UP Gazette

Advanced Surgical Care issued the following announcement on April 20

The world has changed drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly all areas of American life have been turned upside down. These changes have placed individuals, families, and communities under great stress. Dr. Dan Tetzlaff, War Memorial Hospital psychologist offers advice for the community, “No one should feel ashamed by negative changes in their mood or functioning. Everyone is having difficulty adjusting to some extent. In some cases, people experience negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and anger both day and night.”

Dr. Tetzlaff offers the following strategies for dealing with pandemic-related mood disruption. He explains that these suggestions are not exhaustive, but may help to address the stress that many people are experiencing. These are great items to incorporate into daily life.

Practice self-care behaviors: When stressed over any length of time, a person’s self-care is often the first thing neglected. We eat poorly. We sleep poorly. Laundry piles up. Lethargy sets in and we lose motivation for even the simplest tasks. To combat this, consciously focus on personal self-care. Some self-care activities people enjoy include:

            -Physical: Walking/exercise; stretching; nutrition; hygiene; appropriate sleep

            -Psychological: reading; affirmations; deep breathing; meditation; positive focus

            -Creative activities: journaling; cooking; dancing; singing; painting; coloring

            -Social: playing with our children; connecting with loved ones; positive social media

            -Spirituality: prayer; spiritual reading and study; online services     

Distractions and changing scenery: Distract yourself from negative emotions with a change of scenery. If you are sitting in the living room feeling depressed, even a small change of scenery – like going into the kitchen or the front steps – can change your mood.

Practice psychological coping skills: Coping skills - such as diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and visualization/guided imagery – can be very helpful. These techniques are easy to access online and through a variety of relaxation-related apps. Practicing these techniques can be very helpful in controlling mood disruption.

News and social media fasting: It’s important to take a break from screens, especially those of us who tend to scroll through abrasive social media posts and stressful/scary news articles for hours on end. Limit your time engaging in these activities, and shoot for less than an hour per day total. It is also important to avoid having these activities be the first or last things you do during the day.

Give yourself permission to feel bad for a limited time: Constantly avoiding negative emotions is typically unsuccessful and exhausting in itself. It is okay to discharge these emotions by creating a space to embrace them for a specific amount of time. Give yourself permission to feel bad by saying, “I’m going to lay in bed and feel depressed for the next 10 minutes. I’m going to set a timer. When it goes off, I’m going to get up and move on to something else.” Then follow through on this plan.

Unplug the time machine: Try to avoid ‘time travelling’ to the past/future, which is a common tendency in depressed and anxious individuals. Stay in the moment and appreciate things around you, no matter how small.

Use affirmations to fight back: Overwhelming emotions present us with a choice. One option is to sit back, let our negative emotions wash over us, and wait until they run their course. Another option is to fight back with affirmations and positive self-talk. Affirmations are positive self-statements which, when repeated to ourselves, improve our outlook and energy. They can be anything you find helpful, such as a song lyric, a famous quote, a bible verse, etc.  In light of the present situation, affirmations such as, “This too shall pass,” “I am not alone,” “I will press on bravely no matter what,” and “We are going to get through this together,” come to mind. Choose or invent several affirmations that speak to you and repeat them throughout the day to draw strength.

WMH Behavioral Health Center: Offers confidential individual or family outpatient telehealth psychotherapy services. These services are available Monday – Friday with a licensed mental health clinician via a secure telehealth system. Please call (906) 253-0108 to schedule an appointment.

HBH Crisis Line: You can receive 24/7 support while remaining anonymous by calling (800)839-9443.

MDHHS Mental Health Warm Line: 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. at 888-PEER-753 (888-733-7753). It is intended to serve individuals living with persistent mental health challenges including anxiety, depression and trauma. Individuals in crisis, including those considering suicide, are urged to contact the Disaster Distress Helpline 24/7 at 800-985-5990 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 800-273-8255.

Original source can be found here.