In the wake of COVID-19 and “social or physical distancing”, the concept of self-care and mental health has been increasingly at the forefront of the public’s attention recently. However, COVID-19 aside, social isolation is something commonly felt in graduate studies. Maybe you are the only trainee in your lab or just moved to a new country where you miss your friends and family back home. It begs the question: what can we do to stay engaged and keep our sanity in times of feeling isolated and overwhelmed?
Overcoming feelings of isolation.
First thing’s first, if you are feeling isolated, connect with those you are missing. Use video calling if possible as it strengthens bonding to a greater extent than just voice calling. If you miss watching movies with your friends, Netflix Party enables you to chat with your friends while you all watch a movie or show simultaneously. For game night, consider JackBox, Codenames and Words with Friends 2 which all currently offer free games to stay connected.
If people aren’t your thing, connect with nature. If your neighbourhood isn’t crowded, consider going for walks to avoid going stir crazy. If you don’t feel comfortable going outside, there are live cams all around the world capturing nature, and kittens and puppies as well. Connecting with the people and world around you will help you overcome your feelings of seclusion.
Overcoming feelings of inundation.
Feeling overwhelmed can happen for many reasons, whether it be a large amount of work that needs to be accomplished or trying to balance having your family at home while you try and finish. There are strategies that can help you adjust your mindset and prioritize tasks so that you do not feel inundated by a mixture of home and work tasks. To help you get organized in the morning, think of all the tasks you want to accomplish that day or week. Put them into a list and then place them into an Urgent-Important Matrix (image pictured in this article). School, work, home-related tasks, all get placed into the matrix enabling you to prioritize your tasks.
Another strategy to set your mind at ease, is to spend the first 5 minutes of your day writing everything down that is okay in the present moment: you woke up this morning, you have a roof over your head, whatever positives you can think of. Similarly, before going to sleep, write down 5 things that you are grateful for to remind you that, despite the struggles experienced throughout the day, there are more important things that you should be thankful for.
Lastly, be respectful. Your experience is likely not like everyone else’s and vice-versa. People have children, sick parents, work-related problems, everyone is juggling something that you probably don’t know about. Be kind and be considerate, we are all human.