- Start your day with a meditation in order to ground and center yourself. Here are some links and Apps for finding meditations:
• https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/mindful-meditations - Keep a daily routine and create a schedule. This will help keep a sense of normalcy. Set your alarm to wake up at a certain time every day, take a shower, change your clothes, and plan your day.
- Stay active physically, mentally, and socially.
- Physically: Exercise is essential for releasing anxious and nervous energy, so make sure you move your body, go for a walk, stretch, do yoga, etc.
- Mentally: Keep your mind engaged, journal, read a book, watch a movie, play a game, listen to your favorite music, occupy your mind on things that interest you or work on a project at home.
- Socially: Stay connected with others, social distancing does not mean social isolating. Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, stay in touch with family members, utilize technology to your advantage and reach out.
- Limit the amount of news and information you are absorbing about what is going on in the world. We need to stay updated, but watching or reading the news frequently or constantly scrolling through social media will just overwhelm you and will increase your anxiety. So, make sure to set some boundaries (i.e., 20 minutes per day).
- Focus on what you are able to control instead of focusing on what you can’t control. We cannot control what is going on outside, but we can control how we deal with it. We can control our decisions and actions, we can follow the CDC guidelines, we can cook, we can stay home, we can help each other, we can decide to take it one day at a time.
- Practice gratitude. This is a good time to count our blessings and focus on what is going well and see the positive side of this. For example, “I am grateful that I can be home and rest” or “I am grateful I can connect with loved ones.” It’s ok to feel peace, joy or excitement.
- Keep perspective. Remember that this is temporary and it will pass. Utilize this time to plan and prepare for what you’ll want to do when this is over. We can come out stronger on the other side. Remember, we have gone through difficult times before, we will get through this one too.
- Continue to stay connected! “Social Distancing does not mean Social Disconnecting.”
- Help someone else if you can AND/OR ask for help if you need it. Many organizations are looking for volunteers in order to help the community. If you can, volunteer to help others and if you need help, please reach out and ask for help. It’s ok to need help.
Additional resources:
- Tips For Social Distancing, Quarantine, And Isolation During An Infectious Disease Outbreak: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/tips-social- distancing-quarantine-isolation-031620.pdf
- CDC- Managing Anxiety and Stress: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html
- CDC- Helping Children Cope with Emergencies: https://www.cdc.gov/childrenindisasters/helping-children-cope.html
- Department of Mental Health CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES: https://dmh.lacounty.gov/covid-19-information/
Emergency Hotlines:
- Department of Mental Health 24/7 Hotline: 1-800-854-7771
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
- SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 (English and Español)
