During a time of intense stress and societal change, when public health risks are high, and social isolation has become a part of our everyday experience, our mental wellness can become greatly affected. As we have all seen during the pandemic anxiety of COVID-19, adjusting to these changes can be incredibly challenging. Feelings of health anxiety, depression symptoms, isolation depression, emotional confusion, crisis anxiety, and existential stress are just some of the many mental health challenges people are experiencing during this time. Learning how to manage anxiety symptoms and cope with depression amidst this pandemic while we are dealing with compounding personal issues, like family stress and relationship anxiety, work-related anxiety or unemployment depression, financial stress, chronic health concerns, and more, can feel near impossible at times. Know that you are not alone and that mental health resources are available, both self-help tools and professional treatment, to help you navigate anxiety and depression during crisis times.

Are you struggling with symptoms of depression?

-feelings of low or decreased energy

-persistent feelings of sadness or emptiness

-feeling hopeless or pessimistic

-anger, irritability, restlessness

-feeling low self-esteem and/or self-worth

-loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy

-insomnia or over-sleeping

-suicidal thoughts and/or plans

-difficulty concentrating on daily tasks

-pain in the body

Are you suffering from symptoms of anxiety?

-increased worry, panic, paranoia, or fear

-feelings of dread

-irritability, restlessness, or feeling on edge

-racing heart or tightness in chest

-insomnia or hard time sleeping, restlessness

-fixation or ruminating thoughts

-feeling fatigued easily

10 ways to cope with anxiety and depression during turbulent times:

1. Move your body

Walk, engage in movement therapy, jog, do cardio exercise, try nature therapy, practice anxiety-reducing yoga, or engage in whatever physical activity therapy that inspires you. Exercise for mental health will help unlock any stagnant stress energy you may be carrying, free up emotional wellness space, and reset your nervous system. The exercise endorphins act as both a natural mood stabilizer and anxiety relief technique to help combat the symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders, among other mental health benefits. For added therapeutic effects, try outdoor exercise therapy.

2. Get Vitamin D

Natural light therapy is known to have a huge positive impact on our mood regulation. Mental health experts say morning sunlight exposure is best and anywhere from 10-30 minutes is ideal in receiving the most optimal wellness benefits. If you live in a place with seasonal light deficiency during certain months of the year, purchasing a light therapy lamp or taking vitamin D supplements for depression may be in order (or therapeutic travel somewhere warm if that's within reach).

3. Eat As Well as you can

Continued efforts to maintain a balanced nutrition plan serves us in more ways than we often realize, especially when we feel mental stress. Mindful eating and whole food nutrition can have a huge impact on both our physical wellness and mental health nutrition. When our bodies feel nourished through nutritional therapy, it sends a message to the brain that we are doing well, which then influences our overall emotional wellness and mental health, minimizing symptoms of anxiety and depression through diet. Consider which mood-boosting foods make you feel great after consumption and which trigger food anxiety or low energy symptoms. Try your best to cultivate healthy eating habits with foods that support mental wellness, whatever that may be for you.

4. Avoid becoming overly-dependent on substances

Though substance use can appear like an easy access, quick-fix coping mechanism, often there are mental health consequences when we develop substance dependence. Alcohol abuse specifically and other addiction behaviors can feel like a great escape in the moment, only to worsen anxiety symptoms and depression symptoms once the temporary relief wears off. Monitoring your substance intake is important when your mental wellness is already at stake. If you struggle with active addiction treatment needs, seeking professional addiction counseling and/or joining addiction recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous is often necessary and can be a great recovery resource to changing your substance use patterns for long-term sobriety.

5. Bring in more mindfulness meditation or create your own spiritual practice

A simple mindfulness practice and anxiety meditation can work wonders for building mental awareness and finding stress relief and emotional healing within. Especially if we have a tendency toward obsessive thoughts or anxiety worries, meditation for anxiety can help us to better see this thought pattern and work to release anxiety, refocusing our attention toward deeper meditation benefits where inner peace and mental spaciousness naturally exist. There are great guided meditation techniques on Youtube. Here is one to get you started.

For some, traditional meditation is inaccessible, frustrating, or triggers anxiety symptoms. If this is you, know that you are not alone. There are other alternative mindfulness practices to access stress reduction or anxiety management - therapeutic music and movement meditation, expressive writing therapy, spiritual practices, candle meditation and flame gazing for a few minutes, or engaging in art therapy can work wonders for mental wellness and put the body in a state of momentary mindful peace. Start wherever you are with your mindfulness journey.

6. Monitor your amount of screen time

Though it may feel tempting to distract, seek connection to others through social media, stay up to date on the news, and access more information through being online, too much screen time has proven to cause many issues from mood disorders to sleep problems. Setting a timer or writing a visual reminder to keep nearby to limit your screen time can help to keep us from getting too consumed by the screen.

7. Keep a routine

Whatever this looks like to you - getting up at the same time everyday, making your bed first thing in the morning, taking some time to stretch, journal, make tea, walk your dog, or eating a healthy meal, keeping a routine is helpful in both regulating the nervous system and keeping us from dipping into negative thinking. It also can help move our stress elsewhere and out of the mind and body.

8. Get adequate sleep

Sleep issues that come from anxiety and depression can range from over-sleeping to restlessness or severe insomnia. Keeping a nightly wind-down routine like journaling, reading, light yoga, or meditation, and staying away from screens for a couple hours before bed can greatly reduce sleep issues. In severe cases, medicine may be necessary to help get your body back into the right rhythm. Though studies say napping can take us out of rhythm, if you need to rest during the day, trust that you are allowed to make that decision for yourself based on what your body is telling you.

9. Seek social connection and support

It is so easy to isolate and avoid the outside world when fear is in the air due to COVID-19. If you’re unable to get out and see friends or family, a simple phone call or joining an online group can be helpful. Taking a walk with a neighbor could be just what you need. Sharing the truth of where you are and what you are feeling with trusted others helps to reduce the intensity of the symptoms that come with anxiety and depression.

10. Seek professional help

When coping on your own feels like too much, seeking professional help can be greatly supportive. A therapist who is skilled in working with anxiety and depression is trained to help you with the symptoms you are struggling with. They can even help you find further support in the form of a psychiatrist for further assessment if you are needing medications or guide you toward other healing modalities to build up your resources as needed, alongside the therapy. To get started finding the best therapist for you, Psychology Today offers a thorough list of therapists of all kinds in your area.

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If you are needing more support, feel free to reach out. Dana Andrews with True Nature Psychotherapy offers anxiety therapy, PTSD and trauma therapy, and couples therapy online anywhere in California. Reach out today with any questions or to schedule a free and confidential phone consultation.

Coping with Anxiety and Depression during Turbulent Times