More Ways to Maintain Mental Well-Being During the COVID-19 Outbreak
- Aleksa Jarasunas
- Apr 11, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 27, 2020
It has been 4 weeks since the World Health Organization labeled COVID-19 a pandemic. Some of you may have gotten used to staying indoors all day, but I am guessing that the majority of you can not wait to escape social isolation and hang out with friends again. Last month, I wrote an article about daily activities you can engage in to maintain your well-being during this stressful time. Since the situation has failed to improve, I decided to further suggest how you can increase your experience of positive emotions.
Help Others
It is no surprise that you can improve someone’s mood by doing something nice for him/her. However, did you know that helping someone else can indirectly improve your well-being as well? Researcher Jenkinson and her colleagues reviewed 29 scholarly articles in their meta-analysis and found that volunteering decreased individuals’ symptoms of depression while enhancing life satisfaction (1). Although it is not yet safe to interact closely with others outside of your home, there are other ways to spread kindness. For example, you could ask your parents if they need help preparing dinner or washing the dishes. You could also reach out to your elderly neighbors and offer to mow their lawn or trim their hedges.
Clean your Room
How do you feel when you have a messy room? Chances are that you are not too happy. Researcher Saxbe analyzed how 60 people described the level of cleanliness in their homes and found that those who considered their house to be messy experienced more depressive symptoms than their relative counterparts (2). Given that you are most likely spending a lot of time in your room now, it is the perfect time to clean out your drawers and closets! This action will not only help you find your things more easily but also alleviate negative thoughts.
Spend Time Outside
Practicing social distancing does not mean that you have to spend every minute of your day inside. Instead, you should make an effort to spend time in nature to relieve anxiety. Researcher Hunter and her team instructed participants to regularly spend time in nature over the course of eight weeks and found that spending only twenty minutes outside was sufficient to significantly decrease cortisol levels (3). Therefore, take walks around your neighborhood or kick a soccer ball in your backyard! This is a healthy and safe practice as long as you maintain distance from others.
Laugh
We all love to laugh. Why? Because it helps get rid of negative emotions. In fact, researcher Bennett found that participants’ stress levels decreased after watching a funny video (4). While you can not always rely on your friends to make you laugh, try watching a comedy or funny YouTube videos whenever this chaotic situation begins to stress you out. Your anxiety will be gone in no time!
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