Keeping Care during Covid-19

It’s been a tough couple of months since this pandemic started.

We all know, and we all understand how rough it’s been because of this novel virus. This virus impacts everyone, from infants to the elderly. Nobody is excluded, but to save you the grief of having to read the articles of issues I want to discuss upon, I will only talk about one group of people that have had a severe impact due to the pandemic. Teenagers. Teens everywhere have been put into isolation, not being able to go out, not being able to be in school, and not being able to see their friends.

What are the effects of being an isolated teenager?

Teens, like everyone else, need social interaction. Being on their lonesome for even a week can cause issues. According to Newport Academy, chronic loneliness can have various effects on a normal teenager including: increased stress, difficulty sleeping, increased incidence of alcohol and drug use, higher levels of depression and anxiety, decline of self-care, sense of hopelessness, and even a greater risk of suicide. To lower the chance of any bad thing happening to teenagers, friends, and family, we need to care and check on each other frequently and lovingly.

How to take care of yourself during these times of isolation.

This can go for adults as well, but doing these small things everyday/other day for yourself is important when maintaining good mental health.

• Eating food that is good for you, or treating yourself to foods that make you happy (maybe make your favorite dinner, for me this would be making a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate)
• Taking time to take a break from everything (getting off your phone, don’t stress about school, don’t stress about other people for an hour or two)
• Do a light workout (going for a walk, jog, etc.)
• Maintaining self-care (take a shower, do skincare, brush your teeth like as if you are going to see people that day, you’ll feel better trust me)
• Have someone to talk to and confide in (call a friend, talk to a therapist, even your dog will listen but you need to socialize with someone)
• Do something that is not typically part of your daily routine (because we are at home all the time, things will become redundant, you can change something up or do something new you haven’t done before, for me I bought new plants to take care of and now those plants constantly need me to attend to them)

Doing these things will keep you content during these times of isolation, and keep you from finding yourself in the pits. I really do hope this helps!

How to keep in touch with friends and family

Nowadays you can’t just go out and visit people, you will be putting not only yourself but others in danger of contracting this virus. However, there are many different and unique ways to get into contact (safely) with family and friends. Here are a few ideas, some of which I have tried:

• You can watch Netflix with your friends if you get the “Netflix Party” app which allows you to watch a movie basically on a call that shows you all the movie at the same time.
• You can join a family zoom and see and talk to all of your family
• You can go to see your relative, but wear your face mask, stand outside of their door, 6 ft away (no gatherings of more than 6)
• Send a text to a friend, don’t be a stranger! Ask them how they’ve been
• Find friends on media, (snapchat, instagram) and keep in touch!
• Download multiplayer games and invite your friends to play here are a few:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (if you have a Nintendo Switch)

Minecraft (you can find this game like anywhere, there is an app on IOS, or on playstation)

Golf Blitz (game on IOS)

UNO! (game on IOS, very common on other devices as well)

Mario Kart Tour (game on IOS)

Clash Royale (game on IOS)

Game Pigeon (iMessage gaming app that allows you to play short games on iMessage against your friends, however I believe it’s only on IOS)

Stay Safe!

That concludes my spiel on how to keep a connection during isolation. Mental health is severely important and is not worth the risk of overlooking it, parents should be there to support their teens and teens should take care of themselves and be there for their friends! As always, take care and stay safe! God bless.