A whole new world: five tips on managing mental health after quarantine

By Charlotte Brown

After the onset of a once in a lifetime global crisis, it would be an understatement to say that a huge number of people’s mental health has been impacted this year by the pandemic and subsequent fallout. As we have said previously, traumatic events like this can trigger a prolonged response from our fight or flight systems - this can result in too much exposure to stress hormones which can worsen our mental and physical health. It’s completely normal to be experiencing feelings of loneliness, anxiety, futility, and a loss in motivation. We recognise that many students returning this year might be concerned about managing their mental health as the pandemic continues.

It’s therefore more crucial than ever to take care of ourselves as much as possible. We have a few suggestions below for those who might be feeling lost in where to start treating their mental health:

1. Spend time outside

This is a big one - it’s incredibly easy to stay indoors and avoid anxiety that may stem from going outside or leaving an area that we’ve established as a safe space. However, going outside, even if just to a local park or down the street, can help us to regain a sense of normalcy. Although avoiding places that scare us provides temporary relief, it also reinforces those feelings of anxiety that make it harder to go there next time. Alleviating some feelings of restriction after self isolating might help to improve your mental health. If it’s safe to do

so, try to experience a little bit more of nature if you’re feeling down.

2. Reach out to people

Just because you may not be able to physically meet with people, it doesn’t mean that your friends and family aren’t able to help! Sending someone a message to catch up with them, or letting them know how you’re feeling, can really help with feeling more secure and supported. There’s a chance they might be feeling the same way you are, too. If reconnecting with your friends sounds too overwhelming, try making the process more manageable by breaking it down - for example, you could set yourself a goal to message one person that day. Even having one extra person on the end of the phone can be a relief.

3. Investigate online resources

The university has compiled information to help students find wellbeing support: you can access that here. Another option is to check out our Mental Wellbeing resources for more general mental support, or look at our list of self-help information if you want suggestions for individually managing your mental health.

4. Take a break from the news/social media

Throughout the pandemic and even now, there seems to be a stream of negative news and unnecessary speculation all over the internet. Social media and news sites all have the virus as the main talking point. This can be a big source of stress - as individuals, our minds are not built to handle constant negativity on a global scale. As much as it’s good to stay aware of what’s happening, we suggest to put yourself first if you’re struggling and stick to browsing content that lifts your mood. You can always return to browsing the news sites when you’re in a better headspace to do so.

5. Re-establish routines

It’s no surprise that a lot of people felt lost in March when we suddenly couldn’t go to lectures or work, meet friends, or do much else at all. During this time your daily routines like sleep schedules, meals, studying and more were most likely disrupted. Having a regular routine can be a useful anchoring point in your day. It might prevent your mental health from spiralling as you’re kept consistently occupied (plus, eating and sleeping properly because of that routine has knock-on benefits for mental health). Small goals to reestablish a healthy routine might help you feel more in control and well equipped to deal with external factors you have no influence over.

These tips are a good place to start if you’re looking to improve your mental health going into this year at university. Starting the journey to positive wellbeing now while you have more time available before term starts can make it easier to retain any new habits as the year progresses. A significant narrative over the past few months has surrounded the culture of productivity, learning new hobbies, and maintaining or improving on our lives as they were before quarantine. The suggestions above were written with that in mind: if your mental wellbeing was affected by the virus, as many people’s mental wellbeing was, just getting through the day step by step is a completely valid course of action to take. We hope this blog post can act as a foundation for those students who feel this way.

The Positive Wellbeing Peer Support Group will be running weekly in Term 1 and we encourage everyone who wants a safe, supportive space to discuss topics like this to come along. Everyone is welcome and our trained student facilitators will be there to help. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more information about the work we do!