Prioritizing Your Mental Health During Quarantine
Thanks to COVID-19, many are feeling cooped up, stressed, exhausted, anxious, and vulnerable. With the current orders to stay at home, it can be difficult to prioritize your mental health, particularly since some of the things you used to do to take care of yourself are completely off-limits. While some people are stepping up to help out and support their community, this is not the case with everyone. Periods of high stress and fear can bring out some unnecessary judgemental shaming. Social media posts can leave people feeling judged for leaving the house to buy seeds to plant or even for going to talk to a friend from a safe distance. In this unprecedented and critical time, it is vital that you prioritize your mental health. You can be socially responsible and do this all safely while making sure that you are taking care of mental health.
What is essential?
Social media platforms, neighbors, and people hiding behind the anonymity of the internet have been quite vocal about their opinions of what should be deemed “essential.” The reality of this situation, though, is that no one can tell you what is and is not essential for you. Only you can decide this for yourself. It’s really easy to judge other people’s situations from the outside, but we never see them clearly from this point of view. If you need to do something for your mental health and can do it safely, please do it.
Although rec centers, libraries, most retail shops, and restaurants are still closed to dining in, there are still ways to connect. If you deem something essential for your mental health, it’s okay to do it. Whether it’s taking the dog for a walk, painting a room you’ve been meaning to paint, or starting that garden you’ve always wanted to plant, make sure you are still doing what you need to do for yourself.
Don’t let other people’s judgement stop you
The reality is that people don’t know what you’re doing. And the most important part of this is this: it doesn’t matter. What other people think, and other people’s vocal judgement has no bearing on what is actually happening in your life, your actual mental health state, and what you actually need to do to take care of yourself, your family, and your community. Sometimes, this means venturing out into the world to do something that other people deem “non-essential.” Just because someone else thinks that what you need to do isn’t essential doesn’t mean it’s true. No one gets to decide what you need except you. And, frankly, no one actually knows what you’re doing or where you’re going, and if they don’t need to know, it’s none of their business.
We have seen people judging other people for buying “non-essential” items and having them delivered, claiming they are risking the postal and delivery drivers. Maybe the clothes that your neighbor ordered are essential because their baby is growing and doesn’t have any more. We have seen people judging other people for leaving the house. Maybe they have an essential job that you don’t know about. Maybe they are going on a drive to remind themselves that there is still a world we will return to. We have seen people judging other people for going to the store to buy paint or seeds or gardening tools. Maybe these things are in fact essential to that person’s mental health. Maybe they’re keeping that person from falling into a major depressive episode or keeping them away from an abusive partner.
We don’t know what other people are doing, and unless we are certain what and why they are doing what they are doing, we have no room to judge, and they have no room to judge you.
Just because the person across the street doesn’t leave in a uniform doesn’t mean their job isn’t essential. Just because someone is perusing the aisle of the hardware store looking for lumber to build a fence doesn’t mean that they are just out because they’re bored. Maybe they are suicidal and need to feel like they’ve accomplished something. Maybe they are in an abusive home and need to escape and find something to do to keep them outside as long as possible.
The reality is that every situation, every person’s home life, and every person’s choices look different to the people inside them. We don’t know what is essential to our neighbors, and they don’t know what is essential to us.
Take care of yourself first
Anyone who has ever been on an airplane has heard the old “always put your mask on before helping others.” This is sage advice. You can’t help anyone else if you’re starving for oxygen yourself. You can’t take care of your family if you aren’t taking care of your mental health, dealing with crippling anxiety, a depressive episode, or suicidal. This pandemic has put most of life on hold. It has put a strain on families and individuals, socially, economically, and emotionally. Make sure you are doing what you need to be doing to take care of yourself during this time. No one has the right to determine what you need to be doing for your mental health. Please, put your oxygen mask on first so that you can be there to help the people in your life who need you.
If your home is an unsafe place for you to be or you are going through a mental health crisis, please reach out to your counselor and the proper social channels to get the assistance and safety that you need. This is not only essential now, when you’re forced to stay home, but reaching out can help you determine a path forward and path out of your current situation.
National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or CHAT online thehotline.org
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Mental Health and Substance Use Alliance of Larimer County:
https://mhsualliance.org/covid-19news/
SummitStone Crisis Services: (970) 494-4200
Walk in crisis center 1217 Riverside Ave., Fort Collins
2-1-1 Colorado Human Services Resources : Dial dialing 2-1-1 or text your Zip Code to 898-211. Search online at: https://www.211colorado.org/
CAYAC (Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Connections) 970-221-3308
Northern Colorado Mental Health Services:
https://mhsualliance.org/managing-stress-anxiety-depression/