COVID-19 Resources

How to manage stress and keep it together during the COVID-19 crisis:

KEEP BUSY
- Create a daily schedule - maintain routines as much as possible
- Use the time you had been commuting to improve yourself - learn a skill you hadn’t had time for before, read that book you’ve wanted to, find ways to be active
- Find ways to express yourself and your feelings through creative pursuits (it’s not important how talented you think you are, only that you enjoy it and get some release)
- Put your energy into the home projects you haven't been able to get to
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
- Eat healthy, avoid junk food
- Drink alcohol and caffeine in moderation
- Use this opportunity to get enough sleep, and to establish a good sleep routine
- Get outside in nature, even if just sitting on the porch or by an open window - positive effects on mood and stress levels
- Make time for daily physical movement/exercise - this is calming and helps boost immune function
- Use quality resources (e,g,, CDC, State websites) on COVID-19 to avoid disinformation
- Limit your intake of news (perhaps twice a day) – it can become overwhelming and traumatizing
- Stay in touch with people you know; get in touch with long-lost friends and family
- Laugh, and have some fun when you can
- Take breaks - Play a game - Watch a movie (but not Contagion!)
- Take an online yoga class
- Check out meditation apps like Insight Timer or Headspace - they have COVID19 meditations!
- Shelve big decisions for now
MANAGE YOUR FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIPS
- Accept the "new normal" of your family system, and write down a plan for each day or week
- When upset with your partner, remember this is temporary and it will end
- Give each other time to be alone, and spend time in different physical spaces
- Shelve talking about big relationship issues until things stabilize
- Don't discuss relationship issues every day
- Build relational immunity by doing small positive things often, let go and appreciate more
- Let your partner share their feelings about the crisis, and remember, more often than not they just need a "release"
IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE HANDLING THINGS
- If anxiety gets to be too much, consult websites like EveryMind and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America
- Check your health insurance benefits, many are providing online therapy and psychiatric consultations, and some are waiving copays and deductibles, like Carefirst
- If you hit a crisis, call or text the EveryMind crisis hotline in Maryland at (301) 738-2255 and/or the Montgomery County Crisis Center at 240-777-4000
- Other hotlines and resources can be found at: /student-services/center-for-counseling-and-consultation/need-help-now