‘Know that you are not alone’: Keeping mental health during safer-at-home coronavirus situation

In our stay-at-home state of being in the coronavirus pandemic, the combined tasks of playing parent, telecommuting employee and healthy individual is certainly leading to a different type of stress – and often, more than what we have ever been used to.

University of Wisconsin School of Human Ecology Professor Christine Whelan says that part of the way to battle through these times – especially for people who battle anxiety on a daily basis – is to understand they’re not the only ones going through this. The entire planet is.

“Know that you are not alone. If it all seems too much, that’s true for just about all of us,” said Dr. Whelan to WTMJ’s Melissa Barclay on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News.

She also suggests a big peace to the mental health puzzle is to take a step for physical health.

“Exercise. Outside,” she clearly states.

“Get outside as much as possible. You’ll want to keep your six feet distance, but that doens’t mean you can’t go out and go for a walk.”

Dr. Whelan warns it may also be a good idea to avoid taking in too many news sources throughout the day, and to particularly ration it late in the day.

“Perhaps near bed is not the best time to read the death tolls.”

Dr. Whelan herself is multi-tasking as she does her professorial work, attempting to home-school children while remotely teaching her college students.

To get through it as well, she has made sure to take positive steps in service of others during this most unusual time.

“Pro-social behavior makes us happy,” said Dr. Whelan

“You can make sure you support those businesses by gift certificates for businesses you love the most…when I took these actions myself, I felt happier, too. I did good and I got the emotional boost.”