Managing your mental health during pandemic and protests

There's a lot going on in our world right now, between the coronavirus pandemic, George Floyd's death and the protests all over the world.

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — There’s a lot going on in our world right now, between the coronavirus pandemic, George Floyd’s death and the protests all over the world. All of this can affect a person’s mental health.

“Both of these events, COVID-19 and the current protests are big events to try and manage along with everything else that’s going on in everybody’s life,” said Geoffrey Williams, Director of Outpatient Behavioral Care, Prisma Health Midlands.

Williams said it’s normal to be having a reaction to the world’s events right now.

“It’s normal to feel anxiety, or anger, or kind of a sense of depersonalization, out of touch. All those things are normal reactions,” said Williams.

He said it’s important to not overreact or underreact.

“It’s also okay and important to manage your reaction. Not to be impulsive, whether it’s to one extreme to the other. So extreme withdrawal and isolation and feeding into the anxiety that comes with a situation like this is not healthy for us as human beings,” said Williams.

One thing people can do is maintain a schedule.

“Leading trauma experts recommend that you have a schedule and that you really pay a lot of attention or put a lot of intention into your daily diet, how much you’re sleeping,” said Williams.

He also recommends taking a break from the news.

“Cut off the TV, put the phone down, stop checking the social media feed, because it just increases your anxiety. Getting outside is extremely helpful if you can do it,” he said.

Williams adds that it’s important to have a support system, to talk about what you’re feeling as we navigate a new normal.

“Meaningful dialogue and relationship with people who listen to you and that you’re willing to listen to. Shouldn’t be a one-way street that you’re just absorbing someone else’s stress, but that it’s a reciprocal, that people are listening to you also,” said Williams.