This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wake Forest chapter.
Wow, what a time to be alive. I know that for me personally, it’s been hard to maintain my mental health during this uncertain time. There’s so much to do, yet so little at the same time. During this pandemic, numerous anxiety-inducing situations have presented themselves, and it can be really hard to find the motivation to keep working. If you feel the same way, know that you are not alone. Nationally, anxiety and depression have been spiking during this outbreak.
Here are some tips to help your mental health during quarantine:
- Maintain a routine: By maintaining a routine, it’ll be easier to stay on task and feel motivated. Having a routine will also make everything feel much more normal. Do what you would do at school, get dressed, and get to work!
- Meditate: Meditating is a great way to decompress and lift your mood after feeling stressed. I like the app “Headspace”, which helps you to reflect and feel calm after having a long day of work.
- Take breaks from news stories: There’s news about the COVID-19 pandemic everywhere. And I mean everywhere. So try your hardest not to get fixated on the news. Turn off technology, sit back and relax. It’s important to stay informed, but also remember that a lot of this is out of our control.
- Take care of yourself: Eating healthy, exercising and sleeping will help your overall mental health. Especially during this time, it’s important to stay physically healthy so that your mental health will remain healthy as well.
- Know what you need: Take a break from work. Remember that this is college too. There would naturally be times in the day where you would be with friends or decompressing. Put aside some downtime. Call a friend, take a nap or have a snack. Know what you need and listen to yourself.
- Reach out to others: This is a really isolating time, so take some time to text or call some of your friends. It’s a big transition going from college to living at home, so make sure to some time to connect with people your age and see how they’re doing. This should help alleviate stress and prevent long-lasting feelings of isolation.