Staying Mentally Well at a Time of Continuing Isolation: Three Tips We Absolutely Must Try

Staying Mentally Well at a Time of Continuing Isolation: Three Tips We Absolutely Must Try by Maureen Mackey for Christian News Journal

It’s really important right now to stay mentally well. But how can we mere mortals do that?

Today, many Americans are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus. Some of us are returning to the workplace; some kids are getting back into their classrooms.

Meanwhile, all of us are looking forward to better times ahead.

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Yet millions upon millions of us remain homebound and isolated because of today’s continued social distancing requirements as well as quarantining, lack of mobility, and lack of flexibility as the nation works mightily to turn the corner against COVID-19 after a full year of it (or more) within our borders.

To remain mentally well, the first thing we must do is acknowledge that we’re facing a time of uncertainty and unpredictability—and that we’re not alone in this predicament.

“We feel a lack of control,” said Jane Pernotto Ehrman, a specialist in mind-body medicine, in a recent interview. Ehrman spent 16 years as a behavioral health therapist with the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Integrative and Preventative Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, and today is a clinical hypnotherapist, certified in interactive guided imagery.

Most of us, throughout our lives, “have a tendency to focus on areas where we don’t have control, such as with laws and regulations,” said Ehrman. Instead, she advised that—especially now—“we should focus on where we do have control, and that’s in the choices we make. When we choose, we are empowered.”

At a time of enormous challenge, here are tips for staying mentally well—and for choosing wisely throughout our days.

ONE: Practice mindfulness. It’s smart to “make space” for quiet and stillness. “Going non-stop from morning until night is not good for anyone,” says Ehrman.

Taking even just two or three minutes at a time to sit still, breathe normally, and pay attention to our breathing, or mentally repeating a positive word or phrase, makes a big difference, she advises. Try to work up to 15 or 20 minutes of doing this, she urges.

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