COVID-19/Guidelines for Mental Health

You're Unique and Yet so Similar...

A good friend in New York took her husband to the hospital. The medical staff quarantined him immediately without letting her say goodbye to him. She is grateful to be healthy and that she could take care of their daughter at home. However, she struggled to calm her worries.

We have our own unique story here in North Carolina, and I’m sure you have a unique set of conditions and configurations too, but we’re facing the same challenge with how to manage our stress when our loved ones are quarantined in the hospital.

6 Ways to Managed Escalated Anxiety

1. Manage Screen Time and Sources

Do: Limit your exposure to news coverage of the event, including social media. Get updates only from reputable sources, and schedule the times.
Don’t: Leave the news on, or check all the time: Bombarding your brain with repeated exacerbated news sources escalates your anxiety.^[1]

2. Write Down and Validate Emotion

Do: Name your emotions and write them down in your journal. It is normal to feel extremely stressed during this time. Recognizing your emotions will help you manage them.^[2]

Don’t: Feel bad for feeling stressed.

3. Maintain Routines and Set New Routines

Do: Try to keep up with regular routines. Create a schedule for self-care routines, grocery shopping and medication refills.

Don’t: Stay indoors all the time, or let stay up later and later and sleep in all day. Losing routine adds stress, and regular sleep protects your health.

4. Take Care of Yourself

Do: Take a hot bath, get plenty of sleep, exercise, and eat well. Exercise self-care lowers our anxiety, at any time. Practice mindfulness, yoga or deep breathing if this has helped you. Give yourself a break to take care of yourself.^[3]

5. Be Even More Connected

Do: Connect with your friends and family members using video conferencing, phone calls, texting. Stay even more connected with people who love you on regular intervals and let them know we are here for each other. ^[4]

Don’t: Let physical distancing turn into social isolation.

6. Practice Gratitude

Do: Make a list the things and people you are grateful for. Take action to say or write a heartful thank you notes to people you care or medical staff. Act on kindness reduces your anxiety significantly.^[5]

Don’t: Focus only on what could go wrong, or what is challenging.

A Message from Our Team

Fellow Carolinians, we at the UNC Psychology and Neuroscience department know how challenging it is to juggle so much worry regarding CoVid-19. Just like you, we’re needing to cope and adjust too! These tips aren’t meant to be a comprehensive. However, we hope these ideas can help you and your family members immediately. We’ve included additional guidance and contacts below to address broader support. Let’s be strong and resilient together!

Dr. Eric Youngstrom, HGAPS Founder
Angelina Tsai, PhD Program-Clinical Psychology

Additional Guidance and Support

NCDHHS – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Response in North Carolina
CDC – Coping Advice
HGAPS – Helping Give Away Psychological Science

References

Click here for references

↑ Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Dew, M. A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., & Primack, B. A. (2018). Social Media Use and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Cluster Analysis. American journal of health behavior, 42(2), 116–128. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.42.2.11
↑ Sendzik, L., Schafer, J. O., Samson, A. C., Naumann, E. and Tuschen-Caffer B. (2017). Emotional Awareness in Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of youth and adolescence, doi 101.1007/s10964-017-0629-0
↑ Rickwood, D., & Bradford, S. (2012). The role of self-help in the treatment of mild anxiety disorders in young people: an evidence-based review. Psychology research and behavior management, 5, 25–36. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S23357
↑ Barrett, P. M., Sonderegger, R., & Xenos, S. (2003). Using Friends to Combat Anxiety and Adjustment Problems among Young Migrants to Australia: A National Trial. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 8(2), 241–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104503008002008
↑ Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: the benefits of appreciation. Psychiatry (Edgmont (Pa. : Township)), 7(11), 18–22.

[1] Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Dew, M. A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., & Primack, B. A. (2018). Social Media Use and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Cluster Analysis. American journal of health behavior, 42(2), 116–128. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.42.2.11

[2] Sendzik, L., Schafer, J. O., Samson, A. C., Naumann, E. and Tuschen-Caffer B. (2017). Emotional Awareness in Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of youth and adolescence, doi 101.1007/s10964-017-0629-0

[3] Rickwood, D., & Bradford, S. (2012). The role of self-help in the treatment of mild anxiety disorders in young people: an evidence-based review. Psychology research and behavior management, 5, 25–36. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S23357

[4] Barrett, P. M., Sonderegger, R., & Xenos, S. (2003). Using Friends to Combat Anxiety and Adjustment Problems among Young Migrants to Australia: A National Trial. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 8(2), 241–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104503008002008

[5] Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: the benefits of appreciation. Psychiatry (Edgmont (Pa. : Township)), 7(11), 18–22.

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