Coping With Stress – Mental Health While Staying Home

It’s normal right now if you feel sad, angry, stressed, drained, confused, or scared. We all need a little extra help in coping with stress. Life, as we know, has been turned upside-down and there is a lot of uncertainty right now. If you struggle with mental health issues this can be especially difficult to remain centered and calm during this time. 

I have an ongoing series about the challenges of mental health while traveling, while I am not traveling currently this definitely still falls under this same category. I struggle with depression and anxiety and with all of this craziness going around my anxiety has been through the roof so in addition to my previous post about Things To Do at Home I also wanted to put together a resource for people with ways to center and ground yourself to aid in coping with stress.

Disclaimer: I am by no means a professional, I am just sharing some of my personal experiences, coping mechanisms, therapist’s advice and resources I use and find helpful for coping with my stress and rethinking how I view stress.

Allow Yourself to Feel

It is okay, so much has happened so quickly and we all are going to need time to process everything and it will indeed take time. Find someone you can talk to, be it, family or friends via the phone or video chat or utilize something like BetterHelp, which is an online therapy service.

Don’t Rely on Alcohol and Drugs

or other drugs to avoid dealing with your emotions. I know I know! Like if there was any time in the world that we probably all thought we need a drink, it’s probably right now, I am definitely included in this. But piles and piles of research shows that this is not a wise decision if you are already struggling with your mental health. It might seem like it helps at first but we all know it just delays the inevitable – facing your situation.

Limit Your Exposure to the News

I am so guilty of this because I thrive off of know what is happening at any given moment of the day. I devour information and feel lost without it as I’m sure, many of us do. This isn’t really that healthy though because I can physically feel my anxiety levels rising the longer I stay on social media and the more news I read. It is important to stay informed however the consumption over many hours on end is extremely unhealthy. Get updates but step away and take a break.

Be Gentle With Yourself

As I mentioned above. This is a HUGE lifestyle change and it isn’t just going to be a two-week thing. This is probably going to require a bit more time so don’t feel guilty if you haven’t immediately taken up learning a new instrument or language. Don’t feel bad if you aren’t homeschooling your kids or you don’t want to take an Ivy League Course online. Be gentle with yourself and if you would tell a friend to just relax, tell that to yourself as well. Big Changes require an adjustment period so remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Healthy Lifestyles are Important

For many of us on a regular day maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes eating healthy, exercising, proper sleep and staying in touch with friends seems like an unattainable task and now that we are faced with something that seems bigger than we can comprehend it may as well be impossible.

I feel you, believe me, but try. Try to do little things that you know will help you. If you know you’ll feel better after showering, do that. If you know that a healthy meal will carry you a long way try to eat more healthy meals. I am the worst at exercising but I really try to at least do some yoga and stretches in the morning to get some blood flowing.

If you aren’t on a strict stay at home regulation get outside and get some fresh air, go for a walk or just step outside barefoot, this will help you ground yourself. (Just keep your distance from others if you do go anywhere and keep hand sanitizer on you in case you touch any handrails or doorknobs.)

Listen to Some Podcasts, Meditations, and Songs

I cannot recommend these things enough. I LOVE to read but right now my brain is buzzing with a million different things and I cannot get myself to slow down long enough focus on stringing a whole book of words together. Some Podcasts I listen to are purely for entertainment like LORE, The No Sleep Podcast and some are more inspiring, motivating, and educating like Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations and Ted Radio Hour.

Youtube is a fantastic resource for guided meditations that are simply amazing for coping with stress. Some of my favorites are Pure Rasa, The Honest Guys, Jason Stephenson, and Marissa Peer.

Here are some of my favorite Meditations and Podcasts for coping with stress.

Fuck it – Pura Rasa

Calming Meditation – Pura Rasa

Positive Life Affirmations – The Honest Guys

5 Minute Stress Relief – The Honest Guys

I Am Affirmations – Jason Stephenson

5 Minute Meditation – Goodful

Shawn Achor: The Life-Altering Power of a Positive Mind

Poetry Unbound – Praise the Rain

How to be Unfuckwithable – Vishen Lakhiani

Ted Talk – Kelly McGonigal

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