The shelter in place order is intended to protect our physical health, but one of our emotional and mental health. Dr. Shashank Joshi with Stanford Medical Center says maintaining an idea of solidarity is important:
“You want to be living the idea that we’re all in this together.” said Joshi.
But that said, not everyone having the same pandemic experience:
“For many of us, we are able to make due by working from home, and for others it’s been much more stressful.” he said.
So Joshi says stress can manifest in many ways and the first step to managing it is awareness.
“Be aware of how stress is showing up in our own bodies. So checking in with ourselves and recognizing how this shows up.” said Joshi, “so it could be changing in your sleep patterns or changing in your appetite.”
Joshi says some simple things we can do to deal with that stress, such as getting some exercise every day, eating right, practicing gratitude, and reaching out for mental health support. California’s surgeon general has created a guide to managing stress during COVID-19 that includes these tips.