8 online mental health resources for coping with coronavirus-related stress and anxiety
- During the coronavirus outbreak and self-isolation, taking care of your own mental health is as important as ever.
- If you don't have access to a therapist or want extra resources, Insider asked therapists for their recommendations.
- Here are meditation apps, Instagram accounts, and websites you can access now to keep your anxiety and stress at bay.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
People around the world continue to experience panic and uncertainty as the coronavirus continues to spread and they grapple with indefinitely working from home, being laid off and unemployed, learning to home-school their now school-less children, and more.
During these times, taking care of your own mental health is as important as ever, but for many, being in touch with a therapist isn't always an option. And for others who are able to continue therapy through phone calls or webcam chats, having extra resources to use on your own time could also prove helpful.
Insider asked therapists about their favorite resources for coping with feelings of anxiety and stress during times of uncertainty, like webcam support groups and meditation guides, so that during ever-changing times you can still find a sense of security and comfort.
Here are therapist-recommended mental health resources you can access right now.
Rachel Wright, a New York City-based therapist, is holding virtual group check-ins for free.
You can sign up for the free group online and virtually connect with others and get tips from Wright for managing anxiety and taking care of yourself during this time.
Melissa Robinson-Brown, a therapist based in New York City, suggested downloading meditation apps and mood trackers.
Robinson-Brown recommended Calm, an app that offer guided meditations and tracks to help you fall asleep, and Headspace, which also offers guided meditations. Headspace is offering free subscriptions right now to help people de-stress.
She also suggested the app Daylio, which helps you track your mood and daily activity so you can keep a schedule that's beneficial to your mental health.
The Calm app is offering free resources right now to help you meditate, sleep, and stretch.
Calm has a blog post with free meditation tracks, music playlists for kids, sleep, soothing, and other categories, and videos with guided evening stretches to get both your mind and body in a more relaxed state.
You could also read up on articles written by mental health experts to get tips while in isolation.
Robinson-Brown suggested the website PsychCentral.com, which has articles about how to stay happy while in constant isolation, and Wiredforhappy.com, which has mental-health articles, resources, and a community board so you can feel connected with others during this time.
If you have kids at home right now, meditation app Simple Habit has guided audio recordings for adults and children.
According to Simple Habit founder and CEO Yunha Kim, the company is offering free premium memberships right now. To get one, email [email protected] and say you'd like a free subscription, Kim told Insider.
"In less than 12 hours, we've received thousands of emails from users about job loss: restaurant wait staff, construction workers, students with part-time jobs, cancer patients undergoing treatment, substitute teachers and childcare professionals, to name a few," Kim said.
Rachel Sussman, a New York City-based therapist, suggested filling your social media feeds with accounts that remind you to relax and take a step back from the anxiety-inducing news.
Right now, therapists are sharing helpful tips and suggestions on their own Instagram accounts.
Therapist Nedra Tawwab, for example, has been creating tip cards she posts to her Instagram feed with bite-sized ideas for reducing stress and staying in the moment.
Amy Morin, another therapist, is sharing kid-friendly mental health tips on her Instagram account.
Jennifer Rollin, a therapist who specializes in eating disorders, is a great person to follow on Instagram if you're dealing with one yourself.
Rollin has been posting helpful tips for coping during a time of food stockpiling, which could be triggering for those recovering from eating disorders.
If you're part of the LGBT community, there are resources that are specifically geared for your needs right now.
The National Center for Transgender Equality has an article outlining which supplies transgender people should consider stocking up on right now, as well as tips for what to do if you're immunocompromised.
Harper Jean Tobin, the National Center for Transgender Equality's director of policy, also suggested the Trevor Project's youth counselors, which are avaible to young LGBTQ people through online chat, text, or phone.
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