Coping With Covid Fatigue With MindnLife Hong Kong

As we continue to battle against covid-19 and are now experiencing our highest cases so far in Hong Kong, many of us are feeling burnt out. Trying to stay positive for ourselves and friends and family can feel difficult at times, and we’re all in need of some coping strategies to stay strong and mentally healthy.

If you want to cope better with covid fatigue, watch our live chat with MindnLife and contact them to book an appointment (online only)

Our Facebook Live interview with Dr Quratulain Zaidi will help you navigate this difficult time as Hong Kong’s covid-19 infections rise and new restrictions are added.

Dr Zaidi has been living between Hong Kong and Singapore for past 20 years. She specialises in mental health challenges including depression, anxiety, stress management, couples therapy and adjustment for expat families.

These are the main points of the Facebook Live interview.

Prolonged Exposure To Threat 

• We are hardwired to over-estimate stress, and when there’s uncertainty, our brain goes into fight or flight mode. This can lead to anger, anxiety, depression and cognitive distress
• While it is tough, don’t dismiss human resilience and your ability to see this through
• It’s okay to feel anxious, angry, depressed and distressed but have a physical and emotional support system to help you deal with this.
• Try to keep some structure and routine in the day, like eating dinner together at the same time
• It’s okay to let your children see you stressed – it’s your reaction to it that matters and how you troubleshoot any problems

Impact On Relationship And Children

• We are all experiencing covid fatigue. It’s important we don’t beat ourselves up if we are not functioning at the level and standards we usually do
• Reach out to your support network and don’t rely on one person for everything
• Make time for yourself so you can decompress
• While we miss family, we can still utilise digital communication

Incorporating Self-Care

• Self-care is defined as multi-faceted, purposeful engagement strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhanced wellbeing
• There is physical self-care includes (exercise, mindfulness good sleep); psychological self-care (thinking patterns, how much information we consume); emotional self-care (managing emotions like anger, anxiety and stress) and social self-care (assessing which relationships are important)
• Make time for 5-10 minutes a day – it doesn’t have to be an hour-long walk
• You don’t have to tend to each area of self-care every day: work out what’s achievable

Watch our live chat with MindnLife and you’ll find some daily coping strategies that will help you survive these challenging times.