How to Take Care of Your Mental Health During COVID

In recent years, mental health and mental wellness have become more and more of a public discussion. During the pandemic, we were aware of the physical risks, but maybe not so aware of the mental health effects. 

Trying to contain the spread of COVID forced everyone to stay home, and that resulted in 40.9% of people suffering from at least one mental health or behavioral condition. 

In that study, 13% of people reported that they started or increased substance use. 

For those of you in the Tennessee area, that may have made you consider TN rehab centers. 

It can be easy to fall into a rough patch during these tough times and therefore, easier to turn to alcohol or drugs to comfort or numb the anxiety and pain you may be going through. 

With the rise in mental health issues during the pandemic, the question is what can we do about it? Here are some tips to take care of your mental health. 

Exercise Outdoors 

Two big factors in increasing morale and fighting anxiety are your exposure to the outdoors and physically taking care of your body. 

Having your body exposed to the sun is great for fighting mental health issues. The sun gives us natural vitamins and helps us produce serotonin. That increases the chances of our body being in a better mood. 

Then, exercising, in general, is a great stress reliever. It allows our body to release stress, gives you more energy to be able to go about your day, and gives you endorphins (happy hormones). 

This can be as simple as taking a walk in the park on a sunny day. Or, maybe you want to push yourself and go on a 10-mile run. 

However you choose to go about this, exercising outdoors can allow you to keep your sanity, get you out of your house for a while, and keep you active during a more limited time. 

Keep Your Mind Busy 

During a time where a lot of us have done nothing but stay home, it of course becomes a lot harder to try to keep yourself active and busy. 

You have more limited options on what you can do, and it can be easy to get bored or anxious quickly. 

One of the best ways to counter this in your own home is to keep your mind active. Your brain is a muscle after all, and it loves the challenge of trying new things! 

Some things you can do are try to learn a new language, build a model plane, try some puzzles, read more books, and maybe even take a crack at writing. 

Besides hobbies, there could be something for work or business that you wanted to try that you did not have as much time for being away from home.

Well, now you can do more research on investment opportunities, figure out how to move up or branch out on your own in your industry, or pick up a side hustle like podcasting or vlogging about your favorite subject to make a few extra bucks. 

This can be a great time to sit down and figure out if there is a hobby you never felt like you had enough time for or a work goal you could never pursue without more time to focus. Find out what that is and create goals to achieve it. 

Ask Yourself Tough Questions

Some of you reading this may have more than the occasional down in the dumps feeling. With 41% of people feeling some sort of anxiety or depression, some, unfortunately, turn to alcohol or drugs to cope with that. 

About 11% of those people with anxiety or depression also have suicidal thoughts. Alcohol and drugs can be easy to use to numb that pain. 

If you indulge in alcohol and/or drugs regularly, you need to ask yourself some tough questions. Are you partaking for fun or are you partaking to escape from a negative feeling? Do you do this alone? Do you feel like you cannot deal with everyday life without it? 

If so, you may need to start the search for rehab centers in San Diego. You will need to be committed to taking care of yourself and be willing to make big changes in your life. Then, you will have to look for what program you need. 

For alcoholics, Tennessee alcohol rehabilitation is an option. You will have to detox yourself, choose whether you want to live inside or outside, and communicate with other people that are going through the same thing. 

Drug treatment also has most of the above. But, depending on what you are addicted to, such as cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs, etc., the specific program you need may vary. 

Besides alcohol and drugs, you need to have a long sit down with yourself and figure out what you want in your life. What is holding you back?

Get to the bottom of why you are anxious and depressed, and do a deep examination of what makes you happy in life and what is keeping you from achieving what you want. 

Find Out More About Tennessee Rehab Centers

If you are in the Tennessee area, reach out to us and take the first step towards recovery and a new life. 

We offer a free consultation so you can see for yourself why of the TN rehab centers, ours is the right fit for you to put yourself first.