How to Take Care of Your Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on the world, it is natural to ponder how your workplace will be in the future. The uncertainty and turmoil that the pandemic has placed on us can make it difficult to maintain our mental health.
In this post, learn how you can acquire information, support, and tips to keep your mental wellbeing intact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Self-Care Tips
Only get your news from trusted sources.
If you feel that social media is worsening your anxiety, limit your exposure to it.
Maintain a healthy sleep and rest routine. If you find yourself working longer, take a break, and watch your physical health.
Communicate with your friends and family through phones, emails, and videos.
Make local arrangements for worker childcare in your area.
CheckUp Health
You can download the CheckUp Health App to keep track of your health. The CheckUp Health app allows you to speak to a general physician at any time. Among other things, the CheckUp Health app allows you to:
Book healthcare appointments.
Access your personal health records.
View results and get prescriptions.
Receive sick notes and referrals.
Self-Care Resources and Campaigns from the RCN
To get an idea of how the Member Support Service from the RCN can help you with your emotional wellbeing, career, finances, welfare, and peer support service, see the Providing emotional and practical support for you leaflet.
To get resources, advise, and posters for managers, members, and safety professionals on the importance of good hydration, breaks, and proper nutrition, refer to the Rest, Rehydrate, Refuel campaign.
So as to learn of the important steps for staff to take care of themselves, the self-care during COVID-19 poster is very handy.
Each video in the Time and Space mindfulness series was created for nursing staff. Each video covers a different part of the day and offers a number of practical techniques to use. Nurses in charge and nurse managers also have access to a “team support and defusing” video.
Frontline 19
You can access free mental and emotional wellbeing services for frontline workers from Frontline 19.
In case you are a frontline worker, directly working with COVID-19, and need support during this difficult time, you can talk to a qualified psychotherapist, psychologist or counselor at a time and place of your choosing, free of charge.
“Our Frontline” Resource
If you are a healthcare worker, you can receive one-on-one around the clock support from Our Frontline. Support is offered through text or call from trained volunteers who offer signposts, resources, and ideas to help you take care of your mental health.
The support is tailored to whether you work in emergency services, healthcare, or social care as a key worker. You can also check the general resources that are tailored for Wales, Northern Ireland, or Scotland.
Wellbeing Apps
As an NHS staff, you have access to wellbeing apps like Unmind and Headpace for free. Check out the NHS Employee website for more information.
On the Headpace app, there is a free section called “Weathering the storm.” This section is available to everyone and contains movement, meditation, and sleep exercises.
Sleepio is an app that helps improve sleep while Daylight is an app that helps with symptoms of worry using cognitive behavioral techniques. Sleepio and Daylight are also available for free for NHS employees. That being said, non-NHS employees can also sign up for the apps.
An app that is free for all to use during the COVID-19 crisis is My Possible Self. It contains simple learning modules to help you manage anxiety, fear, and unhelpful thinking. It also allows you to record your experiences so as to stay ahead of your mental health.
For more apps, check out the NHS wellbeing apps. Most of them should be free for everyone.
RCEM Wellbeing App for Emergency and Critical Care
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine encourages those working in critical and emergency care to use the RCEM Wellbeing App.
The app is tailored for those in critical and emergency care. It will help you keep track of your wellbeing during this difficult time. RCEM has offered the app to nurses for free until the end of the year.
Handling Death at Work
Death is hard to process, regardless of whether you encounter it for the first time as a student or have experienced it many times as a health worker. The number of deaths healthcare professionals are exposed to during the COVID-19 pandemic will be higher than usual.
As such, the psychological impact of death should not be underestimated. You can get helpful tips on how to cope with a patient’s death from the RCN blog: Dealing with Death.
RCN Counselling
In case you need more professional support, do not hesitate to call the RCN Counselling service. The counseling services are running, as usual, to support its members, especially at this time.