In the above VIDEO, renowned mental health speaker and Amazon bestselling author Jeff Yalden lays out some important pointers to keep you present and centered in the midst of the global COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
How is your heart?
Are you feeling OK in this time of uncertainty?
How are you doing with your emotions and your triggers?
Jeff says we can’t control COVID-19 or the future. We can’t can’t control people, places or things either, but we can control what we take in. We can control what we ingest.
And he’s not just talking about what we eat or drink.
We can control how much of the news we choose to ingest, for example – or limit the time we spend on things that don’t serve us.
Did you know that feeling overwhelmed is a common symptom of anxiety? The entire world is feeling anxious over the novel coronavirus.
You can choose to limit the noise in your life. Let’s turn down the noise and focus on our self-care.
THE GRATITUDE JOURNAL AND MORE
How about keeping a gratitude journal? This daily practice will help to keep you centered. And even in the most trying times, there is always something to be grateful for.
Even with this COVID-19 situation, we can still be thankful.
As you progress in your gratitude journal, you will start to appreciate things you never really thought about. You might notice a beautiful little tree in your backyard that you never even looked at before – or the way your dog’s eyebrows and ears move when you talk to him.
There are so many things to do every day that can enrich you.
You could write a real letter to a friend. Yes – a snail-mail letter. You can start on that book you always wanted to write.
How about listening to music or catching up on your podcast queue? You can get into a fitness routine. (Yes – you can still go outside. Into the sunshine. By now, we all know about social distancing.)
You can go for a walk or a bike ride, spend time video chatting with family and friends or take a drive.
CREATIVITY, YOGA, MUSIC
De-clutter. Try painting, coloring or drawing. Shoot a video. Set up that YouTube channel you have been thinking about.
Read uplifting books. Get your blog going. Have you ever thought about starting a podcast? It’s quick and easy to get set up.
You can come out the other side of this pandemic as a guitar player.
Jeff practices yoga daily, and he highly recommends that everybody try it. Stretch. Breathe.
The point is this: Downtime because of COVID-19 can become an exercise in personal development.
Watch the above VIDEO for more from Jeff.
THE FAMILY: SHARE YOUR FEELINGS
In the VIDEO, Jeff talks about Dr. Murray Bowen and his Family Systems Theory, which details the family dynamic and mental health. It’s all about how different family members cope with what they are going through in life.
According to Jeff, if we’re not communicating and sharing our thoughts and feelings within the family, we start going outside of it, and that’s where separation happens.
Bullying often comes from our children having to suppress what life throws at them. This can cause them to take their anger and frustration out on others.
Jeff discusses an important point made by his friend, Dr. Alex Crosby at the CDC: The number one statistic for suicide is white males between the ages of 35-50.
According to Jeff, many of these young men were taught not to share their feelings and to “suck it up,” “be tough” or “grind through it.”
“This isn’t healthy,” says Jeff. “When our responsibilities become bigger or our obligations are greater, you have no coping or problem-solving skills.”
It’s critical that we tell our kids that it’s OK to talk about their feelings. The old-school approach is dangerous and simply doesn’t work.
Talk to your children about COVID-19 and pay attention to their concerns.
WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS
COVID-19 is scary. Do what the experts tell you to do. We will get through this.
Make sure to share your feelings with your circle. Communicate. Laugh. Love.
“Find things that you can do that take you away from the stress and bring you closer to what’s beneficial for your overall well-being,” said Jeff.
Resources
ORDER Jeff’s new book, Teen Suicide: The “Why” Behind America’s Suicide Epidemic.
CLICK HERE for Jeff’s online suicide prevention course.
To book Jeff for your school or event, call 800-948-9289
In my career as a youth motivational speaker, it’s not often that an elementary school brings me in to speak – especially in the areas of mental health and suicide prevention. But this was exactly where I found myself early this month in 
Part of the reason why I am sharing this and being so transparent is that this isn’t just about me. I know that I have a large following of people that value my opinion, my advice, and respect me as a person.
I work in mental health, and part of me talking about it and part of me in the work that I do every single day – is really telling people that when you are struggling, it’s OK to ask for help. Folks, that’s exactly what happened last night.
I know I hurt Janet, and I am sorry.
She ended up leaving and going to be with her family and have fun – just leaving me alone. I get it. I can’t expect her to sit with me when I am in this anger and hate. I didn’t want to be alone, so I went to the ER. I just needed to calm down.
Here’s the thing: When you are dealing with a family member or a friend that is suffering or living with mental illness and having an episode, first and foremost – do not ever let that person stay alone, because it is at those moments – I am speaking professionally right now, not speaking personally – it’s at those moments when someone is alone that they are not in their right frame of mind that they are more willing to do something that could be deadly.
Let me recap: I was not there in that position last night. I know that I am not suicidal. I know that I would not take a gun. I know that I would not take a knife. I know that I would not hang myself. I know enough to just figure out how to take a timeout –to go get help – go for a walk – go to the hospital. I know all that.
But on the personal side – you, my friends – do not ever leave someone alone, even if you are not talking to that person. You’ve got to be patient if you are choosing to live with this person. If it’s too much for you, get out of the relationship, because it’s a lot – and in some regards, it’s not fair. I understand. But the worst thing you can do is ever leave that person alone.
If you know someone who is not in their right frame of mind, and they are not able to make healthy decisions, doesn’t it make sense that you need to be there to make the healthy and the right decisions for your loved one? That’s one thing a lot of people don’t understand – ‘Jeff, how do I help?’ – You are not going against the person. You are just thinking more clearly for the person that can’t think for themselves.
Some triggers can prompt a response. And when you are dealing with mental illness – depression, bipolar, PTSD – it gets in front of you. In that moment, you might want to react.
I don’t think people want to take their life. I think there are a lot of people that just don’t know how to ask for help.
I know there will be people that are going to message me after saying this – “you know, Jeff – you give too much information.” I know. But I also feel like, with the work that I do – if I am not transparent, I am not as effective as I should be.
I woke up this morning and I am asking “why”– why am I going through this and what’s going on. I haven’t felt like this for a long time.
I took out all my meds – how I have them packed for my trips, and I wanted to go through them. I go right to my Lexapro. That’s my depression and anti-anxiety [medication], and it works so good for me – and I realize that I haven’t been taking my Lexapro. When I put all of my pills out, how did I miss not putting my Lexapro in there?
And I knew something wasn’t right, because when I was putting my pills together, it went so much faster than it usually does. But for seven to ten days, I hadn’t been taking my Lexapro. When I noticed that, you’re damn right I took one right away.
I in my transparency to you, I want to just leave you with with this:
