Even before 2020 began, many Americans of all ages had mental health conditions and alcohol or drug issues that weren’t getting the eye and care that they deserved.

Now, six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, three months into a significant social justice movement, two months away from a national election and with school starting, hurricanes blowing, wildfires burning and the economy slumping, it’s a good bet that many more persons are scuffling with mental health concerns.

That’s why Michigan Medicine assembled a panel of experts for a recent webinar to supply concrete steps that may help, and links to further resources for helping to administer overall well-being.

This recording has a wealth of suggestions, from respiratory exercises to family activities to advice concerning the sorts of healthy lifestyle decisions that may bolster mental health and keep alcohol use in check. The U-M Department of Psychiatry also offers a big selection of resources and helpful links in its COVID-19 Toolkit.

Expert suggestions for managing mental health and substance abuse concerns? 

• Should you’re feeling overly stressed, depressed, anxious or concerned about your alcohol use – or someone near you is showing such signs – you don’t have to start out with a specialist. In truth, primary care providers comparable to family doctors, general internists, pediatricians and first care nurse practitioners, are trained to handle many mental health symptoms, says Jill Schneiderhan, M.D., a U-M family medicine doctor and mental wellness specialist.

  So just as you’d start by contacting them for a recent physical symptom, don’t be afraid to contact them about changes to your mental health and substance use. That features a persistent low mood, finding things less enjoyable, and anxious thoughts that intrude in your on a regular basis life.

• Several of the experts focused on the things you possibly can do to enhance your mental state, including more regular bed times and wake times, cutting out screen use in bed, maintaining social connections even when it’s via video chat or phone calls, eating a healthy weight loss program, getting regular physical activity, engaging in a hobby, spending time outside, and interesting with art and music.

• Elizabeth Duval, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist within the U-M Department of Psychiatry, offers some specific respiratory exercises and mindfulness activities that anyone of any age can do, almost anywhere.

For instance, try these easy respiratory exercises and mindfulness activities: 

• Box respiratory: Breathe in for just a few seconds, hold for just a few seconds, breathe out for just a few seconds, and hold for just a few seconds before respiratory in again.

• Try the 54321 exercise: Sitting or standing wherever you might be, take a moment to note and name out loud or to yourself five things you possibly can see right away, 4 things you possibly can touch, three things you possibly can hear, two things you possibly can smell and one thing you possibly can taste.

• When talking with someone, say what you’re feeling inside. Just speaking it out loud can actually help defuse the sensation itself

Should you’re a parent, take into accout that your kids are noticing and reacting to the best way you’re handling these times, says Polly Gipson, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist who heads U-M’s Trauma and Grief Clinic. That’s very true if your loved ones has lost someone to COVID-19, otherwise you belong to a gaggle or live in an area that’s being especially affected by current events.

But you possibly can be a model to them by engaging in healthy mental wellbeing self-care – and finding ways to give attention to positive memories, things to be pleased about, family togetherness due to the lack of scheduled activities, and more. She recommends the CALM method: Communicate with the kid to share information, discover what they know and validate their feelings; help them stay Active and artistic; Learn how children normally, or your child particularly, show distress; and Model self-care through the use of positive strategies and sharing them with children.

Children’s future mental health depends partly on how they’re affected by antagonistic experiences now, each their very own and people who their larger community goes through. Should you notice troubling behavior in the kids in your life, speaking as much as get help could make a significant difference.

Alcohol and cannabis sales have shot up in the course of the past six months, and jokes about drinking or using marijuana-derived products to address these times are rampant on social media. That is typical during stressful times, says Mark Ilgen, Ph.D., the addiction psychologist who directs the U-M Addiction Treatment Services. But he warns that as time goes on, what was once a short-term coping mechanism could grow to be a substance-use problem.

Fortunately, he says, support groups, twelve-step groups and addiction care specialists have pivoted to supply online help. And newer medications can assist individuals who have developed a dependence on alcohol, opioids and more. Should you’re undecided you wish this level of help, he notes that many individuals can in the reduction of on their substance use on their very own, by setting targets for themselves including limits on each day or weekly alcohol or cannabis intake. Should you find you possibly can’t stay inside these self-imposed limits, that’s a time to hunt help. Find more information on the U-M Addiction Treatment Services’ COVID-19 Addiction & Recovery Resources page.

Above all else, the experts note, should you or someone you’re in touch with have been feeling hopeless and even suicidal, it’s crucial to get help. Don’t shrink back from discussing the subject, and get in contact with a primary care provider if it’s not an urgent situation. For urgent or life-threatening situations, contact the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 800-273-8255 or call 911.