Ten Questions - Importance Of Maintaining Your Mental Health
1. During the Covid - 19 'lockdown' how important is it to maintain a person's mental health?
It’s extremely important, I would probably say that it is just as important as our physical health.
Mental health impacts physical health and physical health impacts mental health, they are interdependent.
Stress greatly impacts our immune system.
All of the changes, job losses, financial worries, uncertainty of the future, and the many other stressors that come along with the pandemic, can really impact us if we don’t have the skills to cope in a productive way.
2. What steps or things can people do to relieve some of the stresses they are now feeling?
It’s important for people to keep in mind that anxiety at this time is normal, there is so much of the unknown and so much going on around us.
This pandemic is affecting all different kinds of people in so many different ways.
We shouldn’t try to avoid, ignore or suppress the feelings of stress and anxiety, but acknowledge that they are there. And know that it is ok to not be ok.
Keep things in perspective, and challenge any extreme and unhelpful thoughts that may not be serving us.
Try not to focus on the worst-case scenarios, this can cause us to feel worse and affect others around us who are having a hard time as well.
At times like this we often hear about how we should take care of ourselves but we are not told what that means.
What we often do is self soothe which is sleeping in, watching tv, it might be snacking, doing other self-indulging such as using substances to overcome the boredom.
What we should be doing is self-care which is harder.
Self-care is eating healthy, exercising, getting up and getting dressed, following a routine.
If we only self soothe it can end up becoming a habit that may be difficult to break.
Having a routine can be as simple as setting a goal for today and deciding when you are going to do it.
You get up, have a shower, get dressed, have a cup of coffee, and check in with some friends and do your goal at whatever time you decide. It could be as simple as going out for a walk after lunch.
Our thoughts can run wild if we’re not taking care of ourselves and as they say, we are what we think. Self-care is so important right now. We have to think about what gives us joy and make time for it.
Connecting with others, talking about our stresses and supporting each other through these difficult times will also help keep ourselves well.
3. There has been a lot of talk about social media and its effects upon people's mental health. How can a person balance social media as a good experience and not the negativity coming into their lives?
Social media can be both positive and negative depending on how we use it.
It can become an issue for people when they become too emotionally involved in what is happening online, when they feel they may be missing out if they aren’t logged in, when self-esteem is based on likes, or when it becomes somewhat of an addiction.
But there are a lot of positive aspects to social media, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Social media allows us to overcome the barriers of distance and time and allows us to connect, and reconnect with others, as well as strengthen our real-life relationships.
As long as we are mindful of our social media use, it can be much more beneficial than detrimental, especially right now. When you are on social media ask yourself, why you are using it, to keep in touch with family and friends, or to kill time.
4. The news media seems to be filled with bad news can this have an effect on a person's mental health?
Absolutely, the media we consume affects our moods.
Constantly seeing all of the stories from around the world about people suffering and losing loved ones can really affect our mental health.
The more negative news that we watch, the more likely we are to personalize it and worry that it will happen to us.
We can start to see our personal struggles as more severe or threatening than they really are, and it can become difficult to control these negative worries and thoughts.
This can lead to problems when interacting with and interpreting the world around us.
It is so important to try to balance the positive news with the negative news as much as possible.
We also need to limit the amount of time we watch/listen to news.
There is a lot of contradictory news and misinformation, which leaves us wondering what to believe.
Rather than following the news of the whole world perhaps follow the news of the province.
5. Are there limits a person should place upon watching or reading the news?
Because this pandemic has been evolving so quickly, it can sometimes feel like we need to constantly check for updates so that we don’t miss any important information.
But the more often we check in on the news, the more often we think about it in our minds, and this doesn’t leave us with any time for breaks.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada recommends limiting updates from one to three scheduled times a day, and to make a conscious effort to focus our thoughts on other positive things throughout the day.
6. As people are in isolation are there any worries that social isolation and the lack of interaction with others will be highly negative on people's mental health?
As human beings we are social creatures, connecting with others is what gives our lives meaning and purpose.
Loneliness, isolation and stress on the other hand are huge triggers for mental illness, so it’s absolutely important that we continue to connect and support one and other through these difficult times of social isolation and distancing.
I think we should be saying physical distancing instead of social distancing, we need to be more creative in our social interactions under these conditions, but it's so important for us to stay connected and be more social than ever.
7. What is the CMHA doing here in Moose Jaw to help the people they helped in the past with your actual office and programs closed?
CMHA Moose Jaw’s programs mainly focus on Peer Support.
Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 regulations, we are not able to run our groups at this time.
This was such an important part of keeping people feeling well and getting people out to socialize and connect with the larger community.
In order to continue supporting our group members our Peer Supporters have been checking in through the phone a couple of times a week to connect and offer support and socialize as much as possible.
We are still offering one on one peer support, and our Peer Supporters are doing support over the phone, and assisting peers with connecting to community resources and obtaining necessities.
The stress and isolation can increase mental illness for people already vulnerable to it, so we are doing our best to support those in need as much as possible.
8. With some people perhaps feeling overwhelmed at times by everything going on around them has the CMHA in Moose Jaw undertaking any special programs to assist people who perhaps just need someone to talk to?
CMHA has created an Emergency Wellness Response phone line for the Province of Saskatchewan.
Each branch has been assigned a number in order to offer support to the community as a whole.
The line in Moose Jaw will be monitored by our staff members to offer support to anyone who may be struggling with their mental health at this time.
The line will offer support, information about community resources, relaxation and wellness tips, tips for reducing stress and anxiety, symptoms of depression and isolation.
Note, this is not a crisis line and those in immediate crisis will be redirected to the appropriate service, but we are here to listen and help people manage their thoughts and feelings in a productive way.
People can also just call if they feel they need to connect with someone.
9. Can you explain how does one access this service from the local CMHA?
Anyone can access the support service by calling 306-630-5968 between Monday and Friday to speak with a Support Person or other inquiries you can call our office number at 306-692-4240.
Our office is closed but the phone is forwarded to us.
The Saskatchewan Division Office is also offering a Youth line for people aged 12-19 who would like support, they can be reached at 306-730-5900.
10. Do you have anything else to add?
Through CMHA, Sask. Division, we will be hosting some online training that will be free to anyone in the community.
Keep watching our Facebook page to see the times and dates for these online workshops as well as other things we might be doing. You can find our Facebook page at CMHA Moose Jaw.
Have a great day!