Your Pandemic Mental Health Checklist
On a regular day, the mind is a powerful thing. It is, in essence, the narrator to our lives. From this role, it steers everything else. Our perspective and moods, our sense of self and purpose, the quality of our ability to interact and integrate with the world around us. So in other words, our reality.
However, these are not regular days. We are in a pandemic. And the havoc it is causing on every facet of our regularly programmed lives is inescapable, no matter who we are. Because while this pandemic will affect us all differently based on our demographics, living situations, etc, there is no one that will escape completely unmaimed. We are all too interconnected, whether we want to admit it or not.
And while this may make us feel as though we have no control, especially in a situation like this, where we are, for the most part, experiencing it isolation, one thing we do have control over is how it affects us mentally.
While we’ve definitely improved overcoming the mental chatter to listen carefully to what we really need (this definitely becomes easier as you get older), in a time of crises, even the most in-tune, mindful people can completely lose their shit. Because of this, we put together a literal mental check-list for you to reference when you feel your ends starting to fray.
What Does Your Mind Need From You Right Now?
Sleep.
Ok yes, you might (in theory) have more time to do this than ever, but quality is everything. Set a few bedtime rituals for yourself and stick with them. While lavender essential oils will definitely help set the tone for the room, the regular ritual of adding a drop or two to your humidifier before bed can actually do more for a mental reset than the oils themselves (think of it as not quite a placebo, but same principle).
Keeping regular bedtime hours throughout a pandemic can also be super helpful in maintaining some kind of sanity. And while meditation can help you practice getting out of those insomniatic negative loops we tend to fall into right as our heads hit the pillow, one of the best tips we’ve ever gotten from our staff was to go over every single meal (and ingredient in that meal) you ate that day. It’s weird, but it works. Plus, you might even enjoy a dream or two about waffles and saffron (believe it or not, a fantastic combination).
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Action.
Sometimes, finding mental peace goes beyond our own mental demons and takes more than dreaming about waffles, or even meditation, to get there. Sometimes it’s a real issue and the only way we can fix it is to face it. From having a difficult conversation with someone in your life to taking the first, scary steps to get legal counsel from a qualified personal injury attorney, to sorting out debt, the best way to remove an issue from your life is to take the first steps and attack it head on. And while it’s not always easy to work through these things, ripping off the bandaid and just starting to take action will make your issues seem less daunting and more manageable.
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Structure.
You know how we suggested keeping regular bedtime hours to help with sleep? Well the same concept applies to the rest of your life. Maintaining some kind of structure will have the same effect on your mental clarity throughout the day as it will help you at night. And while we know that is actually a huge ask during these uncertain times (especially if you’re wrangling a kid or three along with a significant other or other family members), even just an inkling of structure can relieve a ton of mental exhaustion. After all, it has been proven that the amount of mental power (and in turn the ability to make good decisions as well as think clearly about the important stuff) has an actual daily limit.
Structure helps us in a few ways. It signals our brains to prioritize based on time and place, which allows us to power through a lot of the everyday stuff on autopilot. In turn, that means using a lot less mental energy for the unnecessary - which means more for important stuff.
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Goal Setting.
When the future is uncertain, making plans or setting goals that you know may be delayed feels irrelevant- futile even. But having a plan for the future is often less about actually achieving that plan and more about pointing yourself in the right direction. Yes, the path there might get weird. In fact, it probably will. But by setting future goals for yourself, whether it be something simple like saving a certain amount of money, developing a new skill, buying a home, or growing your career, you’ve given yourself a trajectory - and therefore, focus.
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Support.
Facetime, Zoom, Instagram Live, group chats, and begrudgingly TikTok - those are just a few of the ways we seem to stay connected these days. But nothing beats a one-on-one conversation every once in a while. And even our loved ones can’t always be there for us in the way we want. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Disaster Distress Hotline is there for those feeling desperate: 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746. Or text SIGNS to 741741 for 24/7, anonymous, free crisis counseling.
Forgive yourself for not excelling at that hobby we just told you to try. Forgive yourself for actually kind of hating it. Forgive yourself for not successfully adding structure to your every day. For not achieving your goals. For hating meditation. For not always being as fun as you’d like to be. Forgive yourself for not being productive, for not always being happy. Forgive yourself for feeling anxious or angry. Forgive others for not being their best selves. This is new to all of us. There is no ‘right’ way to get through this, aside from the way you’ve found to work for yourself and your family.
Excitement.
Ok sure, we’ve all had enough excitement for one year, what with this pandemic. But ironically, the side effect to being quarantined due to a pandemic is being bored AF at home.
Fun, believe it or not, is just as essential as anything else in your life when it comes to mental health. Now is the perfect time to try that new hobby you’ve always wished you had time for. It’s also the perfect time for a random dance party, a classic horror movie marathon, or ice cream and cake for dinner. Just as structure is essential for creating a sense of purpose and daily flow, screwing it all up in the name of fun every once in a while is just as essential.
A Thoughtful Misfit is a woman who doesn't fit in boxes - from how she dresses, to the way she lives, to the way she chooses to mother and to love…