Rebuilding America: Stressed out? Experts offer tips to maintain good mental health during pandemic

If you've recently felt nervous, depressed, lonely or hopeless during the pandemic, you're not alone.

Most Americans reported wrestling with the same emotions during recent weeks, according to The COVID Impact Survey by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Data Foundation.

"Every day is bringing new challenges for all of us and we are not being given much of a chance to adapt to a new reality before yet a new reality arrives," wrote Nelson Burns, president and CEO of Coleman Professional Services.

Stay-at-home orders, masks, job loss, child care, businesses closing and then reopening with unfamiliar rules aimed at keeping everyone safe. It's all discombobulating.

Coleman, the nonprofit community behavioral health agency, has remained open throughout the pandemic to serve its clients, transitioning from in-person appointments to online.

But Burns also offered tips anyone can use to help maintain mental health throughout the pandemic:

• Get outside: Now that Ohio's entered spring, take a walk.

• Stay connected to other people: Phone, text, video chat, visit however you can while maintaining social distancing.

• Limit your news consumption: Don't tune in 24/7 and when you do check the news, make sure your sources are reliable.

• Focus on what you can control: Don't worry about what's to come. Stay in the present and concentrate on simple things you can do to stay safe, like washing your hands.

Academics who study psychology say it's also important to maintain hope.

Hope, unlike optimism, isn't arbitrary, said Jennifer Cheavens, who teaches in the psychology department at Ohio State University.

Instead, it lies in a plan to reach a goal, said Cheavens, who has studied hope and how it plays into mood and psychological well-being.

As weeks of physical distancing have turned into months, some goals, and the paths to achieve those goals, will have to change, she said.

"It's about taking things in the moment and being able to respond to what's true now," Cheavens said. "Find things you can do now to bring you some control."

Toni Bisconti, who teaches psychology at the University of Akron, in March launched her own weekly Zoom party for friends.

"I have a big personality and a DJ system," said Bisconti, who discovered she could stream music to anyone who joined her online meetup.

"I even bought a couple of cheap strobe lights," Bisconti said. The first hour of the party is kid-friendly, she said, then it's for the adults to unwind.

"We have to find creative ways to interact with people," Bisconti said.

Hope, Bisconti said, is a protective mechanism. Most times, seeing the glass half-full instead of half-empty is a good thing.

"This is going to be the biggest thing we've ever gone through, ever in our whole lives," Bisconti said.

Cheavens said to think about things that have happened in your own life. She was at Duke University during the 9/11 attacks.

"That weekend, no one was out and I remember thinking people would never be out again ... but they did come out again," she said. "We've all been through hard things and people come out the other side."

More tips from Coleman Professional Services to help yourself and others during the pandemic:

• Check up on each other: If you're going out for groceries or to pick up prescriptions, ask neighbors if there's anything you can bring back for them.

• Express gratitude and appreciation: Thank people who are working during the pandemic. Post good news on social media and keep a journal and share those stories, too.

• Reach out for help if you need it.

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