Mental Health Resources
Maintaining Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Guide to Well-Being during the Coronavirus - Practices, Resources, and Articles
- Taking Care of Your Mental Health in the Face of Uncertainty
- How to Talk to Your Anxious Child or Teen About Coronavirus
- Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus
- Supporting Teenagers and Young Adults During the Coronavirus Crisis
- Self Care in the Time of the Coronavirus
- Mindfulness Resources to Find Calm & Nourish Resilience During the COVID Outbreak
Advice for Talking About Mental Health Challenges
Mindfulness is:
To be fully present and aware of what we are doing and where we are.
Not to be reactive or overwhelmed by what is going on around us.
Ways Mindfulness Can Empower Us
(from a larger article at postivepsychology.com)
- Being mindful can help us manage our emotions and feelings in stressful situations.
- Mindfulness practice allows us to step back and accept our own mental processes without judgment.
- It can help us to cope with feelings of anxiety, and even depression.
- Mindfulness practice in everyday life can lead us to really savor experiences with new perspectives.
- Practicing mindfulness can help us listen better, appreciate others more, and get along.
- Mindfulness practice helps us not to react instantly with emotion.
- We can become more aware of how we practice self-compassion.
- Being mindful may assist our attempts to build resilience.
Mindfulness Exercises
Five Senses
This is a quick and relatively easy exercise to bring you to a mindful state. All that is needed is to notice something you are experiencing with each of the five senses.
Mindful Walking
An excellent way to clear your mind and restore your sense of focus. It is also a great excuse to get out into nature. Taking a break to look at or be in nature can have a rejuvenating effect on the brain.
Here’s how to do it:
- Be in the moment - As you walk, notice how your body feels.
- Take in the world around you - The sights, sounds and feelings of each step.
- Breathe Deep - Appreciate the experience.
- If you become lost in thought - that's okay - return to focus by repeating "left, right" as you continue to walk, use the next step as an opportunity to start over.
Mindfulness Articles
How Understanding Your Brain Can Help You Learn