NHC SF Member Blog: Self-Care during COVID-19

NHC SF AmeriCorps Member, Julia Schroeder, shares ways to practice self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this difficult time, it is important to remember that there are still resources and services open in San Francisco and online opportunities for self-care. A couple of weeks ago, San Francisco Health Network sent out a list of points of access for essential behavioral health services open during COVID-19. This list has become very useful at HealthRIGHT360 for helping patients to access mental health services and provide them with care and support in this difficult time. The list is broken down into different categories—Emergency Psychiatric Services, Urgent Psychiatric Services, Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Care, Transitional Age Youth Services, Behavioral Health Care for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, and Warm Line:24 Hour Access. Within each group are different resources with the best number to reach them, the location and the hours of operation (many are operating 24/7) . This list has been helpful and is highly suggested to anyone needing a referral.

There are also numerous online resources that are available to healthcare workers and other essential workers for self-care. Headspace, as mentioned in an earlier post, offers free trials to the general public, and discounts for healthcare workers. A new addition to Headspace is “Weathering the storm”, which is free for everyone and includes mediations, sleep and movement exercises. The app is focused on short breathing and meditation exercises to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as help with focus and sleep. Find out more using this link:  https://www.headspace.com/ and check out “Weathering the storm”! Also, another great resource is a yoga app called Down Dog, which has yoga for beginners, HIIT, bare and 7-minute workouts. The app has been made completely free for new users until June 1st (no credit card required). They are also allowing free access to the app until July 1st for all students and teachers (K-12 and college) in response to school closures. Check out the app at https://www.downdogapp.com/. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this difficult time!