A Year In Review - Dealing With Covid-19

Welp – we’ve now officially lived through one year with Covid-19, the pandemic that has affected the world and pretty much everyone in it. Maybe you know someone who had Covid? Maybe you yourself had to fight the virus off? Regardless of if you’ve had first hand interaction with the virus or not, it’s safe to say that you have been effected by it’s presence in some shape or form!

It’s True that Covid-19 has real and significant physical effects on those who contract it, but it’s not just limited to physical symptoms. The necessary ways in which we must come together to combat the spread has also played a huge role in our mental health. Elderly people are self-isolating, children are unable to spend time with friends at school and those of us living alone, have little daily interaction with others. All of this adds up to mental health concerns! This is because we are a species that thrives on community interaction and the isolation that has been growing for years with the increase in technology, has only been heightened by the physical distancing needed at this moment.

Although it’s very easy to focus on these negative aspects, it’s also important to recognize some of the positive conversations coming out at this time, specifically those around mental health.

The topic of mental health has been increasingly more visible in recent years and is finally being recognized as the health issue that it is. So, now that mental health is a large topic in society, it’s slowly starting to be considered as a legitimate factor in determining the best next steps for both combating the virus and also, maintaining the functionality of our communities.

Technology, which we usually hear being blamed for it’s part in deteriorating mental health, is now being utilized in creative new ways by healthcare providers and mental health professionals. App based resources are becoming increasingly popular and let’s not forget the popularity of video calls. Without the ability to meet via video, our practitioners would have been pretty limited in their ability to provide quality counseling and therapy sessions to our clients in need.

With summer around the corner and a year of pandemic living behind us, it’s now becoming increasingly harder to maintain our distance from others, but with the current situation in Ontario, it’s never been so important! As such, we must continue to limit physical contact and instead maintain our mental health in other ways. This can include:

Enjoying activities that have been proven to minimize the risk of spread, such as enjoying the outdoors, walking your dog or taking part in mindful movement like yoga or light exercise.
Leveraging the professional help you have access to, like scheduling regular appointments with your therapist, utilizing mental health tracking apps or joining virtual support groups
Journaling, practicing gratitude and being mindful of the small moments of joy in your day
Trade in your sweats for your favourite outfit. Take time to get fully dressed and pamper yourself even if you’re staying home all day.
Utilize free resources like meditation on YouTube, or the Headspace series on Netflix
Gather with friends or family over Zoom, or, if all the video calls are getting overwhelming, consider passing on the next one!

Better days are ahead with the increase in vaccinations and hopefully with the summer weather. If you’re looking for more resources on how to maintain your mental health through this pandemic please give us a call today at (705) 792-1313 or check out some of these helpful articles: