CEBU CITY, Philippines—While we stay at home to avoid the risks of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), let’s not forget to keep our mental health in top shape as well.
Before all this happened, we lived a fast-paced life. Now that we have been given a month-long stay at home order, we find ourselves not knowing what to do.
Doctor Sherryl Muli-Abellanosa, founder of KAUBAN, a mental health support group in the Visayas and Mindanao, shared with CDN Digital what one can do at home to also take care of his/her mental health.
Take time for yourself— The busy lives that we have been accustomed to while having quite a number of deadlines and quotas give us lesser time to take care of ourselves. Taking time for yourself means, getting some good rest, eating what you want and doing the things you have been wanting to do in the comforts of your home.
Exercise— exercising boosts our endorphins, the body’s natural pain killer while it also enhances our immune system. Take time to do brisk walking inside your house or at the veranda and get some vitamin D from the early morning sun.
Work on your backlogs— backlogs can be your screaming closet, full of unused clothes; the kitchen cabinets where utensils are strewn about; or the stove that needs cleaning. You can take this time to do the home chores you couldn’t have done due to your busy schedule.
Maintain your social connections— talk to your friends, learn new hobbies together, play board games with your family. Find social activities that lessen your presence online.
Contemplate your life and plan for what’s next after COVID-19— the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine gives us a lot of time to ourselves. Let’s make this meaningful by contemplating your life: look back and see how life has been. What changes do you want to adopt when everything is back to normal? Fill the uncertainties with the concrete plans.
Let’s take advantage of the time that we now have to do the things that would make us better individuals both physically and mentally. / dcb