Are you feeling worried about Covid-19?

What is your Covid-19 story I wonder?

I think a lot of us are already feeling exhausted after all the changes and challenges this year has brought and here we go again with more new regulations to try to understand.

I’m very aware that over the last 6 months many of us haven’t been able to do the things that help us cope, to help take care of our mental health, like getting away, meeting up with friends and family, or having time alone. 

There has been a cascade of quiet psychological effects of this pandemic with many people being triggered by isolation, loneliness, lack of separation of work and home, very little headspace for the introverts, and very little socialising for the extroverts. Let alone the enormous increase in emotional labour with juggling home schooling, cancelled travel plans, missed graduations, worrying about our older people, our jobs, the economy, the government, the long and short term impact on our safety and financial security, the planet…

We all have our own Covid stories.

So I thought I would put together a quick guide on where to find some help.

Resources

It's understandable to feel anxious about catching Covid-19 or feeling worried about your friends and family. You might be feeling down or depressed by the uncertainty. Or maybe you're still feeling the physical and mental effects from suffering from the disease. 

I've been writing about Covid-19 since it's manifestation in the UK back in March. You'll find links to these articles below:

COVID + ME: WHAT I DID TO RECOVER FROM COVID-19

COVID-19 - THE NUTRIENTS TO HELP BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY

LOCKDOWN LIFE CHANGES: HOW WILL YOUR LIFE CHANGE IN THE NEW NORMAL?

HOW TO CALM YOUR MIND + BODY IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

5 SCIENCE-BACKED WAYS TO BOOST YOUR MOOD ON LOCKDOWN

I hope you find some useful but if you need extra help here are some other useful contacts:

Useful Contacts

• Samaritans. To talk about anything that is upsetting you, you can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call 116 123 (free from any phone), email jo@samaritans.org or visit some branches in person. You can also call the Welsh Language Line on 0300 123 3011 (7pm–11pm every day).
• SANEline. If you're experiencing a mental health problem or supporting someone else, you can call SANEline on 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm–10.30pm every day).
• The Mix. If you're under 25, you can call The Mix on 0808 808 4994 (Sunday-Friday 2pm–11pm), request support by email using this form on The Mix website or use their crisis text messenger service.
• Papyrus HOPELINEUK. If you're under 35 and struggling with suicidal feelings, or concerned about a young person who might be struggling, you can call Papyrus HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141 (weekdays 10am-10pm, weekends 2pm-10pm and bank holidays 2pm–10pm), email pat@papyrus-uk.org or text 07786 209 697.
• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). If you identify as male, you can call the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) on 0800 58 58 58 (5pm–midnight every day) or use their webchat service.

If you need immediate help:

If you are feeling suicidal or are thinking about self-harm. Please:

• call 999 for an ambulance
• go straight to A&E, if you can
• or call your local crisis team, if you have their number.

If you can't do this by yourself, ask someone to help you.

Mental health emergencies are serious. You're not wasting anyone's time.

If you need more general support:

The first step is always the most difficult but if you are struggling find someone to talk to - they will want to be there for you. Speak to a friend or member of your family, make an appointment with your GP, or contact a counsellor. It really does help to talk.

A recent change, due to COVID-19, is that more counsellors are working online than ever before. You might find that a local or national charity now provides online counselling, for free. As there are so many counselling agencies and mental health charities, I won’t be able to list them here but suggest you see if
they are listed with a counselling association such as: the BACP or an accredited directory like: The Counselling Directory

Free counselling services:
Kooth - For Young People

A list of charities offering free support for adults is here

 

If you want to take care of yourself:

I’m a great believer in doing what I can to take care of myself and there are many small ways that you start to make a difference right now which I have written about here:

5 SCIENCE-BACKED WAYS TO BOOST YOUR MOOD ON LOCKDOWN
THE KEY NUTRIENTS TO HELP REDUCE ANXIETY

Top mental health tools:

Eating high quality proteins + plenty of the freshest vegetables + fruit + good fats is the best way to fuel your brain

Get exercising a little and often - Run + Walk + Dance + Yoga + Tai Chi + Cycle

Get outside as much as you can - every day if possible

Get creative - do something that you love

Get connected to friends + family - make time for the people in your life

Breathe
Take a deep breath counting to 4 + hold your breath to the count of 4 + blow out the candles to the count of 4 + wait for the count of 4 + repeat x 4
Doing this regularly throughout the day - whenever you walk you can count to your paces - helps to calm your body + mind putting you into Rest + Digest rather than Fight + Flight + Freeze

Take your vitamins

Supplements for Mental Health

Have you heard of biohacking? Biohacking is the process of thinking about your health from the perspective of the underlying causes of the symptoms rather than simply fixing the symptoms themselves. A bit like rather than just taking a painkiller for a bad back but also looking at how posture + muscle tone + alignment + nutrition might be the cause.

The biohacking approach is the process of making changes to your lifestyle; to "hack" the ways to get your body into optimum health.

You can actually transform your body + mind yourself.

Taking responsibility for the choices you make + the impact they have on your body can transform your energy levels + your productivity + your happiness + make it possible to live your best life.

360ME has been designed to help you biohack your psychological wellbeing.

We have developed unique pioneering formulas synergistically combining many powerful + body-ready nutrients into 2 daily easy-to-take capsules in beautiful life-ready blister packs.

Easy to take on the go wherever your life takes you (the South Pole for one of our tribe!)

• If you are feeling low + would like to feel happier: HAPPY ME is the one for you
• If you are feeling anxious + would like to feel calmer: CALM ME is the one for you
• If you are feeling flat + would like an energy boost: ENERGY ME is the one for you
• If you are feeling a mixture of all of these things + you want something to do everything: MOOD ME is the one for you

My inbox is also always open so if I can be of any further help do get in touch at hello@montgomeryandevelyn.com