Project Number 20201LT01KA203078100 Prepared by ITPIO Most of us have not faced such a crisis as the one we are currently experiencing due to the coronavirus outbreak People are worried not only about whether they will get sick from the virus but also if this happens how th ID: 917839 Download Presentation
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Presentation on theme: "Mental Health & Coping with Stress during COVID-19"— Presentation transcript
Slide1
Mental Health & Coping with Stress during COVID-19
Project
Number
2020-1-LT01-KA203-078100
Prepared by
:
ITPIO
Slide2Most of us have not faced such a crisis as the one we are currently experiencing due to the coronavirus
outbreak. People are worried not only about whether they will get sick from the virus, but also if this happens, how the disease will progress in them, they worry about their loved ones – children, parents, relatives, friends, colleagues. There are also worries about how the economic image of the world will change, how this will affect our lives now and in the future, and if we will be able to cope.Infectious diseases such as COVID-19 can be scary and can affect our mental health. Sometimes fear is rather connected with the unexpected, the unknown. Our emotions often range from extreme optimism through inexplicable sadness to fear and horror. While it’s important to stay informed, it’s also vital we look after our mental health and wellbeing.
2
Our mental health during COVID-19
Slide3Because not only the physical side of COVID-19 is scary, many people are experiencing a more severe pandemic due to COVID-19-related mental health issues.
Providing
psychosocial support in crisis situations to preserve mental health includes various approaches such as adherence to basic measures to deal with the pandemic, strengthening public relations and family support, providing specialized services to citizens in more serious condition by providing of specialized help from various health professionals, etc.In every epidemic, and especially a pandemic, it is common for people to feel stressed and anxious. Common reactions of people directly and indirectly affected include:3
Our mental health during COVID-19
Slide4• Avoiding
health facilities for fear of infection;
• Fear of losing one’s livelihood, inability to perform one’s duties during isolation, fear of being fired or not being able to find a new job;• Fear of social isolation / quarantine;• Feeling powerless to protect loved ones and fear of losing loved ones;• Fear of separation from close and caring people due to quarantine;
• Fear of who will take care of children or the elderly if their relatives
are
quarantined or ill;
•
Feelings of helplessness, boredom, loneliness and depression due to isolation;• Fear of a previous experiencе during an epidemic.
4
Mental health and
psychosocial
reactions to COVID-19
Slide5The COVID-19 pandemic is also associated with some more specific stressful events, especially for people living in outbreaks, or infected / sick, or knowing someone who is
sick, e.g.:
• the risk of infection and transmission of the virus to others;• symptoms of other diseases (especially respiratory) could be incorrectly considered to be symptoms of COVID-19;• people with underlying diseases, where complications are more common, are at risk of deteriorating physical and mental health.5
Mental health and
psychosocial
reactions to COVID-19
Slide6• closing schools and kindergartens increases stress for parents and caregivers;
• fear of the long-term consequences of the pandemic, including economic;
• deterioration of social relations;• feelings of anger and dissatisfaction with the government and medical staff;• possible distrust of information provided by the government and other official bodies;• people with a mental illness may avoid treatment or visit health facilities even if they need to.6
Mental health and
psychosocial
reactions to COVID-19
Slide7Some of these fears and reactions are associated with real dangers, but the behaviour of the population is changing due to lack of knowledge, rumours and misinformation. Measures must be taken to address stigma and discrimination at all levels during a pandemic. It is important to maintain contacts between
people,
to share information with isolated / quarantined, if they do not follow social media, to support them at all levels.Mental health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic must be accessible and adapted to the needs of children, the elderly, other vulnerable groups (e.g. people with compromised immune systems, minority ethnic groups), health workers, etc.During quarantine, where possible, safe communication channels must be provided to reduce loneliness and psychological isolation.7
General principles for maintaining
mental health
Slide8• Feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, or frustration• Changes in appetite, energy, desires, and interests
• Difficulty concentrating, depression
• Sleep disturbances or nightmares• Physical reactions: headaches, body pains, stomach problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, skin rashes, obesity• Worsening of chronic health problems• Weakened immune system• Worsening of mental health conditions
When
stress persists, it can take a toll on your health and
well-being
• Increased use of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances
Slide9Fear, worry, and stress are normal responses to perceived or real threats, and at times when we are faced with uncertainty or the unknown. So it is normal and understandable that people are experiencing fear in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Added to the fear of contracting the virus in a pandemic such as COVID-19 are the significant changes to our daily lives as our movements are restricted in support of efforts to contain and slow down the spread of the virus.
While we are faced with new realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, home-schooling of children, and lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues, it is important that we look after our mental, as well as our physical health.9
Mental health & COVID-19
Slide10In
public mental health terms, the main
negative psychological problems to date are the elevated rates of stress or anxiety. But as new measures and impacts are introduced, especially social distancing, isolation, and quarantine, that affect many people’s usual activities, routines or livelihoods, levels of loneliness, sadness, depression, stress, anxiety, grief, worry and fear, are expected
to rise and the impact can be overwhelming and makes the situation even more challenging.
Therefore, we have to learn
ways to cope during this pandemic
.
10
Mental
health
&
COVID-19
Slide1111
Healthy
ways to
cope
with
stress
Take care of your body. Be mindful about your physical
health
Get enough
sleep, sticking
to a regular bedtime
routine
Exercise regularly
(
e.g. yoga, tai chi, stretching
)
Eat healthy, choose a well-balanced diets
Avoid excessive tobacco, alcohol and substance / drugs use
Limit
screen time
– in front of the TV, a tablet
,
computer, smart phone
Make time to unwind, relax
and recharge: take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate,
soak
in a bubble bath, listen to music,
read
books
or
magazines
Continue
with routine preventive measures (such as vaccinations, cancer screenings, etc.) as recommended by your healthcare
provider; get
vaccinated with a COVID-19
vaccine.
Self-care strategies
are good for
our
mental and physical health and can help
us
take charge of
our life and
benefit
our
mental health
.
Here are some
tips
to help you, your
friends and
your
family to look after
your
mental health.
Slide1212
Healthy
ways to
cope
with
stress
Take care of your mind. Reduce stress
triggers
Keep
your regular
routine/maintain
a regular daily schedule
Do not stay glued to the
news. If we
are staying at home, it might feel tempting to spend
a lot
of time scrolling through social media and the news.
Try
to find a balance between staying informed and feeling overwhelmed by the
news
Search
for information from reliable/reputable news and information sources.
/Reduce
the time to search for information (1-2 times a day, not every hour
)
Stay busy, e.g. enjoy
hobbies that you can do at home
Focus
on positive
thoughts and
cognitive
exercises, or learn
new things online – for example free
online courses
Set priorities, reasonable
goals
and
outline steps you can take to reach
them
Make
a personal financial plan.
Slide1313
Healthy
ways to
cope
with
stress
Make
connections
and talk
with people you trust about your concerns and how you are
feeling
Connect with your community – While
social distancing measures are in place, try connecting online, through social media,
by
phone or
mail
Talk to
your
children. They often
copy the emotional outbursts of adults, so it is important for parents to manage their own emotions well and stay calm by listening to and supporting children's concerns.
Try to stay connected, build
support and strengthen relationships
Do something for others – During times of social distancing, it is especially important to stay connected with your friends and family, neighbours, etc. Helping others cope with stress through phone calls or video chats can help you and your loved ones feel less lonely or
isolated.
Slide1414
Healthy
ways to
cope
with
stress
Recognize what's typical and what's
not
Mental
health
concerns during
the COVID-19
pandemic
and
can
push
us
beyond
our
ability to
cope.
Despite our
best efforts,
we
may find
ourselves
feeling helpless, sad, angry, irritable, hopeless, anxious or afraid.
We
may have trouble concentrating on typical tasks, changes in appetite, body aches and pains, or difficulty sleeping or you may struggle to face routine chores.
When these signs and symptoms last for several days in a row, make
us miserable
and cause problems in
our
daily life so that we find it hard to carry out normal responsibilities, it's time to ask for help.
Slide1515
Healthy
ways to
cope
with
stress
Get help when you need it
Hoping mental health problems such as anxiety or depression will go away on their own can lead to worsening symptoms. If you have concerns or if you experience worsening of mental health symptoms, ask for help when you need it, and be upfront about how you're doing.
Continue your self-care strategies
You can expect your current strong feelings to fade when the pandemic is over, but stress won't disappear from your life when the health crisis of COVID-19 ends. Continue these self-care practices to take care of your mental health and increase your ability to cope with life's ongoing challenges.
Slide1616
Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on
university
students’ anxiety disorder
The continuous spread of the pandemic, strict isolation measures and delays in starting schools, colleges, and universities across the countries is expected to influence students’ mental
health. University students began
to experience a new kind of university life, characterized by
distance
learning, and online relationships with their
peers.
Young and more educated
people
are more likely to present a worsening in depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to older people. The reduced ability of
youth
to tolerate uncertainty about the future could explain these differences in terms of mental health reactions depending on the
age.
Slide1717
Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on
university
students’ anxiety disorder
Several analyses applied to university students
have shown
higher rates of anxiety/depression and financial instability due to the pandemic all over the world. A positive association between high levels of anxiety symptoms and occurrence of sleep problems among
university
students
has been
detected during the lockdown period.
Slide1818
A
guide for young people: What
Can I Control?
Focus on what you can control and acknowledge what you can’t
There
is a lot that feels uncertain right now, like exam marks, university, job or apprenticeship offers, and what the world will look like in a few weeks or months. It can feel scary and overwhelming when we don’t know what will happen, and a lot of it will be out of our control. Trying to identify the things that you do have control over, and those that you don't, can help make this feel a bit more
manageable.
Slide1919
The Circle of Control
You
could try a Circle of Control exercise, where you think about what’s stressing you out and write down the things you have no control over, the things you can influence, and the things you can control. We feel more anxious when we focus on the things we can’t control and forget about the things we can.
In
any difficult situation, there are factors we can control and factors we cannot control. There’s also all the stuff in between, where we can kind of push it in a particular direction but don’t have the final say over how it turns out. (Other people’s behaviour often fits into this category.)
Slide2020
The Circle of Control
Anxiety
often comes up when we focus disproportionately on the factors we can’t control, while neglecting to think about the things we actually can change. Often, especially during times like these, those are the basic self-care things: sleep, hydration, food, moving our bodies.
Unfortunately
, this becomes a feedback
loop – anxiety
tends to perpetuate itself, keeping us focused on the big scary things we have little or no control over, and making it even harder to focus on things like drinking water.
This activity can help us refocus.
Slide2121
Prompts to Use the
Circle of
Control
to
manage stress and
anxiety
1.
What was your experience with filling out the circles? What came up for you?
2. Do any of your circles have noticeably more or fewer items in them than the others? Which were easiest to think of answers for?
3. Which circles do you tend to think about the most when you're feeling worried?
4. Look at your "No control" and "Some control" items. Can any of them be broken down into smaller pieces that might go further in?
(E.g.
you can't control social distancing guidelines, but you can probably control how you choose to implement them.
5. Look at your "Some control" and "Most control" items. Should any of them be broken down into smaller pieces that might go further out? It's important not to expect yourself to control things that aren't actually totally under your control.
6. How would it feel to take some concrete steps with your "Most control" items?
Slide22THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!