces.

Indoor plants can help create that personal mental health-saving sanctuary that we all need right now. Apartment and condo dwellers can find alternative ways to test their green thumb with indoor plants without venturing out to the nearest plant store. Many local stores are offering shipping options for live plants or online retailers like Bloomscape can help add some greenery to your life. You can also order a seedling starter kit and try growing some veggies indoors.

If growing plants is not your jam then try and make a new routine of walking around your neighborhood once a day, gazing at the trees, checking out your neighbors landscaping, or to jut sit in the grass for a couple minutes to take it all in. If spring showers are hitting your area or walking around the neighborhood isn’t possible check out some wildlife webcams to watch some penguins waddle happily around their habitat or spy on some African elephants while on your lunch break. Google Arts & Culture has also teamed up with five U.S. national parks in the U.S. to offer people virtual tours.

Set a news time limit

If you are like me then you spend a large chunk of time in the morning scrolling your phone, reading the latest headlines, checking updates, and overloading yourself with information all before you’ve even gotten dressed. I get it, the rabbit hole sucks you in and next thing you know you are pacing, panicking, and unable to sleep that night, thinking about all the possible ‘what ifs’. It’s time to put a cap on how much news and information we are feeding ourselves because there is far too much terrifying information out there for us to overdose on.

There’s nothing wrong with staying informed, but our overconsumption of grim media can have some serious negative effects on our mental health. Try developing a routine of checking the news only twice a day so you stay informed about the most important events without being sucked into the vortex of click bait. If you normally scroll the news and social media first thing in the morning set a timer for 15 minutes on your phone, when your 15 minutes is up it’s time to stop the scrolling. Do the same thing if you are an evening scroller. If you find yourself checking the news in between conference calls, while dinner is cooking, or when you’re just bored then replace your doomsurfing with something else. Go get a glass of water, pet your dog for an extra long time, stop and doing some stretching - literally anything that makes you feel better, even if it’s only momentarily.

If you find yourself being constantly sucked into group messages or discussions where all anyone can talk about it the dumpster fire that we’re currently experiencing then turn off the notifications. That work Slack group you’re a part of that won’t stop talking about the pandemic can wait. Message your co-workers and politely explain to them that you are trying that limit the amount of negative media you are consuming and that you’d prefer to limit messages about the pandemic.

connect virtually

Humans are social creatures by nature. We’re not meant to be isolated from other people. Loneliness is already a social health crisis itself, with researchers saying roughly 1 in 3 adults are lonely. Thankfully an abundance of conferencing and video chat apps means it’s easier than ever for people to have a virtual hang out.

Physical distance doesn’t have to mean social isolation. We can have family dinner virtually or plan a girls night in with friends that you would normally grab drinks with on a Friday night. Share a google doc with your go to ski partner and plan a backcountry trip together for next season. Join the Quarantine Book Club and Zoom chat with authors. Download Houseparty and do some entertainment trivia with up to eight of your friends over video. Host a group movie night by downloading Netflix Party, a Google Chrome browser extension for Netflix, which lets multiple users watch a TV show or movie at the same time and chat about it. Share your computer screen with friends over Zoom and take an online tour of an exhibit at the Louvre together.

Don’t stop celebrating birthdays and other milestones just because we can’t see each other in person. The ways we’re imitating in-person interaction aren’t perfect but technology does provide a much needed bridge across physical distances.

give back

They say that one of the best ways to feel better is to do something for someone else and despite shelter in place mandates all over the country there is no shortage of ways to help. If your local restaurant is doing take out support them and if they aren’t consider purchasing a gift card to use at a future date. If you have job security and aren’t worrying too much about finances take that $30 that you would normally spend at happy hour every week and put it towards some good. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America is raising funds to provide groceries to low income kids as well as virtual academic support. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy Covid-19 Response Fund supports nonprofit organizations working in areas identified as having high numbers of affected individuals and those working with the most vulnerable populations. Lawyers for Good Government Foundation helps thousands of asylum seekers and families unable to practice social distancing or obtain access to proper sanitation. Donations to Meals on Wheel will help replenish food supplies, subsidize additional transportation and personnel, and enable tech-based efforts to check in on isolated elderly recipients. These are just a few examples of organizations that need donations but a simple Google search will give you thousands of more ways to donate.

If monetary donations aren’t possible for you right now there are still other ways to help. Have an elderly neighbor? Go leave a note in their mailbox introducing yourself and offering to help pick up any necessities such as groceries and prescriptions. If you have a few extra cans of vegetables or beans in your pantry donate them to your local food bank. If you have no signs of symptoms and feel healthy consider donating blood to American Red Cross. The U.S. is facing a severe blood shortage due to the cancellation of blood drives across the country. They will take your temperature before you enter and are taking every precaution necessary to ensure that they have safe facilities. Now is the time to check in on your neighbors, friends, and family and offer to help in whichever way you feel comfortable. In the end we really are all in this together.