On Wednesday’s show, Hunter and Marcy tackled the topic of maintaining positive mental health during COVID-19. They shared some wonderful tips from Lori Criss, Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction.
Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine recently invited Lori Criss, Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to speak during one of his daily press conferences. Criss shared advice for all the Ohioans staying at home on how they can maintain positive mental health in this difficult situation:
- Wake up at the same time every day.
- Keep a routine schedule.
- Schedule in leisure time for yourself.
- Create work/school time separate from other activities.
- Reach out to friends and family every day (especially if you live alone).
- Reach out to neighbors who live alone.
- Reach out for help if you are in need or unsafe.
- Stay in touch with your primary care doctors and mental health and addiction doctors.
- Stay connected to your faith community (There are resources for faith communities on coronavirus.ohio.gov)
- Enjoy nature.
- If you work or study at home, build in social time.
- You can find volunteer opportunities at TogetherOhio.gov.
- Set boundaries for yourself. Be aware if you are feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.
- Create opportunities for your kids to interact with their friends.
- Listen to questions from your kids and answer honestly, monitor their media and make sure they are getting information from trusted sources, and let them express their feelings.
- For individuals in recovery, stay connected to recovery support.
- Reach out to anyone you know recovering from mental illness.
- If you know someone who is feeling hopeless, have them call the suicide prevention hotline, 1-800-273-8255.
Here are some easy things you can do at home to improve your mental health TODAY:
Photo by Madison Inouye
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