Mental health, Mental illness

How we’re supporting mental health during COVID-19

https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-mental-health-survey

Sleep

Physical activity

Spending time in green spaces or with pets

Smoking or vaping, drinking alcohol, and snacking

Interacting in person or online with family and friends, and taking part in organised activities such as
sports, social clubs or religious groups

Feeling more alone

Working and screen time

Relaxation practices such as meditation or mindfulness

Reading, watching or listening to the news

Five tips to support your mental health during COVID-19

https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-mental-health-tips

Be kind to yourself and others

Altruism

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/doing-good-does-you-good/health-benefits-altruism

Belonging, perspective, contagion

Cut yourself and others some slack

Check your sources (but not too often)

Facts, not emotions

Keep in touch

Take care of yourself

Nutrition

Stay active

Quiet unwind time

Green space

Bring some structure to your day

Some you time

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

https://patient.info/doctor/patient-health-questionnaire-phq-9

Answers

Not at all, 0

Several days, 1

More than half the days, 2

Nearly every day, 3

The 9 questions

Little interest or pleasure in doing things?

Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?

Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much?

Feeling tired or having little energy?

Poor appetite or overeating?

Feeling bad about yourself - or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down?

Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television?

Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed?
Or the opposite - being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual?

Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself in some way?

Score, 0 to 27

Validity has been assessed against an independent structured mental health professional (MHP) interview.

PHQ-9 score ≥10 had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 88% for major depression

Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7)

https://patient.info/doctor/generalised-anxiety-disorder-assessment-gad-7

Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered
by any of the following problems?

The 7 questions

Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge?

Not being able to stop or control worrying?

Worrying too much about different things?

Trouble relaxing?

Being so restless that it is hard to sit still?

Becoming easily annoyed or irritable?

Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen?

Score, 0 to 21

5, mild anxiety

10, moderate anxiety

15, severe anxiety

At a score of 10, GAD-7 has a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82%

Also useful in, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder

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