Stressed? Grumpy? Tired all the time?
You need a mental preparation regime.
For months, therapists have reported a significant increase in clients anxious, worried or depressed about current events – the Covid-19 pandemic, economic problems, civil unrest. And while they can teach coping skills, such as regulating emotion, to help cope with stress, they say it is also important for people to take proactive steps to be mentally healthy, just as they would if they wanted to be physically fit. “If you wait until a major stressor appears to try to improve your mental health, it’s like trying to inflate your lifeboat while you’re already drowning in the sea,” says Wendy Troxel, clinical psychologist and senior behavioral and social scientist at Rand Corp.
Many people turn to conversation therapy, exercise, meditation and a healthy diet to do this. Shirlee Hoffman, a 75-year-old retired marketing consultant from Chicago, limits her news consumption to about five minutes a day. Erin Wiley, 50, a licensed psychotherapist in Toledo, Ohio, uses an app to track the things for which she is grateful. Rhonda Steele, 62, a special education teacher in Sellersburg, Indiana, prays and reads devotions. Dwight Oxley, 84, a retired physician in Wichita, Kansas, reads and plays the piano. Rachel Glyn, 66, a retired Philadelphia beautician, tries to do as much as possible for others. Michael Schauch, 40, investment portfolio manager in Squamish, British Columbia, climbs – he says the view gives him perspective. Stedman Stevens, 62, CEO of an aviation technology company in Wilmington, NC, takes 15 minutes each afternoon to sit alone, without distractions. “I hear what my mind shows me,” he says. “It restores my mental strength.”
What steps should you include in your mental fitness regime? Here are the experts’ advice.