Included here are some resources to help you manage this very difficult time and all the challenges that it may bring to maintaining your mental wellbeing.

Please ensure that you get your information from reliable sources such as HSE and WHO

During this difficult time it is especially important to look after your self-care.

​Sleep:​ Getting good sleep and having a good sleeping routine is important but may also be very diffuclt. Sleep hygiene can help with this, turning off screens 1 hour before bed can also help. You may also find it beneficial to do some relaxation exercises to help with falling asleep. ​

Eating well: ​Eating a well-balanced diet and limiting alcohol can really help in maintaining our mental wellbeing. The Mardyke Arena and the Echo developed a weekly Keeping Cork Healthy resource that includes home workout/healthy eating etc.

​Good structure/Routine: It is important to ​have a sense of purpose/aims/goals in our daily lives. As we may no longer have work and or college to help with this we need to do this for ourselves. Here is a routine template  from Mental Health Ireland that can help with this. 

Exercise: ​Stay active. Exercise is an extremely important way to manage our stress and it also helps us to feel better as it releases "feel good" chemicals into the brain (endorphines). 

​Keep Connected:​ Make time to connect with friends, family, neighbours etc. Being connected with people can really help to make us feel better about ourselves. 

Here are some more useful resources:

Responding to Covid-19 from the The Mindfullness Clinic gives information on how you can look after yourself throughout this period with the use of gratitude, mindfullness and self-compassion.

St. Pats have some very useful strategies to deal with anxiety at this time.

Mental Health Europe also has some useful resources on how to look after your mental wellbeing at this time.