The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live our lives, uncertainty, unemployment, economic pressures, and social isolation are some of the most notable changes it has caused. All this leads us to the question: how can we protect our mental health from covid-19?
Change Direction is an organization endorsed by Michelle Obama, where it is proposed to take mental health as a priority, put it in discussion and thus provide different tools to citizens who may be suffering. "Everyone should know everything about these signs. It should be like checking for strange lumps in the chest or measuring cholesterol," says Obama. That is why during this pandemic the organization invites you to identify 5 signs that your mental health is at risk:
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Personality changes: you are no longer feeling like yourself, you feel that you have gradually or suddenly changed your personality and you behave in ways that do not fit with your way of being.
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You are always in a bad mood or nervous: irritability and a strong character can be signs that something is wrong. In extreme cases these characteristics can prevent you from sleeping or can cause uncontrollable attacks of anger.
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You are isolating yourself: if you are someone who has always had good communication with your family or with the people you live and suddenly you don’t speak with them anymore, you stop doing activities, it is worth paying attention. If you have always been an introvert and have not had a social change, this point does not apply to you.
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Less personal care: but of course in a pandemic it is normal that we do not cut our hair and we are lazy to wear jeans. But when there are changes such as giving up personal hygiene, taking up a bad habit like smoking, these could be signs that something is wrong.
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You are hopeless: if you are one of those who used to be the most optimistic and suddenly you do not find reasons to be well or you are having very negative perspectives, it is another point that may reveal some problem.
If you tested positive for any of these signs, we recommend keeping in touch with people, virtually participating in activities that give you pleasure and a sense of meaning, and do what you can to help others, which is a remarkable antidote. to maintain good mental health.
If you believe that you or someone close to you is presenting all the above mentioned signals, we recommend you contact the helpline to deal with the distress caused by disasters, an external site icon, call 1-800-985-5990 or send TalkWithUs to 66746.