Things you can do to feel better

It is a well-known fact that pandemics do not affect the entire population equally. Many social, health, and economic factors influence how people cope with such a complex situation.

But, regardless of each person's individual situation, we are collectively experiencing a general concern that often generates anxiety and anguish because we don't know what will happen, how it will affect us, whether we will get sick, or how long this situation will last.

Although everyone has their own personal resources for coping with this situation, there are many activities and attitudes toward life that can help you feel better. These are simple suggestions that include spaces where you can share, help others, take care of yourself, and set goals for your daily life.

Activities to improve your well-being

1. Stay in touch with your trusted circle.
   Maintaining relationships with trusted people is important for mental well-being. In situations where seeing each other in person is not advisable or possible, thinking about how to stay in touch with friends and family—whether by phone, video calls, or social media—helps manage mental health.
2. Help and support others.
   Thinking about how to help those around us can make us feel better. Could we send a message to a close friend or family member? Are there groups in our community we could join to support others? Can we make an effort to be more accepting of other people's concerns or behaviors?
3. Share your concerns and those of others.
   It's quite common to feel worried, scared, or helpless about the current situation. Remember that this is a difficult time for everyone. Sharing how you feel and what you're doing to cope with this uncertainty with those around you can also help.
4. Take care of your physical well-being.
   Physical health has a significant impact on how we feel emotionally and mentally. In times like these, it can be easy to fall into unhealthy behavior patterns that, in turn, can make us feel worse.
   In this sense, it is important to try to eat healthy meals, stay well hydrated, exercise daily if possible, and avoid tobacco, alcohol, and drug use.
5. Do some physical activity.
   If we can go outside, we should consider walking daily. If we stay home, we can find free workouts online that can help us feel better.
6. Try to get a good night's sleep.
   Feeling anxious or excessively worried can make it harder to fall asleep. Good quality sleep makes a big difference in how we feel mentally and physically.
   Therefore, it's important to try to maintain regular sleep patterns and habits that help you sleep well . For example, avoid mobile devices before bed, reduce caffeine intake, and ensure the environment before going to sleep is as calm as possible.
7. Try to manage difficult feelings.
   Many people experience significant worry in response to news about COVID-19, and sometimes this anxiety escalates into something so intense that it becomes problematic. It's crucial to focus only on what we can control in our lives, especially right now. Constantly dwelling on the pandemic and its implications can overwhelm us and negatively impact our well-being.
8. Manage information consumption.
   Being constantly connected to the news and social media updates can increase our anxiety. If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of news you're receiving about the pandemic, limit the time you spend watching, reading, or listening to current media coverage . You could set a schedule to check the news once a day, for example.
9. Get information from reliable sources.
   Having access to quality information that helps determine our own risk, or the risk of others, of contracting COVID-19 can help us take the necessary precautions. It is essential, however, to obtain this information from a reliable and official source. When we receive information that may be alarming, we should verify it before sharing it with others. It is always wise to consider how inaccurate information might affect others and avoid contributing to the spread of misinformation related to health or, in this case, the pandemic.
10. Think about new daily routines.
    Life is changing for all of us, at least for a while. Whether we stay home or go out while maintaining social distance, our usual routine is likely different from what it was before the pandemic. So, we need to think about how to adapt to the situation and create new, positive routines. For example, we can incorporate more household chores like cleaning or cooking, or we can do some physical activity. We can also incorporate routines that are meaningful, like reading or spending time talking with friends. Try writing down a daily or weekly plan and open yourself up to new possibilities.
11. Do things you enjoy.
    When we feel anxious, lonely, or down, we can think about doing activities we don't usually have time for. Focusing on our favorite hobby, learning something new, or simply taking some time to relax should ease our thoughts and improve our mood. If we can't do what we enjoy because we have to stay home, let's try to think about how we could adapt these activities. There are many free online tutorials and courses, for example. Or, in the cultural sphere, innovative solutions have been devised to allow us to enjoy culture from the comfort of our couch, from music concerts and virtual museum tours to online theater.
12. Set goals.
    Setting goals and achieving them gives us a sense of control. Setting goals is a process that involves thinking about what we want to do and what we need to accomplish it. They can be simple goals like watching a movie, reading a book, or learning something online that brings us satisfaction.
13. Keep your mind active.
    Reading, writing, playing games, doing crosswords, sudokus , puzzles or drawing... There is always some ideal distraction for each person according to their preferences.
14. Take time to relax and focus on the present.
    Finding time to relax can help you manage difficult emotions and worries about the future, and can improve your overall well-being. Relaxation techniques can also help some people cope with anxiety.
15. Get in touch with nature.
    Spending time in green spaces can benefit both our mental and physical well-being. If we can't go outside much, we can try to achieve these positive effects by spending time with the windows open to let in fresh air, creating spaces to sit and enjoy beautiful views (if possible), and getting some natural sunlight or going out into the garden, if we have one.

Tips for taking better care of our positive mental health

Read more

Undoubtedly, we have been surprised, and continue to be surprised, by the resources that citizens have put in place during this pandemic, which highlight the importance of the knowledge of those who know far more than anyone else how to live with fear and anxiety. The same is true regarding mutual support.

Let's do everything we can to take care of our well-being and mental health. Let's seek all the support we can get. Let's do activities that help us feel better. With effort, by setting small, progressive goals, we can surely achieve it.

Photo from www.freepik.es