Page 17 - The Edge Issue 8

During
the current
COVID-19 pandemic, most
people in Florida—certainly any Brevard students reading this—are stuck inside waiting for the viral storm to clear so that they can once again engage in the kind of social interaction that is so necessary to good mental health. Isolation can lead to a condition called cabin fever, or irritability and restlessness that happens when an individual or group is cut
off from the outside world
for too long. This is hard
to avoid if your lifestyle
used to involve little
time at home, and
can exacerbate the
disorders one may
already have. It is
more important than
ever to keep in touch
with ourselves and with
others. If you’re feeling cut
off, here are some ways to
connect.
Interpersonal connection is a necessary component of staying mentally well, especially under current standards of social distancing. But despite the lockdown, there are still many ways you can interact and have fun with
others. Discord, as you may already know, is a free
chat
service that
includes text, voice and
video chat between individuals and groups and can help you to communicate through the distance. There is also an abundance of paid online multiplayer games to help you have fun with friends,
such as Jackbox Party Packs (collections of different competitive party games), Tabletop Simulator (a boardgame simulator with online multiplayer), or the ever-popular Minecraft. For those looking for more frugal multiplayer fun, many free online games are available, such as skribbl.io (online Pictionary), Brawlhalla (a free platform fighter) and Roblox. And to improve your gaming experience, use voice chat to
talk to friends while you’re playing. Connection with others is important to your mental health, but so is what you do alone. Dr. Eileen Feliciano notes that one of the best ways to make sure you stay mentally healthy is to set up a routine: a time to do school work, a time for relaxing, and especially a time to sleep and a time to wake up.
Feliciano
also values the
imortance of staying hydrated
and eating well. Under or overeating and dehydration can have great negative impact on a person’s mental health- set timers to remind you to drink if you need to. Feliciano also recommends going outside for at least 30 minutes a day (or if not, then at least opening a window for fresh air), and getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day. Without this movement, your body may adapt to a sedentary lifestyle and begin to feel sluggish. Also important is dressing for the social life you want, not the one you have. Practicing proper hygiene along with wearing comfortable clothes in bright colors can help you to improve your at-home mental state. In a less common mental health tip, Feliciano suggests that everyone build a self-care toolkit containing calming items that can help ease feelings of tension. For instance, the feeling of a soft blanket or the sight of a coloring book can help prevent someone from becoming overwhelmed. The rest of Feliciano’s 25 tips can be found here.
Now more than ever, it is important to connect with yourself and others. With a little extra effort, staying connected and
mentally healthy doesn’t have to be a chore.
16
Keeping in Touch
Keeping in TouchBy Conrad Brisson Social distancing doesn’t have to be non-social. While Keeping Your Distance