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8 Things To Do For Your Mental Health During This Pandemic - Plus, My Personal Year-End Review

Abby Castro

Happy Lunar New Year!

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When the pandemic started in 2020, I had the privilege to stay indoors for almost 24/7. I was already working remotely for 4 years, so it wasn't new to me. I ordered groceries online. I only went out to see my doctors or dentist.

Fast forward 2 years later, I realized I've only been out of the house for less than 30 days. That's roughly 700 days spent entirely indoors, without any sun exposure. No wonder I wasn't feeling myself. No wonder I felt burnt out.

My days started to blur as I went through the same routine almost every single day:

  • I'd wake up and pick up my phone to go through emails

  • I'd get out of bed and turn on my computer

  • I'll get some tea and start working

  • Before I know it, it's already time for dinner

  • I'd end the day with a good meal and kdrama

Yes, I take my lunch at my desk. And don't worry, I shower in the middle of it all. 😉

However, since I couldn't go out with friends, or travel to visit my family abroad, or simply go out to see a movie, my weekends started to look the same. I would trade kdrama for a little game night with friends, or sacrifice an hour to practice yoga in the afternoon; but more or less, my days looked the same.

In 2021, I gained more clients. I increased my income by 33.2%. And I was able to fill up majority of my hours with work, including my precious weekends.

My 2021 year-end review

2021 has just ended. Time for the year-end review. Let's dive in!

I could have done more for my health.

I forgot that we had a garden where I can safely walk around in. I forgot that we had an open top floor, where I can safely enjoy the warmth of the sun, while practicing yoga or quietly reading a book. Google says we should at least spend 20 minutes every day in the sun. Noted.

I could have enjoyed life more.

Why do we work? I work to increase my income so that I could save up for future travels and my dream home. I work so that in the future I would have more freedom to do as I please. But isn't that what weekends are for? A tiny break from the busy workweek, where you can do whatever you want? Reminder to self, stop working every weekend. 🙂

I miss a lot of things from my pre-pandemic life.

I miss traveling and seeing new sights. I miss boxing and my coach. I miss my family. But I also realized that it's true; if there's a will, there's a way. I still fear the gym so I haven't seen my coach. But I have kept in touch with my family and friends. Thank you, internet. I have started eating breakfast at the top floor of the house. Living in a tropical country allows me to enjoy bright blue skies and a cool breeze almost every morning.

There's so much to be thankful for.

For the majority, or at least for most people I know, this pandemic has negatively affected our mental health. I definitely struggled in the beginning as I tried to replace my go-to stress-relieving activities — a.k.a. boxing and hanging out with friends — with more pandemic-friendly activities — thank you, yoga, meditation, and Discord.

But also, what greatly helped me with the transition was finally being consistent with my gratitude journal. It proved that even bad days have some good stuff in them. You just have to remember that awesome pizza you had for lunch or that tiny compliment from your friend. It's there. And if it's not, then maybe it's time to order some pizza for dinner. 😄

Sleeping at the right time makes a huge difference.

You probably already know that there's a huge difference when you sleep at 10pm versus 2am, regardless if you put in 8 hours of sleep. If not, try to compare it yourself. I feel way better and accomplish so much more when I sleep and wake up earlier.

I also know that for some people, sleeping early is easier said than done. I struggle with insomnia and during this pandemic, sleeping has become a task on my to-do list. A few things that help me are exercise, meditation, and learning Korean. I discovered that with a wildly active mind, it's not enough for me to just be physically tired, I also need to be mentally fatigued. Surprisingly, work keeps me up at night but learning Korean doesn't.

Oh, and also, no devices 1 hour before bed time.

8 Things To Do For Better Mental Health

With all that said, here are a few tips and resources for myself that you might find useful as well:

  1. Spend 20 minutes a day in the sun. Do not forget your sunblock.

  2. Keep in touch with your loved ones.

    Quality time with them deserve to be on the higher end of your to-do list.

  3. Limit or completely stop working every weekend. Remember, you don't need to wait for retirement in order to enjoy life.

  4. Exercise. You need this to enjoy life in the future.

  5. Meditate.

  6. Speaking of sleep, make sure you get a healthy amount of sleep at the right time.

  7. Write in your gratitude journal.

  8. When feeling down, do something that will make you happy. Perhaps, order in something delicious?

Simple as all those reminders may be, they do help keep me sane during this pandemic. I hope they help you out as well. Here's to us staying consistent with our healthy habits. 🥂

And if you do find something else that helps you and you don't mind sharing, send me a message or comment down below. I'd really love to hear more suggestions, like "Did you know you can replace exercise with... I don't know, chicken nuggets?" 😇

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