Coronavirus:
8 ways to help yourself and others
As both the news, and our lives, become dominated by the ongoing situation with coronavirus, we explore how you can help yourself – and others – while protecting your mental health Writing | Kat Nicholls
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hen something like a virus outbreak happens, it’s easy for us to feel like we don’t have any control, and this allows anxiety to flourish. While the measures being implemented are to protect us and to try to keep us safe, isolation can have a dramatic impact on our mental health as well. But while the wider situation may be out of our hands, we can take back control through the ways we can help – and that includes taking care of your mental wellbeing, and looking out for those who may be more vulnerable. Here we look at some ways you can regain a sense of control, ease anxiety in this difficult time, and support others.
62 • happiful.com • May 2020
1. SWITCH OFF NOTIFICATIONS AND TUNE INTO OFFICIAL INFORMATION As with many things that get picked up in the news, there is a lot of misinformation about coronavirus. It can be easy to get sucked into these articles, clicking on link after link until your head is swimming with panic-inducing headlines. If you have news notifications set up, and you’re finding they are triggering anxiety, switch them off. Try to limit yourself to only reading information from official sources such as the NHS and Public Health England. If you’re not UK-based, take a look at the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for updates.
2. SPRING CLEAN YOUR SOCIAL Sometimes it isn’t news outlets that trigger our anxiety, but the people in our social media feeds that have us worried. Perhaps you follow someone who is sharing unofficial news updates, or someone who is talking about it in a way that feels uncomfortable to you? Whatever the reason, remember there’s no shame in unfollowing, or even temporarily muting, someone from your feed. Focus on following uplifting accounts that make you feel calm and in control. 3. ASK BEFORE ANALYSING With a subject as topical as coronavirus, many of us will find ourselves talking about it constantly – with those in our households, and on every FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom call.
