At ABC Medical Center, we care about your overall well-being and recognize the importance of taking care of not only your physical health but also your mental and emotional health. With the support and guidance of our specialists, Dr. David Szydlo and Dr. Janet Shein Szydlo, we have prepared this guide with 12 key steps to protect and strengthen your mental health, both personal and family. These tips are designed to help you face the challenges of everyday life with greater balance, understanding, and resilience.
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Acknowledge your feelings
The first step to recover is knowing what is happening to you and noticing the symptoms.
- Hypothymia: Depressed, sad, distressed mood, without becoming clinically diagnosable depression.
- Anxiety: State of high stress, constant worries, nervousness, irritability, not being able to sleep (does not refer to anxiety disorder, but anxiety as a symptom).
- Irritability: Hostile, not very receptive to criticism, hard to comfort, etc.
- Blunted affect: Limited range of emotional expression; does not respond adequately to environmental stimulation.
- Anger: Angry and exaggerated reaction to a situation that is valued as negative.
Manifestations of anxiety in children:
- Irritability, emotional outburst (tantrum), apathy to carry out the things they normally do.
- Insomnia, lack of appetite, difficulty concentrating.
- Observe what they are communicating, even if they do not say it in words.
If you’re anxious, your children will be too.
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Interpret your problems as a challenge, not a threat
Your thoughts and feelings are what self-sabotage your stability. Therefore, don’t believe everything you think, as they are neither statements nor facts.
A useful technique is to tell yourself that what you are feeling is a result of the worry you have.
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Use a muscle relaxation or breathing technique
Control your breathing consciously, it will help you take control of your emotions. Do the following:
- Inhale slowly raising your chest as you count to 10.
- Keep the air inside your lungs for another 10 seconds.
- Exhale, repeating the count again.
- Once you are relaxed, think of pleasant and reassuring images.
Relax your muscles:
- Relax by using controlled breathing.
- Select a muscle and tighten it gently.
- Hold the tension for 10 seconds.
- Relax the muscle and repeat again.
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Divert your attention from the problem
- Limit the amount of time you spend reading or looking at things that don’t make you feel better, be selective about what you read, or perhaps choose a specific time to read news.
- Be selective about what you read or choose a specific time to read the news.
- Learn not to focus your attention on the problem all the time.
- Stay alert, but also rest and conserve resources when nothing can be done.
- If you find some social media posts too overwhelming, hide them and mute certain WhatsApp groups.
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Avoid substances with an activating effect
Avoid consuming alcohol in excess or some other psychoactive substances as this can be totally counterproductive, increasing the feeling or making it worse.
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Perform relaxing activities that you like
These activities will depend on your personal preferences, such as working on a new project, reading the book you’ve been wanting to read, playing video games, if you are a person who likes art practice painting, playing a musical instrument, watch a virtual museum tour, etc. Try to balance having a routine and making sure each day is a little different.
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Follow a routine
Something important about living together is to respect each other’s space and time. Living together does not mean that we all have the same tasks and objectives.
Since many of us are working from home we recommend that you follow a routine, for example:
- Get up at 8:00 in the morning
- Take a shower
- Get ready and organize personally
- Eat breakfast
- I respect my work schedule
- I take a couple of hours for lunch and rest
- I return to activities in an organized routine
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Keep in touch with your family
Stay connected with your loved ones through social media, video conferences and phone calls. Talk about other topics other than the coronavirus.
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Sleep at your usual hours
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Physical health and exercise
An enemy of isolation is inactivity, planning the tasks to be carried out every day is key, although many of them may be at home or if you are an athlete look for an exercise routine to practice at home.
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Consult and share official sources
The correct use of information is essential, make sure that your opinions are not influenced by bad information that circulates on the internet.
It is important that, as parents, you identify the best time to see news, discuss the topic, etc. try to watch what you talk about in front of the children; there are important differences in how they react depending on their age. The most important thing is not to generate anguish but to assume a supporting role for them and understand what they are concerned about.
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Seek professional help
Finally, if the indications and techniques that we have shared with you are not enough and you continue with problems of stress, anxiety or depression, You can contact a psychiatric specialist at the ABC Medical Center.
Isolation and children
- Talk to your children taking into account their age
- Recognize and manage your anxiety
- Establish a routine with your children
- Keep in touch with your loved ones
Fuente:
David Bernardo Szydlo Kon – Adult Psychiatry Specialist at ABC Medical Center
