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Managing Mental Health During the Pandemic

May 07, 2021

Written by: Alicen Ricard

We’re now over a year into this pandemic and we’re all tired. We’ve written about women in STEM and mental health before (which you can read here), but times are even more stressful right now which is extra hard on everyone’s mental health. Women have to work twice as hard in STEM careers to get as much recognition, which can wear on their mental health. It’s got to be especially hard right now when many people are working from home and have to balance their work, mental health, and lives all at the same time. We all need a little extra help right now, and that’s okay. How can you take care of your mental health right now? 

Say no to things

It’s okay to conserve your energy and say no to things. We don’t need to overpack our schedules right now, especially since there isn’t much that we can do right now anyway.

 

Take Care of Yourself

It’s important to stay as healthy as possible right now. Get enough sleep, drink enough water, try to eat well. It all makes a huge impact on your mental health.  You can check out this sleep calculator here.

 

Reach Out

It’s important to keep in touch right now, but also don’t feel offended if your friends don’t reach out to you. We’re all tired and just trying our best. 

 

Take Control of What You Can

There’s so much we can’t control right now, so try to take control where you can. Mindfullness can be a great practice to help you take control. 

 

Find a News Source You Trust

Don’t believe everything you read. Find a good source that you can trust and don’t spend too much time staring at it, so you don’t dwell on bad news.   

 

Get Support

Now might be a great time to call your therapist. If you don't have one you can find one here. Womenmind is a group committed to closing the gender gap in mental health.

 

Check out more information on mental health and women in STEM here. Check out this mental health resource here