Page 48 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2020

HEALTHY LIVING
Maintaining Mental Wellness During Turbulent Times
story by Dr. Michael Hall, DSW, LMSW photo courtesy of Gulfport Behavioral Health System
Mental wellness during a pandemic such as COVID-19 can prove to be very challenging for most of us. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental wellness is de ned as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities,
can cope with the
normal stresses of life,
can work productively
and fruitfully, and
is able to make a
contribution to his or
her community.
fears and responses to those fears can be the result of our previous experiences. However, our reactions are largely due to our lack of knowledge or lack of accurate information.
Recognizing the emotional toll of the coronavirus pandemic and
its unparalleled impact on social connections, nances and daily living is a critical step in dealing with the challenges that COVID-19 presents. It is important
to understand that we all respond to stress in di erent ways. It is quite normal to feel sad, depressed, worried, confused, scared or angry about a stressful or crisis situation.
To maintain our mental wellness during this and other crisis situations, it is vital that we begin to change how we think. This involves changing those negative
“gloom and doom” thoughts that we feed ourselves about a situation and putting
a positive spin on them. In other words, we should try to change those negative thoughts to more positive thoughts. In fact, positive thinking has been proven
to be a major player in the reduction of stress and continued stress management.
Positive thinking (self-talk) can allow you to get back on track even through di cult times. Positive thinking will not change the situation, but it will change your response to the situation enabling you to see things in a di erent light, thus enabling you to control and manage your related stress.
Dr. Hall serves as director of performance improvement, risk management and compliance for Gulfport Behavioral Health System. He holds a Doctorate in social work from Tulane University and has more than 40 years of experience in juvenile corrections and psychiatric and chemical dependency disorders.
Our e orts to deal
with the daily stress
and anxiety associated
with family, being
isolated, school closings,
job layo s, increasing
nancial burdens, business closings and fear of contracting COVID-19 can be a daunting task and prove to be very frightening. Many of our associated
Dr. Michael Hall
48 | May 2020 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 48 | May 2020 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living