How to Care For Your Mental Health in Current Times

Current events have increased many people’s levels of anxiety, stress, depression, despair, and other heavy feelings. For many people, this chronic, intense stress is a cumulative stress. If you’re struggling with how to cope and feel like your mental health is declining, here are some things to consider:

Connections:

Chances are good that you are struggling because you are empathetic and care about other people. Turn this sense of connection into a super power: use it. Connect with people. Connect with community. Connect with your neighbors, your friends, your family, your community. Reach out to them. Talk to them. Share your feelings, your thoughts, your fears. Share your ideas, your plans, your hopes. Share your joys, your accomplishments, your current social media feed (more on that later). Normal your feelings and reactions.

What I’m getting at here is that it is important to not be isolated. Find and connect with people who are like-minded, who are positive, who can support you. Limit your exposure to people who increase your stress and anxiety. Having that boundary is important.

Limit Intake:

24/7 news cycles and social media that never sleeps has created an ecosystem of a continuous barrage of…stuff. There’s constantly a new take on an event, another analysis of a policy, yet another interview of people who have thoughts and voice them out loud. Real actual news is already breaking at a rapid pace these days. You don’t need to be the first person to hear it, and you certainly don’t need to doomscroll through all the analyses and hot takes of each event.

Be mindful of when, how much, and what type of information you are taking in. Be mindful to set boundaries that work for you. Perhaps decide to check one or two specific news sources each day, or twice a day. One idea is to follow one or two trusted news aggregators who will summarize top news stories for you. Maybe you decide you do not need notification alerts because they raise your blood pressure these days. Catch up on the news, close out those tabs and pivot to something else.

If you are watching videos that are disturbing in nature or violent, consider muting the sound and only watching the visual content. Hearing aggressive shouting, cries, sirens, weapons, or other sounds can be triggering for people.

Maintain routines:

Our frazzled nervous system finds comfort in routines. It knows what to expect. Stick to them as much as you can. If you find that your days end up better by waking a few minutes earlier than everyone else in the household so you can sip coffee in peace and journal or watch the sunrise, try to do that most days. If working out helps you, fit that in most days. Try to go to sleep and wake around the same times each day, even on weekends. Routines help us feel safe because it offers predictability. Everyone’s daily schedules and responsibilities vary, so look at what you can maintain regularly in your routines.

Focus on control:

Focus on what you control. There’s so much we cannot control, and that creates feelings of stress, anxiety, helplessness, fear, despair, depression. Be clear about what you can control, and what you cannot. Take actions on what you can control. Can you provide support to causes and communities that you find meaning in? Can you donate to causes you believe in? The world is always in need of helpers. Find out how you can help in ways that resonate with you and that you feel comfortable with.

Ground Yourself:

You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again. Because it works. Breathe. Breathe deeply and slowly. Find a breathing pattern that resonates with you. Build deep breathing into your daily routines. When you start to feel anxious, frazzled, afraid, pause and breathe. If a mindfulness practice or meditation is helpful, be sure to incorporate that into your daily routines too. Be mindful to identify what makes you pause and slows you down. Maybe it’s your cat, a hot cup of tea, music, hearing your baby giggle. Notice what steadies you and make those part of your daily routine.

Joy:

The world can be dark. Even in the darkest times, there is always light. Remember what brings you joy, what makes you smile, what fills you. These things can be profound, like deep prayer, or it can be frivolous, like baby goats in pajamas. Here is where I mention that social media feed: find and dive deep into what makes you smile. It could be reels of baby otters, foodie adventures, or interviews with the stars of Heated Rivalry. You choose. Perhaps your joy looks like hiking outdoors, painting, or playing soccer with your kids. Remember your joys and keep them close to you every day.

Help:

Therapy and/or support groups are excellent options to help you cope with your stressors around current events, or really any stressor. Many people have access to free therapy session through Employee Assistance Programs through your employer. Ask your Human Resources department. If you have health insurance, seek a provider covered by your insurer. There are also other options. Here’s a blog post about accessing therapy resources.

About the Author Susanna Sung, LCSW-C

Susanna is a psychotherapist and founder of Thrive Fully, a therapy and consulting business providing therapy, mental health and wellness training, crisis response, program and evaluation development, and marketing expertise. She has over 30 years of clinical and research experience, and retired from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health. She is a keynote speaker at national conferences, a writer (Huffington Post!), live storyteller (Stoop, Listen To Your Mother, podcasts), drummer (in between gigs), and both a cat parent and human parent. Learn more here: www.linkedin.com/in/susannasung

Book a session, gig, or service at: Susanna@ThriveFullyTherapy.com