How to keep mentally healthy during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought along with it changes to people’s lives as well as challenges that affect their mental health. For some, it had affected their family life, work pattern and jobs, health, and social activity. This has further led to some people suffering stress, having panic attacks, depression and perpetual state of apprehension among […]

The COVID-19 pandemic brought along with it changes to people’s lives as well as challenges that affect their mental health.

For some, it had affected their family life, work pattern and jobs, health, and social activity. This has further led to some people suffering stress, having panic attacks, depression and perpetual state of apprehension among others.

Yusuf has been married for 10 years. He said the COVID-19 pandemic made him begin to learn how to live with his wife and children again after staying at home with them for many weeks.

He said before the pandemic, he never stayed at home for more than one week where his wife was not going to work and his children were not all going to school. His routine of going to work and coming back in the evening was not there anymore.

“This is the first time that all of us are together at home with my wife not going to work, children  not going to school. At least after one week, the children are at school or my wife is at work. But this time we were all together at home for several weeks. Right now, while my wife has started going to work, I am still at home with the children and  issues like even what channels to watch had caused problems from time to time because everyone has preferences. It took me the first 3 weeks to learn how to cope with that situation.

“The children are bored and need to watch television. Sometimes they want to watch their cartoons and I want to listen to news, so we need to resolve that conflict from time to time. ”Yusuf said aside from the issues at home, he has been in a state of despair for several weeks because he heard his company would soon be downsising. The organisation had been working with few persons since the lockdown.

“The organisation has suffered some economic losses and also realised it could work with less people. It has been conveniently holding virtual meetings and spending less. Some of us at home now are afraid because we don’t know who will be affected. ”

Haruna, on the other hand, has been having sleepless nights as the time of his rent draws near. The caretaker of the house has been calling, and sending texts on a daily basis. Whenever he sees a text,   he gets sad.

He is a business man and couldn’t make any sales for two months due to the lockdown and restricted movement. His wife is a teacher too, and has only been paid stipends instead of salary since children stopped going to school in the private school where she taught.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

Mental health is a critical component of health and that is why health is referred to as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, according to WHO.

WHO, in its tips to keep mentally healthy during COVID-19, advised people to do the following:

Pause- Breathe. Reflect

Keep to a healthy routine

Connect with others

Be kind to yourself and others

Reach out for help if you need it

A psychologist, Dr Yemi Atibioke, categorised the stages in peoples’ response to COVID-19 pandemic in the country into three. He said the initial or first stage was that of confusion where almost everyone was apprehensive, anxious and very fearful about COVID-19.

He said the first stage was a stage of complexity, and people had no information, and no previous experience, “everyone was just looking for new knowledge that was the period of the complete lockdown. During the stage of confusion, many people prepared for the worst. We have passed that stage now, we seem to have stabilised.”

He said the country was now in the stage of stability, and more people have right information, and fear has reduced drastically. People have the right knowledge now that can help them cope with COVID-19.

He said the third stage is that of recovery, when the disease has been overcome and there was probably the availability of vaccine and treatment for COVID-19.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone directly or indirectly and that people’s mental health was being affected by the pandemic because people have lost loved ones who died as a result of the virus, lost jobs and income, among others.

He said individuals could help themselves to cope well and also help other people around them to stay healthy and cope well.

Dr Atibioke said mental health was very important because people cope better when they are in their right state of mind.

He said people should work on their aspiration for high things and spend less to effectively cope and limit mental stress during the period. “This is not the time to be insisting on getting a particular thing. So we must learn at this particular period to change our goal to reasonable and achievable ones.”

He said someone who had planned to wed this year and has now lost his job could differ the wedding to another year or buy a lower make of vehicle than the one earlier planned. “It will not be bad for someone who knows that he has lost his job and had planned to get married in the year 2020 to defer it. There is what we call differed enjoyment, pleasure can be deferred,”

He added that not spending unnecessarily could also help people pay their debts.

The psychologist said being one’s brother’s keeper would go a long way to help people stay mentally healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said knowing the situation on ground, people should give those who borrowed money from them more time to pay their debts; and that landlords could give tenants time to pay their rents.  “This is not the period to harass or arrest people, that could lessen the effect on the individual that owes.”

He said organsiations and individuals should also give palliatives to those in need, saying it would help address some of the mental health challenges that would have come with that need. “It would go a long way to help a man who has lost his job, has no savings and needs to feed his family. If the government palliatives do not get to some individuals, individual palliatives could at least get to that person, if we try to support.

“The real need of man is the physiological needs. The moment your physiological needs are met, survival becomes easier. So everyone should be helped. Those who are well to do should help their fellow brethren to meet their physiological needs especially those of food, and shelter.

“A complex landlord that does not have understanding, could mount pressure on his tenant whose rent is due and has lost his job, and that could affect his mental health.

“So landlord in this particular period must also show understanding and commitment. If your  tenant  has been paying   regularly, I don’t think there is anything bad if the landlord gives about two or three months  grace to pay.”

To avoid issues that come with job loss, the psychologist said this was the period for everyone to learn new skills and look for alternative ways of making money. He said organisations were now more in pursuit of people who contribute meaningfully, and those who just contribute normally would not be able to survive the job competition during the period.

He said those who are not educated should venture into crop farming, fish farming and other agricultural businesses.