Mental Health In a Pandemic

Some Tools to Feel Good

Is this all over yet??? We are in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. If it were all a movie we’d likely say how unrealistic it all was. Thankfully there is light at the end of the tunnel.  But we are still in a tunnel and that tunnel doesn’t always feel so good.

We are all craving connection. As humans we are generally social beings. Even if we don’t always like talking and making small talk with people, its often nice to be around them. After almost a year of this Covid craziness many of us just feel done. Those concerts, social gatherings, adventurous travel and big personal hugs cant come soon enough.

In the meantime the mental pressure has turned up a notch. Whether living alone or with family or friends we can feel it. Thankfully we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, so getting outside can be spectacular medicine for the soul. Still that ramped up pressure can place a squeeze on our mental well being. Anxieties can increase, heavy depressive feelings can set in and sleep can become an issue as our systems have a hard time settling. This all can lead to a whole slew of other issues.

What can we do? Outside of building a time machine there’s no perfect solution. But there are a few things we can do to help nudge our system towards a more enjoyable mental state. Really thats what it’s about: nudging the system towards where we want it to go and not having to hit a home run every time.

Here are some tools to help:

Breathe It’s almost annoying to hear that, I know. We always get told to breathe, but it’s true. Being mindful of our breathe shifts our nervous system incredibly. We don’t even need to be purposeful with it, even going “oh yeah, I’m breathing” will help.

Acupuncture. Get some! It helps create a deep feeling of relaxation by decreasing the stress hormone cortisol, lowering the blood pressure, decreasing heart rate and relaxing muscles.

Remind yourself that this will craziness pass. And remind yourself that it’s okay to feel how you’re feeling. If we give ourselves permission to be with them, unwanted feelings often pass quicker.

When feeling completely overwhelmed, ask yourself “is this all mine?”. We often pick up the stresses of others, and there is plenty of that going around. No judgement on anyone, but just reminding ourselves that some of the weight we are feeling is coming from our environment, can help lessen the load. Asking this question does just that.

Talk to a professional. We have so many great resources in the bow valley. Alberta Mental Health Services in Canmore can be reached at  403-678-4696. You are not alone.

It’s okay we feel done with this all. It’s okay to crave connection. It’s okay to be overwhelmed, anxious, and depressed. And it’s okay to speak with someone or to try a few of these things to see if they help. You deserve to feel good!

Feel free to reach out of you have any questions about these tools. I look forward to hearing from you. We’ve got this!

DrStefanTCM@gmail.com or Book Online for Acupuncture HERE