Your Mental Wellness At Work: Unmind Leader Offers 6 Ways To Manage COVID Anxiety
Heather Bolton is the Head of Psychology at Unmind.
If COVID-19 has not directly affected your mental health, then you are likely a very rare case.
And if the collision of crises in economics, health, injustice, family, work and career have touched you in the last year, then know there is access to steps to improve your mental health.
“If the collision of crises in economics, health, injustice, family, work and #career have touched you in the last year, then know there is access to steps to improve your #mentalhealth. #resources ”
Moving towards an economic, health and wellness recovery, many women—and men— are strategizing to not only cope with the effects of the pandemic, but to manage a re-emergence and recovery post-COVID that is better than before the crisis hit.
As Head of Psychology at Unmind, a workplace mental health platform reaching 2 million people in 110 countries, Heather Bolton aims to address your wellness challenges at work and those of women—and men—around the world.
“The impact of COVID on mental health is huge,” says Bolton, who joined Unmind in 2018. “People who work from home or wave lost their jobs are having to adjust to new family dynamics,” she says. “And people are afraid of COVID.”
“A Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in March 2020 found that nearly half the people in the U.S. think the coronavirus is harming their mental health. Forty-five percent of adults said the pandemic has affected their mental health, and 19 percent said it has had a major impact. The rates are slightly higher among women, Hispanic adults and Black adults,” according to Caller Times.
Adding in the traditional stress of holidays and the anxiety, depression and struggles associated with COVID are unprecedented.
“Adding in the traditional stress of holidays and the #anxiety, #depression and struggles associated with #COVID are unprecedented. #mentalhealth”
“We have seen this year alone an increase of anxiety and depression. Then on top of it, you add in the holiday season, we’re right now in the midst of what we call the ‘holiday blues’ anyways. Without the pandemic, you would still see a 64% increase in that anxiety and depression which is situational around the cold dark months and especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas leading into the new year," Executive Director of Behavioral Health Services at Memorial Health, Lindse Murphy tells WJCL.
A clinical psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist, Bolton, a native of Glasgow, Scotland has had a lifelong interest in science, genetics and psychology.
“I’m interested in helping people solve their problems,” says Bolton, who is based in London.
After graduating from University of College London in 2010 with a doctorate in clinical psychology, she took time off to travel throughout South American, beginning in Ecuador, then moving to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Patagonia, Uruguay, and ending in Brazil during Carnival in the spring of 2011.
Returning to London, she went to work for the National Health Service, where she built a team of therapists working in communities and prisons. The issues of trauma and loss were pervasive, she says.
It was in 2018 that her former NHS colleague, Nick Taylor, CEO of Unmind, who had launched it in 2016, approached her to come to work for the venture.
“I said thanks, but no thanks, “ Bolton says. “Then I was cycling into work and I wasn’t excited about it and I started questioning myself.” She adds, “So I emailed him to meet in person.”
She joined the company that had 12 employees at the time, and now has 80.
“Going from a well-established institution to a startup felt daunting, “ Bolton says. “AS a psychologist I am trained to think slowly and methodically. Startups have to think fast so I had to train myself to think in a new way.”
Read more in Take The Lead on COVID mental wellness tips
As COVID numbers surge around the world, the mental effects of the pandemic also surge.
“As #COVID numbers surge around the world, the #mentalhealth effects of the #pandemic also surge. ”
“The U.S. recorded more than 13.2 million cases and over 266,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Worldwide, there have been over 62 million cases and 1.4 million deaths,” USA Today reports. Globally, there have been 63 million cases reported and 1.5 million deaths.
“Anxiety, bereavement, the inability to access healthcare, national lockdowns, all these are key factors in mental health,” says Bolton. The contributing factors to good mental health remain, “meaning, purpose, routine, exercise and connection to people,” she says.
Read more in Power To Change Stories on mental wellness author
Unmind offers on its platform the Unmind Index, to give feedback to the individual on seven different pain point, and offers suggestions on what to do. The steps were designed to help people specifically navigate through COVID.
For instance, “Life After Lockdown,” addresses the anxieties and uncertainties people face and fear they will face, Bolton says.
“We like stability, clarity, so uncertainty makes us anxious,” Bolton says.
Read more in Take The Lead on pandemic parenting tips
While the platform is gender and age blind, and does not gather data on any identifying factors, Bolton says, how individuals adapt to the stresses and circumstances of COVID differ widely.
“There are factors such as how you perceive the world, your propensity to worry, where you live, messages you are getting from the powers that be depend on the government leaders, your circumstances of living alone, caring for someone, underlying mental health conditions and conditions at home.”
Yet, to maintain mental wellness and a sense of well-being at this time, Bolton says there are five main avenues to pursue to maintain your own sense of well-being.
“Heather Bolton, Head of Psychology at @Unmindhq, says there are five main avenues to pursue to maintain your own sense of well-being. #mentalhealthtips #workplace #wellness”
1. Try to maintain a sense of routine. “This is tough if you are not working. Try to still get up at a reasonable time, take a shower, get properly dresses, have proper meals, otherwise the days fall into the others.”
2. Try to focus on what you can control. “You have to follow the lockdown rules, but try not to get anxious or upset about what is not in your hands.”
“Try to focus on what you can control. “You have to follow the lockdown rules, but try not to get anxious or upset about what is not in your hands,” says Heather Bolton of @Unmindhq. #mentalhealth ”
3. Connect to other people as best you can. “We are social animals and even if you are introvert, find ways to connect with others. Even if you have zoom fatigue look out for your neighbors, the people on your street, that will make you feel quite good. “
4. Be kind to yourself. “This is a global pandemic and we have never experienced anything like this. This is about getting through the day, not going to become a yoga guru, learn a new language, learn a new instrument and a new skill. Juts try getting through it.
Read more in Take The Lead on workplace support
5. Avoid overdoing it. “When stressed we turn to things that are comforting, but it is important not to overdo. Using alcohol or food to block painful feelings is not ideal. Think about what you are trying to avoid and gently unpack that. There is also nothing wrong with watching TV, but pay attention to how much you are watching, and the same is true with social media. Rate your mood 1 out of 10 before, during and after each session. If it energizes you, great, but if you reach for Twitter or Facebook and what you do is social comparison, ask yourself is it makes you feel better or worse. Think about who you are following.”
6. Sleep. “Some people sleep more and say they are having wacky dreams. This is your brain trying to make sense of the situation. Some people sleep more, going to bed earlier. Others are not sleeping well, that can be because they are active during the day or have anxiety. If you are working from home and working in your bedroom, you need to switch off, and make it a place for sleeping.”
“Heather Bolton of @Unmindhq has 5 #mentalhealthtips for surviving the pandemic: 1. Maintain a sense of #routine, 2. Focus on what you can control, 3. Connect with others, 4. Be kind to yourself, and 5. Sleep. #wellbeing”
On its website, Unmind promises it works “with clinicians, authors, and academics to provide digital tools that nourish all aspects of mental well-being,” and claims that “88% of employees experience an improvement in mental well-being, work, or relationships.”
Bolton adds, “Employers and employees need to take a proactive approach to mental health now.”
“Healther Bolton, Head of Psychology at @Unmindhq says, “Employers and employees need to take a proactive approach to mental health now.” #mentalhealth #pandemic #workplace”
