COVID-19 Wellness Tips

By Jessica Houser, PhD

Maintaining wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic can be challenging. Below are guidance and a framework that may help.
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The overall theme is to aim for balance. Honor your negative thoughts and feelings and try to learn from them. Balance them when possible; seek help when necessary. Use what feels hard or negative to identify and navigate what it is that you’re needing in that particular moment.

• Balance the helplessness associated with COVID-19 by helping where you can (e.g., remind yourself of altruistic reasons for staying in, buy a gift card from a struggling business).
• Balance the lack of control associated with COVID-19 by controlling the heck out of something (e.g. clean something you’ve been meaning to get to).
• Balance the uncertainty associated with COVID-19 by identifying places of certainty in your life (e.g. pets, a living situation, a steady ritual or routine).
• Balance the heaviness associated with COVID-19 by looking for lightness/humor where you can (e.g., have a sense of humor about how you look in a mask).
• Balance the boredom associated with COVID-19 by finding engagement (e.g., invest in learning a new skill).
• Balance the isolation associated with COVID-19 by getting creative about connection (e.g., remote movie watching, game nights, home workout competitions with friends).

In addition to these approaches, consider the following dialectics:

• Adjust expectations for yourself, your kids, your partner, your productivity, your work, etc.

               Balance with prioritizing safety, health, attachment, flexibility

• Connect mindfully when possible (i.e. take breaks from working from home to engage with those in your care)

                Balance with embracing the compression of identities into one space by multitasking (e.g. blow bubbles for kids to chase while you’re doing a home workout)

• Establish routines (new ones, if necessary) for self-care, eating, work, sleep, dressing

                Balance with setting aside unstructured time

• Get out when possible and safe

                Balance with creating a safe retreat inside (a cozy space) and helping those you care for to create safe retreats

• Stay informed enough to feel connected and safe

                Balance with practicing a media/COVID diet (e.g. limit the time or amount that you will engage with media or COVID topics)

• Segment quarantine time into smaller chunks (e.g. one week at a time)

               Balance with thinking and daydreaming long-term to remind yourself that this is temporary

Some other helpful approaches my include:

• Address stress through: diet, exercise, hydration, sleep, sensory toolkits
• Decide who you want to be and how you want this to go and integrate that into the stories you tell yourself (E.g.: I was getting caught up on debt before COVID; COVID derailed my finances; I want to emerge from the pandemic with new financial know-how and a plan to address my financial needs)
• Connect with help (mental health, medical help, wellness websites and apps, etc.)

Balance does not mean the absence of negative reactions; rather, it means acknowledging those reactions, working to understand them (they are often adaptive!), and augmenting with other reactions. If you have been feeling a prolonged sense of imbalance that is interfering with your ability to function in some way that is significant to you, however, it may be time to seek assistance. In addition to many other local mental health resources, the clinicians at Mansfield Psychotherapy Associates have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by offering remote psychotherapy, consultation, and/or assessment. If you are in need of assistance or referrals, please contact us at 802.863.9079.