Ways to Combat Isolation and Quarantine Fatigue

by Kari Eidnes (Master’s Student of Clinical and Behavioral Psychology) and Jody Eidnes (Great Lakes Conference Administrator)

Covid-19 has drastically impacted mental health in America, increasing rates of depressed mood, suicide, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Due to simply living through a pandemic, as a nation, we are facing collective trauma. The amount of suffering that is visible and essentially in our backyards is unlike anything many people have experienced in their lifetime. Millions of Americans are without jobs, millions have been infected and are facing, perhaps, a lifetime of resulting chronic issues, and hundreds of thousands have experienced the loss of a loved one. Overwhelming grief over the loss of normalcy, feelings of helplessness, and loss of control naturally follow this chronic exposure to trauma and severe stress. Even measures like social distancing and quarantines, which are essential to reducing spread and keeping people alive, puts us in a psychologically vulnerable position.

During the first wave of infections and resulting quarantine, abuse, divorce, addiction, and mental illness increased across the American population. Grief was also rampant, but there were few accessible ways to process the incredible change and losses households experienced. Ultimately, how can anyone cope in a healthy way if they do not have access to the means to cope?

With the continuing pandemic across the US and the coming colder weather which will lead to further isolation, the people who were already vulnerable and suffering from the quarantine are likely to be further impacted to a possibly devastating degree. It becomes imperative that we as a church body work together in order to combat this impact. Some of the best ways to increase mental health and combat feelings of isolation, hopelessness, and loss of control is to develop and implement programs designed to enhance resiliency and posttraumatic growth. The following resource guide provides ways that you can offer connection, hope, and control back to the people in your congregations. These are suggestions that promote positive mental health but are not meant to be diagnostic in nature. Feel free to modify them in ways that fit your community and congregation. If congregants are clearly facing a crisis and you suspect they are in immediate danger, please see the CDC emergency contact resources at the end of the guide. Please note resource links below; some are national links and some are state specific for the state of Michigan (where this guide originates).

This portion of the guide is for the individual or the family unit. Suggestions for churches to organize small groups and community outreach will follow in the next edition.

For the Individual or the Family Unit

What positively impacts your mental health? Being in quarantine/isolation places a person into an environment of depression symptoms. So, we need to think of ways to combat the symptoms before it becomes actual depression. Here are some suggestions:

• Choose activities that positively impact your mental health:
  • Maintain a schedule: eating, sleeping, working, hygiene, etc.
    • Sleep hygiene (going to bed/waking up at the same time during the “workdays” is very helpful! Sleep hygiene, or good sleep habits, is essential to maintaining mental and physical health.)
    • Have healthy regular meals
    • Regular workday routines
    • Regular weekend routines
    • Have boundaries- a boundary on work, a boundary on play, a boundary on sleep, a boundary on meetings, and a boundary on phone calls
  • Prepare your space
    • Declutter- get rid of stuff to give yourself space
    • Keep your space clean: make a routine of small tasks, doing something every day to improve the space around you
      • Something like, Sundays you put clothes in a basket to be washed, Mondays you wash the clothes, etc.
      • Assign tasks across the household (if you have a family unit) and actively praise tasks that are completed (yes, every time and yes, even with yourself)
    • Bring beauty/de-stressors into the space-
      • Visual- pleasing sights (colors and objects)
      • Tactile- pleasing textures
      • Aural- pleasing sounds
      • Olfactory- pleasing scents
      • Meaningful objects that cause connection, peace, and gratitude
    • Try to designate a workspace separate from living space
  • Physical exercise
    • Set up a place in the house for exercise
    • Go for walks/move around outside
    • Ride a bike/exercise bike
  • Mental Exercise
    • Read a book to learn something new
    • Do puzzles- word puzzles, crossword puzzles, Sudoku
    • Learn a new skill
      • That works your mind- learn a language
      • That works your hands- learn to knit, crochet
      • That does both- learn to play a musical instrument
    • Play a competitive game (cards, board games, chess) over the internet with friends
    • Put together a difficult jigsaw puzzle
  • Faith exercises
    • Reading the Bible
    • Prayer
    • Intentional listening/waiting
    • Journaling
    • Lectio Divina
    • Scripture memorization
    • Spend time with a spiritual director (for a list of GLC spiritual directors, contact Jennifer Andersson- [email protected] or Joe Muzzi- [email protected]).
  • Be creative
    • Write
      • A blog
      • A book
      • A Bible study
    • Draw/paint
    • Sculpt
    • House projects- inside and out
  • Play- do something you find fun
  • Pay attention to changes in normal habits
    • Eating too little or too much
    • Sleeping too little or too much
      • Sleep disruption- having trouble going to sleep or staying asleep
    • Excessive irritability
    • Excessive screen time
    • Hoarding
    • Excessive online shopping
    • Alcohol or drug abuse
  • Chose to find help for better mental health
    • Talk to small group leader
    • Talk to pastor
    • Talk to mental health professional
  • Choose Community
    • One-one people time
      • Develop relationships with individuals
    • Join a small group:
      • Bible study or other group which functions in part as a means to decrease loneliness, partially support group in quality
        • A group that encourages openness and positive growth
        • Keeps each other accountable for choosing activities that positively impact mental health
      • Be part of a phone calling tree
        • Calling group needs to emphasize active listening, sharing, caring, decreasing loneliness
      • Things to do over zoom:
        • Game nights
          • Whole church options with rotating hosts
        • Helping students with homework
          • Sign-ups for adults (that outlines skill sets) and students (that outlines needs to be met)
        • Connect with friends
          • Facetime or Zoom and watch a TV/Movie source like Netflix together (start movies or TVs at the same time and watch “together”)
          • Have a book club
          • Take an online class together
          • Do workouts together
          • Watch church together
          • Group learning
            • Painting (Like Painting with a Twist; each individually paints a similar picture from a master painting)
            • Music lessons

• Choose to make a difference
  • Community Outreach:
    • Tutoring/teaching
      • For example- Mission City, part of City Covenant Church, Detroit, MI has a tutoring program
        • Also, potential fund drive for:
          • building plexiglass areas for the students to work
          • iPads set up to work zoom
        • English as a second language online classes
          • One congregant is helping South Korean students learn English
          • May need to find further volunteers to listen and talk to the students
        • Building relationships with other churches
          • GLC sister churches in Germany
            • “Pen pals” with zoom
            • English classes
            • Small groups
          • Cross racial or ethnic partnership
            • Small groups
          • Partnership across the conference
            • Small groups
            • Share worship service
          • Retirement facilities
            • Potential fund drive for:
              • iPads or other devices to increase communication
            • Sign-up for a weekly call with a resident (think reverse big brother or big sister program)

• Change the world:
  • Educate yourself about racism or immigration reform
  • Speak up and help to educate people in your family or small group
  • Help to raise money for low cost/free clinics like Covenant Community Care in Detroit
  • Educate yourself as a voter to make informed decisions- then vote
  • Be an advocate
  • Help to stock a food pantry
    • Raise money
    • Pick up food donations from friends (porch pick-ups) and deliver to pantry
    • Pick up food ordered from grocery stores, Gordon Foods, etc. and deliver to pantry
    • Ask local grocery store for donations, pick up, and deliver to food pantry

We understand that this list has a lot of information, but it is by no means exhaustive. Therefore, we need your help! What have we missed? Do you have practical suggestions to combat isolation, quarantine fatigue, and mental health stress? Email suggestions to Jody Eidnes of the GLC office at [email protected].

Articles related to mental health, covid-19, and isolation:

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/a-mental-health-pandemic-the-second-wave-of-covid-19

https://prahs.com/insights/mental-health-crisis-the-second-wave-of-covid-19

https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-second-wave-coronavirus-mental-health/

https://www.horizonhealthnews.com/second-covid-19-wave-is-already-here-its-our-mental-health-crisis/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7227800/

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/quarantine-fatigue-is-real-heres-how-to-cope

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html

Podcast:

https://www.smallgroupnetwork.com/protecting-your-mental-health-helping-your-leaders-thrive-emotionally-during-covid-19/

From the CDC:

Get immediate help in a crisis

• Call 911
• Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 (press 2 for Spanish), or text TalkWithUs for English or Hablanos for Spanish to 66746. Spanish speakers from Puerto Rico can text Hablanos to 1-787-339-2663.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for English, 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish, or Lifeline Crisis Chat
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text LOVEIS to 22522
• National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4AChild (1-800-422-4453) or text 1-800-422-4453
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or Online Chat
• The Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116  TTY Instructions
• Veteran’s Crisis Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Crisis Chat or text: 8388255

Find a health care provider or treatment for substance use disorder and mental health

• SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and TTY 1-800-487-4889
• Treatment Services Locator Website
• Interactive Map of Selected Federally Qualified Health Centers

Mental Health Resources in Southeast MI (do a little research to determine resources available in your area):

• Addiction:
• https://www.brightonrecovery.org/
• https://www.henryford.com/locations/maplegrove
• https://www.sccmich.org/
• Mental health disorders for individuals, family, and couples in SE Michigan (telehealth available):
• https://www.sccmich.org/
• https://www.fairskymi.org/ (low cost, non-profit, clinical psychologists)
• https://msp.edu/clinic/ (low cost, for people with no insurance, not reimbursable by insurances, clinical psychology students providing services)