4 tactics for coping with pandemic anxiety | NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

4 tactics for coping with pandemic anxiety | NIH MedlinePlus Magazine


Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D.

“We’ve been emphasizing all along the need to take care of yourself physically, meaning eat right and sleep right,” says Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health. Just as significant is supporting your mental well being, he says. These tactics can be valuable even when the pandemic is more than.

Here are some strategies to market mental wellness:

  1. Make time for movement: Take a stroll or join an outside physical exercise or on line dance class. Exercise assists your body release mood-boosting endorphins and connect you to other people safely. Make certain to comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggestions for your activities to hold your self and other people secure.
  2. Get mental rest: Just as you have to have to get adequate sleep, you also have to have mental rest to recharge your body. Try a new hobby or do anything inventive to give your thoughts a break from work and other stressors. 
  3. Set ambitions: It can be tough to really feel motivated in the course of extended social isolation. Set smaller sized, achievable ambitions to support hold you focused and really feel achieved. For instance, agree to study one particular book a month, take a stroll twice a week, or cook dinner at house for a complete week.
  4. Seek out a qualified: For persons with new or current mental well being issues that are receiving in the way of your everyday life, attain out to a well being care provider. “It’s important to recognize that when you’re having such anxiety and depressive symptoms that you’re having trouble working, caring for your children, or functioning every day, that’s the time when you need to reach out to those around you and seek help,” Dr. Gordon notes.  



Originally published in magazine.medlineplus.gov