Quarantine and mental health: help guide By: Sydney Bilek
With the endless spread of COVID-19, we will be in quarantine for an unknown length of time. Being stuck inside can worsen mental health as a whole. Being at home can be hard for some people in toxic environments, and grief can be hard to deal with, especially at our age. I want to be able to give tips for a range of different issues you may be feeling right now, if you cannot or are scared to reach out for help.
Another thing to note, not everything I will be mentioning is the only way to help yourself during this time, nor not all of these things may work for you. I will leave links at the end of this "article" if you will, so you can have more resources to find something that may better suit your situation.
Remember: whatever situation you are in to reassure yourself and realize these intense emotions will pass.
Grounding yourself: For dealing with intrusive thoughts and urges, which can be related to many underlining mental illnesses or general stress under situations, a term called grounding is used to define ways to distract yourself and focus on something else from what is going on in the present moment. In a sense, doing these things is to try and "pull away" or "create space" from yourself and the thoughts at hand. This whole situation is frightening, so if you are also dealing with grief at this time, these ways of distracted and calming yourself can also help.
There are three main types of grounding techniques: physical, mental, and soothing. Physical techniques use your five senses and objects around you to stimulate your brain and distract or startle yourself away from stressful thoughts. Mental techniques are like brain games. This includes ways to really make yourself think, or allow yourself to focus on breathing, to continue to make you think about other things. Soothing techniques are those of self care and ways to relax yourself, allowing you to take a break from whatever is troubling you. Below are five ways to ground with these varied types in mind.
1. Eat or drink something (physical) If you feel have a healthy relationship with food and or feel like you do not feel so stressed that you feel sick, try to eat or drink something. It could be a favorite of yours, something with a strong flavor, or even something you dislike. No matter what you have at home and choose to eat or drink, this will distract your brain and make it focus on the flavors in your mouth. You can try to intensely focus on the flavor and textures to help further distraction. The reason why something with a strong flavor or something you dislike may help is because it will almost shock your brain, while eating something you like may sooth you in a more peaceful manner. Your brain will immediately shift focus to what it does not like, and then you will be focused on getting those strong flavors out of your mouth. Sucking on something cold can be an alternative as well.
2. Hold a piece of ice (physical) Similar to eating something strong or something you dislike, holding is will shift your brain into the uncomfortable feeling of a cold piece of ice. While holding the ice you can also analyze what it looks like as it melts, watch a clock to see how long it takes to melt, and describe the sensation you feel while touching it to yourself. Simply holding and move it around in your grasp may work as well if you are too worked up to think, do whatever you feel best doing.
3. Focus on your general surroundings (physical) Look around you. Notice where you are and what is within your grasp. Use your sense of touch to hold something close, like a stuffed animal or pillow. Maybe lay down or sit somewhere that is near. You can hold anything you want in your hands. This is similar to the ice method, except you are not shocking yourself with an unconformable feeling. Again, try to focus on what you are feeling or what you are looking at. If you feel comfortable, let out your emotions, or take it out on something, like punching a pillow. You can identify things you can hear and smell. Become hyper-aware to focus on reality and not your thoughts.
4. Breathing techniques (mental) There are many techniques out there to help you focus on your breathing when stressed. If it seems to add more stress or weight onto you, this may not be for you. One way is simply by breathing in, counting up to five, then releasing and counting to five again. The goal with any breathing technique is to have a steady pattern, so focus on trying to preform them right, but do not over do it. Another way is the figure 8 technique. If you can, draw an infinity sign on you hand, paper, or anywhere you would like really. If you do not want or feel like you can draw the symbol out, imagine it in your head and trace your finger along a surface. Either way, as you move your finger through the first half of the sign, you will breath in, and for the other half you will breath out. This technique is very flexible, as you can breath in and out as fast or slow as you would like.
5. Do something you love (soothing) This method will most likely help you if you are not in an extreme panic state, so this is more general. Times right now can be overwhelming, with school work and worrying about the world around us. With that, take time to do what you love, or practice self care. While in the moment of panic this may not benefit you, this is more to overall improve your mood. Remember not to push yourself, and do whatever you can without straining. This applies to school work as well. If you have too much on your plate and are failing behind, let teachers know so you can be able to do your best and get on track. Simple things like this can keep you from getting into that panicked state. So once calmed down, treat yourself, because we always deserve to get a break. You can do something big for yourself, or small, but whatever it may be could keep you feeling alright during this stressful time.
Toxic Households Right now, most are stuck at home, probably with family or a parental guardian. While some may like not having to go to school, some see school as an escape from a rough home life. If you are in danger during this time, it is important to be prepared if you need to leave. Just because you are not sick does not mean your safety is not a priority.
Dealing with loss Hopefully if you are reading this you have not and will not experience a loss due to the virus, but in the end, we have little control of others and how bad the virus will impact them. There is no fix for grief, but it can get easier, but here are some reminders for you if you have lost someone you know:
1. You will not feel like this forever.
2. You will be able to get through it, this is not impossible.
3. Be gentle with yourself, take you time. Never be too harsh, especially right now.
4. It is okay to be feeling this way. Humans have emotions, let them out where you feel comfortable.
5. Preserve memories while they were alive. It may hurt to think about, but it can help you still feel connected with someone who is gone.
6. Know it is okay to want to be alone. If distancing yourself for a while is the way you feel you will be able to recover from a loss, then that is completely fine. Just know when isolation turns into unhealthy habits. With going though something hard already, you do not want to dig a deeper hole for yourself, so try to the best of your ability.
7. Talk to someone if you want, such as your family or a friend. Being able to get everything out will make you really see how things are. When you keep thoughts in your head, they may seem overbearing. Hearing them out loud, or typing them down, can be a way to really see how things are.
8. Right now services are not allowed to be held, but when you can, mourning the loss at a grave or spending time there can make you feel better. If you have any religious practices as well that could help you feel better along with this.
9. Get extra rest, and go all out for yourself. The tips for grounding may even help as well. Self care during this time may also help ease emotions, so keep in mind those ways of calming yourself as well. 10. We are stuck inside, so this could lead to trying to sort a routine for yourself. Routines are beneficial in any circumstance, but you will be able to get your mind off of the one you lost, and away from the negativity surrounding the world right now.
No matter what is going on right now, we can focus on feeling better, understanding out emotions, and staying safe to try and make this as easy as possible.