by Maddie Lukens, MA
Did you know May is Mental Health Awareness month? Here at Lime Tree Counseling, we love mental health!
The CDC released a Public Service Announcement highlighting the importance of caring for your mental health – not only this month, but every month of the year.
The Center for Disease Control & Prevention shared the following five tips to cope with the stress of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but we wanted to share a bit more about each of those tips – how you can apply them to your life and help your loved ones implement them as well.
PAUSE. Breathe. Notice how you feel.
- There have been times we burst out in anger or suddenly feel overwhelmed and have no idea where the strong emotion came from. Each one of us has different life stressors we are trying to manage: from work to family, to relationships, to financial difficulties. On any given day, the stress can add up quickly.
- Now, more than ever, it’s important to stay in tune with how we are feeling. Managing our emotions and our internal experiences is key to helping us stay low-stress and as under-whelmed as possible during this time.
*The first step to managing emotions is acknowledging the emotion and naming it. How can we expect to navigate a challenging emotion if we aren’t even sure what it is?! Be brave – call it what it is: anxiety, depression, sadness, loneliness, anger, grief, PMS, the WHOMPS… however you like to name your experience.
TAKE BREAKS from COVID-19 content.
- There are countless media outlets sharing the latest updates, reports, good and bad news about everything COVID-19 related. Quickly it becomes overwhelming. Consider how often you are scrolling on social media, the thoughts that might run through your head, and if you might need to only check the news once per day, or perhaps a few times per week.
- It is not just COVID-19 related news that can make us feel heavy, but bad news in general. We would encourage mindful consumption of media. For some people this might come naturally and for others, this might require more discipline. If you have a smart device, set screen time limits for specific apps to help keep yourself accountable (or if you didn’t know this was a setting – check your phone and the app might already be tracking your screen time)..
MAKE TIME to sleep and exercise.
- Moving your body is one of the best things you can do to shake out the built up tension, anxiety and stress. If you’re able, take a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood. If you’re not able, never underestimate the power of at-home, no-equipment workouts! (Fiton is a great, free, at-home workout app with hundreds of videos).
- Sleep is not only one of the major ways our bodies rest and recover, but adequate sleep ensures that our bodies have what it takes to fight off disease.
REACH OUT and stay connected.
- It is normal to feel lonely, sad, discouraged, and angry during these times. A lot of pieces that make life feel “normal” – like seeing our friends and hugging our family have been put on hold. Although phone calls, face time and zoom dates don’t replace human contact, they do help us keep in touch with those we love. We can still let others know how we are doing, if we need support, and we can offer our support to others who might be in need.
SEEK HELP if overwhelmed or unsafe.
- Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in domestic abuse during the stay-at-home order mandates across the U.S., but that doesn’t mean you are alone. There are several agencies and local organizations that are committed to helping to keep you safe during the time of stay-at-home orders and quarantine.
- If you are in need – there is a 24-hour national hotline you can call: 1-800-799-SAFE; if you are resident of PA and are in need to more support due to a domestic abuse situation, you can find local help on this website: https://www.pcadv.org/find-help/find-your-local-domestic-violence-program/
We understand that simply following these steps might not “fix” the difficulties you might find yourself in. However, we hope you found this information valuable and informative. Remember, each one of us at Lime Tree Counseling is here for you.
Anxiety Treatment in Ambler, PA
Not only do we provide anxiety counseling online, via a HIPPA-compliant, telehealth platform, but we also provide grief counseling, depression counseling and marital counseling right here in Amber, Pennsylvania. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of our team today!