The current COVID-19, aka Coronavirus, pandemic has resulted in all of us being home and inside more than we probably ever thought possible. In March 2020, many states including New Jersey issued stay-at-home orders that primarily limited all individuals to only leaving their house if their job was essential, to seek necessary healthcare services, or to complete essential tasks, such as purchasing groceries. Social distancing (remaining at least 6 feet away from other people) has also been encouraged as a way to hopefully \u201cflatten the curve\u201d and limit the spread of COVID-19. While social distancing and staying home is absolutely necessary to keep yourself and others healthy, it can lead to feelings of isolation, loneliness, boredom, and frustration. This is especially true for those of you still living in a dorm on a college campus that looks and feels very different than it did a couple of months ago. Below you will find some helpful tips for maintaining your best overall mental and physical health.<\/p>\n
It is 100% normal<\/strong> to be experiencing feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and even sadness during these difficult times. However, your physical health and immune system can potentially suffer if you are struggling mentally or emotionally. The following tips are helpful ways to stay calm and promote relaxation:<\/p>\n It is important to remember that the stay-at-home orders do not limit you from enjoying the nice weather that is quickly (and thankfully) approaching. You can still go outside<\/strong>, take a walk, go for a run, or ride your bicycle. In fact, these things are encouraged! Just make sure to still abide by social distancing restrictions when doing so. However, if you prefer to exercise indoors, here are some websites and apps that can help you achieve your goals:<\/p>\n *REMEMBER:<\/strong> This is not a time to be hard on yourself if your diet or exercise routine is different than normal or “less than ideal.” Staying safe and healthy is the most important thing right now. Be kind to yourself and just do the best you can. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Current restrictions have caused so many of us to miss an endless amount of social gatherings and celebrations. It probably seems like forever ago that you were in a room with a group of family or friends or even hugged someone.<\/p>\n Fortunately, we live in a time where technology lets us stay connected more than ever before. Perhaps it is more helpful to think of the term we all keep hearing, “social distancing,” as “physical distancing”<\/strong> instead. Physically yes, we must stay six feet away from others. But in terms of being “social,” there are no limitations, but rather a need to temporarily modify how we connect with one another. Although the tips mentioned below don\u2019t entirely replace the socialization we\u2019re all used to, they can help with physical distancing. Remind yourself frequently that this “new normal” will not be in place forever, and we are all staying in now so that we can be together again later!<\/p>\n Have a video conversation with your friends, family, or even your pet (with assistance of course)! Whether one-on-one or group video chats are desired, you can have virtual hangouts on FaceTime, Google Chats, or Zoom.<\/p>\n Although you may have heard most, if not all, of the following tips recently, they are extremely important and worth mentioning again. Please abide by them all. They not only may save your life but also the lives of those around you.<\/p>\n Always remember, especially during these difficult times, to be kind to yourself and others. Everyone is doing the best that they can to stay healthy, happy, and safe right now. If you don\u2019t exercise for a few days, there is always tomorrow. If you are stressed and snap at someone you care about, apologize and move on. If you are experiencing sadness, loneliness, or any other emotion, reach out to a loved one or a mental health professional. Help others and help yourself by following the tips provided above. And always remember that, although it may feel like it sometimes, you are not alone.<\/p>\n For more information and assistance, visit the following websites:<\/p>\n Alexis Sell, APN, from the University Health Center Created a Helpful List of Info and Resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":1470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","category-health-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1471,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469\/revisions\/1471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-health-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
If You Need Help with Staying Active<\/h2>\n
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If You Need Help with Staying Connected<\/h2>\n
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If You Need Help with Staying Safe<\/h2>\n
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If You Need a Friendly Reminder<\/h2>\n
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