KBFRC Wellbeing and Mental Health Supports
The coronavirus outbreak may cause you to feel anxious, stressed, worried, sad, helpless and overwhelmed. It is important to remember that it's OK to feel this way and that everyone is reacting differently during this challenging time.
There are some simple things you can do to help you take care of your mental health and well-being during this time of uncertainty. The following pages offer some information and tips to help you cope with some of the difficult feelings you may have.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, like a worry or fear, that we get as a perfectly natural response to difficult situations. Anxiety is something everyone experiences from time to time and it usually passes once the situation is over. Anxiety can make our heart race, we might feel sweaty, shaky or short of breath.
What is Low Mood?
When we feel in a low mood we generally feel upset, sad and disheartened. Low mood is something that everyone experiences at some stage in our lives and is common after distressing events or major life changes, but sometimes periods of low mood happen for no obvious reason.
What is Problem Sleep?
Sleep problems are common; we all have evenings when we find it hard to fall asleep or we wake up in the night. How we sleep and how much sleep we need is different for all of us and changes as we get older (the ideal amount is 8 hours). Stress and anxiety can lead to sleeping problems, which usually sort themselves out within a few weeks. But longer stretches of bad sleep can start to affect our lives.
Wellness
The Covid-19 outbreak is an extremely difficult situation; many of us are struggling to maintain our wellbeing as we try and manage our concerns, thoughts and feelings during this challenging, uncertain time.
There have been many changes to life at home, at work and to our social interactions as we distance ourselves physically in order to protect each other. Everyone is finding this situation difficult and everyone reacts differently to the challenges of social distancing and staying at home. We may be feeling isolated, anxious, lonely or worried - about our health, about those close to us or about our finances. It is important to remember it’s OK to feel this way.
Staying healthy and taking care of mind and body is really important while staying at home and coping with mixed and changing emotions. The following offers some guidance on things you can do now to help you keep on top of your mental wellbeing and manage how you are feeling.
