Good Lifestyle

If thecoronavirus pandemic-And the following months have passed inside - has beenAll but beneficial for your mental health, you're not alone. According to a survey of 2020 April of the Kaiser Family Foundation, 45% of respondents said that stress and worry they experienced in the middle of the pandemic havehad a negative effect on their mental health.

Unfortunately, mental health outcomes can be even worse for those who contract the virus; A May 2020 study published inLancent psychiatry reveals that in case of previous coronaviruses, including SARS and MERS, about 15% of patients in hospitalhad an anxiety or depression that dragged three years after their discharge. However, even if things seem serious, there is still hope. With the help of experts, we have collected easy-to-go tips to strengthen your mental health daily. And for more ways to improve your well-being, see these17 mental health councils for quarantine therapists.

Most of us think aboutanxiety as something to avoidBut this can actually feed positive change. "Anxiety is a natural emotion that lives in the gap between where we are and where we want to be", explainsRobert Rosen, PhD, founder ofHealthy companies and author ofJust enough anxiety: the hidden driver of the success of the company, which notes that anxiety can be transformed into "productive energy" with the good state of mind. And if you need incentive to have your mental health check, discover these23 terrifying lanes Stress Weaks Havoc on your body.

You can often feel as if there was no light at the end of the tunnel after an emotional, financial or physical setback. However, the reload of these challenges as opportunities can help you move forward instead of continuing to feel loaded by them.

"A crisis is an opportunity to escape the programmed life and transform yourself," saysMel Schwartz, PhD, a psychotherapist in Westport, Connecticut. "The more creative and participative you feel when you have forced outside your comfort zone, the more balanced and happy you will be."

A concern withCompare to our friends Can easily bring us into hot water of mental health. "People who have an anxiety problem are lost to judge," Schwartz said. "The critical voice is enslaved," he says. "To escape, you have to accept and love who you are." And if you want to stimulate your self-esteem, start with these17 effective tips on how to be more confident.

Securing the balance between the three main areas of your life, your work, to create an automatic buffer against stress. "If you break down, you have two others to stand up", explainsMounir soliman, MD, Vice Chancelleur Assistant and Executive Director of Health International Services at UC San Diego Health. Want to stop doing work your whole? To verifyThe 50 best secrets of a perfect professional work balance.

It's great to be able to handle challenges on the head, but it's just as admirable to admit when you need a hand. "Successful people have friends they can support in need," saysRobert Maurer, PhD, Clinical Psychologist at the University of California at the Los Angeles Medicine School. "Our culture tends to value stoicism, self-sufficiency and independence, but your mind naturally wants to attract the strength of others." And for more useful information delivered directly in your inbox,Sign up for our daily newsletter.

Things can look dark now, but you have probably felt this way before and persevered. "We have a much bigger ability to deal with disappointment and change that we do not think," saysGiovanna Zerbi, Psyd, Director of the PACE UCSD program at the University of California in San Diego. Be careful of your feelings and remember how you triumphed on past setbacks can give you the confidence to deal with what can be hidden around the corner.

When people worry, they tend to turn stories in their minds that perpetuate their fears, saysTahir Iftikhar Bhatti, MD a psychiatrist with the health of the UC San Diego. "This is where the self-awareness contributes: if you recognize yourself, press the brakes."

Faced with a seemingly impossible challenge, identify at least one piece of the problem that you can control and attack. "When you switch to charging mode, you raise the challenge of a force position rather than feeling to its mercy," explainsMichael Kahn, PhD, a psychologist in Maryland. And if you are ready to improve your life, start by giving up these26 things you do who hurt your mental health.

Instead of continuing to think of yourself and your problems, try to direct this energy outward.

"Can you find ways, while you're so absorbed, to be attentive?" Kahn request.Showing the respect and appreciation of others has an incredible ability to defuse obsessive behavior and anxiety.

Kahn says that effective people tend to be very sensitive to the feeling of becoming submerged and they know how to react before paralyzing stress. If you are taking struggles, Kahn recommends the following steps: first recognize the signs of distress, including muscle tension, sweat palms, rapid impulse or irritability. Second, disengage by taking a walk or making abreathing exercise. Thirdly, identify the source of stress: is it a project, a deadline, a personal interaction?

"Planning is the most important thing as a [busy worker] can do to avoid stress," says Kahn. Plan during the day, week, month and year, and accustom each planning session. For, for example, check your daily schedule every morning before reading your e-mail; Preview your week on Sunday evening; and preview the coming month all 27.

Kahn says that a former customer gave him this advice who is stuck with him: "If you make a list of all the things that must be done, you take them out of your head and you do not have to think of them . " To get a sense of control of these upcoming tasks, hierarchise them using the old A-B-C theory: it must be done, and C may wait later.

You can not realize immediately when you are in an increased emotional state, but do not deceive yourself, others.

Select a trusted member of your inner circle "and ask him to pull out aside when he notices that you raise your voice," says Kahn. "[They] can help you better become aware of some behaviors you are trying to minimize."

If you feel stressful, take control of your body, take a few minutes to determine these mental and physical folds with some soft stretching. It could even give dividends for you professionally. According to a 2007 study published in theAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine, office workers whohas taken an extensible break of 15 minutes felt quieter And were more productive afterwards.