COVID and Mental Health: Tips for reducing stress – WXOW.com

Wausau, Wis. (WAOW) -- If quarantining, wearing a mask or worrying about your health has you stressed, the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce wants to help.

The chamber hosted mental health expert Lee Webster, founder of the Center for Human Development. Webster said worrying about the coronavirus can also cause health problems.

"If the pressure and the stress response gets so high, what happens is that we have an automatic mechanism that shuts us down," he said.

The first step is to take care of your physical health. Exercise, eat healthy and get a good amount of sleep. It's also important to stay connected with friends, ask for support and offer support to others.

Find a way to keep your days structured and set goals for yourself. Take care of your emotional health too by practicing positive thinking and relaxing whenever possible.

"When you're in a crisis or deep situation, you can remember to take that deep breath and focus," Webster said.

Finally, if you're a spiritual person, Webster said it's important to keep those practices going as well, whether it's at home or in person.

"If you're focusing on other people, you're not going to have quite so much stress focusing on yourself," he said.

To view the full presentation, clickhere.

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COVID and Mental Health: Tips for reducing stress - WXOW.com