Mental Health Month is about to end. Fortunately, these days the conversation around mental health is on going. I tweet about it throughout the year, as do many others. With the pandemic and lockdowns, it’s even more important to focus on mental well being. Life has changed for most of us.
Physical health is a priority — wear those masks please and keep a distance from others when you’re out. If you hate masks so much, maybe you’ll prefer the ventilator. The bad part is that you’ll end up sending others to their deaths too. Don’t be selfish assholes.
Mental health is a challenge. For those of us who struggle with anxiety or depression any way, it’s a huge challenge. My anxiety levels were HIGH at the beginning of lockdown. My depression threatened to take over me close to my birthday this month. Yes, Birthday Blues exist. My elderly parents are anxious and sad because they can’t meet their siblings. Extroverts I know are restless and ready to go out for social events the day restrictions ease. In the middle of this craziness, I found a few things that helped me.
- Keeping a daily routine which I relax a bit over the weekends.
- Staying connected to close friends via chat and the occasional video meeting.
- Reading lots of books for armchair travel.
- Playing extra time with my rescue kitties.
- Taking multiple short walks instead of one long walk to avoid people who aren’t wearing masks.
- Cooking every meal and learning to love grocery apps. I hardly ever cooked before this.
- Learning to weed out the few people who just don’t care enough to send you a line for months but remember you when they need something.
- Adapting to a home exercise routine that includes some upbeat music.
- Eating chocolate whenever I really really want it.
- Muting anyone who constantly tweets about Covid19.
What’s working for you?