Hello fellow GradSWE members! I hope everyone is enjoying the time at home (for us non-essentials) and all of you are staying safe and healthy. There have been a lot of changes recently in our communities, the biggest one being the new norm of ‘social distancing.’ Now, for social recluses such as myself, social distancing did not make a lot of changes to my lifestyle, I admit. But I will say that even I am getting tired of staying home and chilling by myself. And I know if I feel this way, many may also relate!
So, for this week’s post, I’d like to offer some tips that may help you stay healthy mentally and emotionally during this time. Feel free to add any other tips you’ve found useful!
References.
So, for this week’s post, I’d like to offer some tips that may help you stay healthy mentally and emotionally during this time. Feel free to add any other tips you’ve found useful!
- Call people. Is there someone in your life that you always wanted to talk to more, but never did? Maybe now would be a great time to catch up! I’ve found myself calling friends that I normally don’t call just to have a bit of social interaction. You can also call family members just to check up on them! Even a 10-minute phone call may not seem like much, but studies show that people who socialize regularly actually tend to live longer and healthier lives [1]. So, feel free to pick up the phone and chat away!
- Stimulate your mind daily. Many of us are now taking classes online, so we still have lectures to watch, assignments to finish, and grades to worry about. However, if you are not taking classes or your classes don’t demand too much time, you may have a lot of free time on your hands. Instead of watching tv, you can keep your mind active by working on research everyday, solving puzzles, reading, and/or starting a new hobby! These activities help develop neural plasticity, allowing for more synaptic connections in your brain [2]. Thus, they will help keep us sharp during this time as well as become more productive in our graduate studies!
- Exercise. Even if it’s the only thing you do that day, exercising for just 30 minutes can improve your health and mood!
- Try online therapy or mood-tracking tools. Whether or not you’ve ever been to a therapist, the changes that have occurred recently add a new level of stress to our lives, and there is nothing wrong with seeking someone to talk to! Thanks to modern technology, we no longer need to sit on a couch in a therapist’s office; we can just Skype! If you ever just want to talk to someone that’s not a friend or family member, try an online counselor. In addition, there are numerous apps now that help you keep track of your moods. As we spend more time with ourselves, it’s important now, perhaps more than ever, to become self-aware and recognize our thoughts and moods. Becoming more self-aware can help your mental health moving forward, as well as help you become more resilient to future changes in the status quo.
References.
