{"id":1318949,"date":"2020-03-19T17:15:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T23:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=994776"},"modified":"2020-03-19T17:15:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T23:15:53","slug":"mental-hygiene-amid-covid-19-mental-health-professionals-discuss-remedies-that-can-go-a-long-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/mental-hygiene-amid-covid-19-mental-health-professionals-discuss-remedies-that-can-go-a-long-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental hygiene amid COVID-19: Mental health professionals discuss remedies that can go a long way"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Telehealth technology has allowed mental health professionals like Oyen Hoffman the ability to assist clients remotely. Matthew Bennett \/ Post Independent <\/strong>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

While handwashing, coughing into elbows and adhering to social distancing can go a long way in slowing the spread of COVID-19, being mindful of one\u2019s mental health is incredibly important as well. <\/p>\n

Fortunately, telehealth technology has afforded mental health professionals the ability to assist clients remotely.<\/p>\n

However, the unprecedented situation caused by the pandemic can understandably overwhelm any individual whether they have underlying mental health conditions or not. Therefore, in addition to following the physical hygiene practices set forth by the CDC, mental health professionals have also recommended a few, meaningful coping skills of their own.     <\/p>\n

\u201cAnxiety is living in the future and we are living very much in the future with this COVID-19 outbreak,\u201d Oyen Hoffman, Mountain Family Health Centers behavioral health provider, said. \u201cOftentimes, we build a horror story in our head.\u201d <\/p>\n

With children out of school and plenty of parents unable to go to work, Hoffman discussed the importance of limiting the amount of time families spend watching the news together at home.<\/p>\n

Staying informed certainly doesn\u2019t hurt, but too much exposure to breaking news headlines can do more bad than good, Hoffman explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as you notice it\u2019s making you feel bad, stop watching or tuning in,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cAs soon as you start feeling nervous, anxious, depressed or upset turn it off and engage in some other useful activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mind Springs Health outpatient program director Hans Lutgring emphasized the power of the arts, particularly during a pandemic.<\/p>\n

From reading and writing, to listening to a record or preparing a home-cooked meal, Lutgring recommended simply turning the TV or smartphone off for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is a matter of reframing things,\u201d Lutgring said. \u201cThis could genuinely be an opportunity to reclaim some sense of control and the time that we have together as a family as a result of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping social distancing in mind, Hoffman and Lutgring spoke about the importance of maintaining healthy eating habits, exercising and getting outside whenever possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all in this together,\u201d Lutgring said. \u201cKindness and compassion for ourselves and kindness and compassion for others is the best advice we can give right now as a community mental health center.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his 19 years working in the mental health field, Hoffman said he had never seen anything quite like COVID-19 and believed now, more than ever, people must take care of one another to the greatest extent possible. <\/p>\n

\u201cBe patient, be thoughtful and by all means don\u2019t make an emotional decision, make a thoughtful, logical decision,\u201d Hoffman said. <\/p>\n

Particularly for parents with younger children, Hoffman said to continue being a source of calm and comfort. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to remember this forever,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cHave them remember the fun things that they did at home with their family as opposed to it was a really scary and stressful time.\u201d<\/p>\n

mabennett@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Telehealth technology has allowed mental health professionals like Oyen Hoffman the ability to assist clients remotely. Matthew Bennett \/ Post Independent While handwashing, coughing into elbows and adhering to social distancing can go a long way in slowing the spread of COVID-19, being mindful of one\u2019s mental health is incredibly important as well.  Fortunately, telehealth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1318949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 20:18:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}