How to feel good psychologically in the middle of the pandemic

How to talk about the coronavirus with children?

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(CNN Spanish) -

The confinements that force us to be away from our loved ones, the desolation produced by the ever-increasing numbers of covid-19 cases and deaths from the virus, economic problems, the uncertainty of when everything will end has fueled another pandemic alongside the coronavirus crisis: mental health issues.

The World Health Organization has already warned of the underlying crisis posed by collective mental health amid the pandemic.

Although vaccines give us some hope, life is not expected to return to normal for several years.

What can you do to feel good during the pandemic?

We explain the effect of the pandemic on your mental health and we collect a series of tips and strategies from experts so that you are safe and healthy physically and mentally.

The effects of the pandemic on mental health

Physical exhaustion, sedentary lifestyle and mental health

Life was stressful before the pandemic, but new challenges have contributed an additional cost.

Virtual homeschooling, safety, financial difficulties, telecommuting, keeping up with new information, and dealing with illness and death can make life feel like never-ending game.

Isolation, which can lead to loneliness, has affected people of all ages.

Many children and adolescents have been missing important opportunities for social development.

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The strange pandemic dreams and insomnia

There are many people who have experienced some form of disruption in their usual sleep routines since the pandemic began in March.

For some, the changes are subtle: more restlessness or a poorer quality of sleep.

For others, the new reality is hell: a chronic lack of sufficient sleep or total insomnia.

Some experts have even dubbed the current trend "coronasomnia," said Christina Pierpaoli Parker, a postdoctoral fellow in clinical psychology and behavioral sleep medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Whatever we call it, Pierpaoli Parker said there are strong links between the pandemic and insomnia.

"Good sleep is the foundation of all aspects of mental and physical health, which we must support now more than ever," he said.

“When we create the optimal cognitive, behavioral and environmental conditions for sleep, including temperature.

LOOK: Doing yoga can help combat insomnia due to stress due to the pandemic and the elections, says academy

You may be having more nightmares, or strange dreams, and they are important to cope with the pandemic, as this neurologist explains:

The importance of sleep in times of coronavirus 4:52

It is a collective trauma and many turn to alcohol and drugs

In August 2020, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said that the American continent is experiencing "a mental health crisis" during the coronavirus pandemic.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a mental health crisis in our region on a scale that we have never seen before," said the director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Carissa Etienne, in a briefing on Tuesday. .

Etienne added that the data shows that many people are turning to alcohol and drugs to cope with the pandemic, making them more prone to mental health problems.

Health professionals are among the most affected.

What can you do?

Solutions to lack of sleep

For those formally diagnosed with insomnia, there are medicinal aids like zolpidem or benzodiazepines (Xanax and Valium), but these require a prescription and are generally only limited to no more than a couple of weeks.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBTi, helps people identify the underlying causes of their insomnia and adopt behaviors to change it.

Generally, it takes six to eight sessions for it to work, which means that patients experience relief about two months after starting treatment.

Jennifer Kanady, clinical psychologist and clinical innovation leader for sleep at Big Health, a medical technology company in San Francisco, said that "treatment is about breaking bad habits and retraining the individual for healthy sleep." .

Stimulus control is a component of treatment, he added, and "strengthens the connection between sleep and sleep by limiting wakefulness in bed."

A mental health crisis: the other cost of the pandemic 5:22

For those who suffer from a chronic lack of sufficient sleep, experts say returning to a regular schedule is critical, even if it means depriving yourself of sleep first to do so.

People should get out of bed if they can't fall asleep (or go back to sleep) within 15 to 30 minutes, or as soon as trying to fall asleep they feel frustrated, Pierpaoli Parker suggested.

He added that it is important to minimize exposure to anything with blue light or a backlit screen for an hour or two before bedtime.

This means that you will not be able to watch television or check your phone for an hour before bed.

Seriously.

Improve your mental and physical health during the pandemic by volunteering virtually

Looking for a mental and physical boost during the pandemic?

Try to volunteer.

Adults over 50 who volunteer for about two hours per week have a substantially lower risk of dying, higher levels of physical activity, and a better sense of well-being, according to a new study.

And they develop fewer physical limitations than adults who don't volunteer.

3 tips for good mental health 1:29

The study, published Thursday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzed data from personal interviews and survey responses from nearly 13,000 randomly selected participants from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal panel study of older Americans.

Two groups of participants were tracked for four years between 2010 and 2016.

See more here.

Do you have anxiety?

Do you want to feel good psychologically?

Try these tips

Find someone and connect, just not physically

The first thing you should do is stay socially connected with friends and loved ones even if you are physically separated.

Technology is a great way for many of us to do it, but some in the family, like grandparents, may not be as adept at using Facebook, Facetime, and Zoom, for example.

"Rather than just relying on social media, we can make a list of the 10 or 20 people that matter most to us and put them on our phone on a rotating basis," said Springer.

"We are going to call one of those people every day."

Then Springer suggested adding more people from our outer circle of friends and associates that we might not be as close to and putting those people on that daily call rotation.

That's especially critical if you think those people may be especially isolated right now.

"Reaching out and connecting with people, especially those who are especially isolated, and giving them space to talk about their experience and anxiety during this unprecedented time and then sharing our own experience is how we will get through it," he said.

"When we connect, we survive."

Breath deeply

In therapy sessions, Webber said, “What we teach the most is deep breathing.

It's free, it costs nothing, and it really works.

Here's how to do it correctly, she says: breathe in through your nose, hold it, and then exhale very slowly through your mouth as if you were breathing through a straw.

"And when you breathe out slowly, you improve your whole picture of life and reduce your nervousness," Webber said.

MIRA: Mexican actress creates breathing techniques that help patients with pulmonary sequelae from covid-19

Practice gratitude

Science has shown that people who practice gratitude are happier and more optimistic, and you can easily learn how to do it.

“One thing I recommend to everyone in times of fear is to write two or three things each day that you are thankful for.

Change your view of the world, "Webber said.

“I am grateful for my daughter because she is now at home with me.

I am grateful for my son, the nurse.

I am grateful for my other son who has discovered all the possible ways to get food on the internet that is all over the county, ”he added with a smile.

Take control of your mental state

To prevent the fight against anxiety from getting darker, experts suggest, take control of your thoughts.

"One of the ways to do it is to take out a sheet of paper, put a line in the middle and, on the one hand, write the things that we cannot control at the moment and, on the other hand, write what we can control", Springer said.

"And then we form a plan of action that allows us to move forward on those things that we can control."

This prevents us from "getting into that feeling of helplessness or just sitting in a trench and waiting for more bad news to come," he said.

"We are actually moving forward on things that we want to be doing our lives with, even if there are some very difficult circumstances right now."

The covid-19 pandemic presents a challenge to people's mental health.

"For some people that may not be possible, especially if they lost their job or were laid off when the economy came to a complete halt."

"Losing a job is 'seismic stress,' one of the most stressful things that can happen to you," Springer said.

"But you can sit back and reflect on your negative situation or you can use the time to learn something new or go deeper or acquire some skills."

She points out the many high-quality, inexpensive, or free training programs on the Internet that can add skills to your profession or even help you make the transition to something new.

"So people can use this time to develop skills and become smarter and stronger and more prepared for when the workforce really kicks in and in full force," said Springer.

Set a schedule

Our days and nights are mixed, and many people find themselves working longer hours, or if they cannot work, they are worried about finances.

One way to defend yourself is to set a schedule that separates work or job hunting from family and playtime, especially exercise, which is critical to increasing our mental mood.

Meditation or mindfulness are also great options to schedule in our day, experts said.

"We have to create routines to be able to traverse this absolutely surreal world right now," Webber said.

"Focus on the little things, such as preparing a special lunch, knitting, sewing, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, or walking or running to do something physical to help us achieve a calmer state of mind."

Confinement increases anxiety in young people, according to study 1:23

Be careful with the media, especially social media

Experts ask to limit the amount of time you spend watching the news, especially if you feel anxiety causing you.

That can apply to social media as well, said Arthur Evans, executive president of the American Psychological Association, in a recent interview for CSPAN's Washington Journal section.

"There is a lot of misinformation on social media," Evans said.

"When you combine that with a lot of conflicting information, it creates more anxiety for people."

For example, he said, social media is full of conspiracy theories and other misinformation that "contradicts what we're hearing from professionals who really know and understand these issues ... so limit information to reliable sources, sources where you can Trust helps a lot to control that stress.

Mental health crisis among healthcare workers 2:35

Outlines a smile

It has long been said that "laughter is the best medicine," and that applies to the anxiety of our time, experts said.

Remember, you can't be anxious and smile at the same time.

That's a physiological thing, "Webber said.

Benefits of laughing in the midst of a pandemic 3:26

So watch funny movies, listen to comedy routines, ask everyone you talk to on the phone to tell you a joke.

Do the same for them.

Stay optimistic.

There are so many unknowns when it comes to this new disease that is terrorizing the world.

Will it calm down during the warmer summer months?

Better or worse as the world begins to open up?

Worse still, will he come back with a vengeance in the fall and winter?

Don't let those unknowns shake you or take away your optimism, Webber said.

"I consider optimism to be healthy and an Achilles heel, because of course being too optimistic could disappoint you," he said.

But if I had a choice, optimism is always better than pessimism.

And optimism is always better than realism.

If we hope for the best, we might be disappointed, but that hope, I always believe, will come to the person you love.

Find your purpose

Finding a sense of purpose goes a long way toward well-being and a longer, happier life, experts told CNN.

University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman, co-founder of the field of positive psychology, says that a sense of purpose will come from being part of something bigger than ourselves.

He points to religion, family, and social causes as ways of increasing meaning in our lives.

(See No. 2 on volunteering).

It doesn't have to be a traditional religion to be effective, according to Lord Richard Layard, one of Britain's leading economists and the author of several books on happiness.

In his prominent book "Happiness: Lessons from a New Science," he says that spiritual practices can range from meditation to positive psychology to cognitive therapy.

“If your only duty is to achieve the best for yourself, life becomes too stressful, too lonely - you are set to fail.

Instead, you need to feel that you exist for something greater, and that very thought takes some of the pressure off you.