Cabin fever. Stir-craziness. It goes by many names, but one we’ve been hearing lately is quarantine fatigue. With more people staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe you’ve felt it.

Quarantine fatigue looks different for everyone. For some, it’s more tiredness or anxiety. For others, it’s strange sleeping habits, less motivation to do things they once enjoyed or a combination of these symptoms. If you’re working from home, the days can blur even more. But even if your world’s feeling more cramped than normal, you still have many ways to fight quarantine fatigue. Here are 5 ways to help energize your day and fend off quarantine fatigue.

Maintain a routine, to keep the days from drifting try to:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day
• Start your day off right by eating breakfast, writing a to-do list, and getting dressed for what’s ahead
• Set up areas for work, sleep and play to prevent your living spaces from blending together
• If you work from home, take a quick walk on your break to air out your stressors and keep active

Stay active by exercising. Exercise doesn’t just boost physical health. It also helps your mood, energy levels and overall well-being. For an easy way to exercise from the comfort of home, try online fitness programs that don’t require fitness equipment

Have your eating habits shifted since you started staying home more? Planning meals and mealtimes in advance can help you put more thought into your daily nutritional intake, keep your brain active and fueled throughout the day, and avoid grazing on unhealthy snacks. By eating healthy foods, it can help improve your mood so you can feel your best

Physical distancing doesn’t mean that you completely cut off all connection to others around you. Remember to socialize and talk to your loved ones. Try utilizing technology to your benefit to fight back against loneliness and enjoy some quality time with others:

• Video chat with friends and family for some face-to-face time
• Organize a virtual game night
• Start a personal video blog and share some of the new dishes you’ve cooked up in the kitchen
• Host a virtual trivia night

Remember to be kind to yourself, COVID-19 has changed everyone’s life in some way. So if you’re feeling sad or anxious, that’s completely normal. Take things day by day and remember to take a little time for yourself to relax, recharge and do something that makes you happy to support your emotional health.

Managing mental health during this time is just as vital to overall well-being as keeping physically healthy. This pandemic may be affecting your mental health causing stressors related to paying bills, fear of catching the virus, daily routine disruptions where work is done from home and kids are at home requiring schedule adjustments and possibly less structure. Several professional and practical resources are available to help manage and cope with emotional and mental health.

If you think that this might be more than quarantine fatigue, make sure you get mental health support. There are many local, regional and national resources available for coping with stress and mental health during this time..

If you are in need of information, resources, an assessment and referral for mental health or substance use services call 2-1-1 or the BHRS Access Call Center: 1-(800) 686-0101, TDD: 1-(800) 943-2833. If you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency, call or text 9-1-1. 

Together we can get through this health crisis by focusing on our physical and mental well-being.