With the time at home, people find many different activities to help keep a positive attitude.

Throughout the time at home, the people can do a lot of different activities to help keep their minds in the right space with thinking positively and staying active. 

Exercising can be a helpful activity to do to get one’s mind off of the things going on in the world.

“I think an important activity would be to stay active. I have been trying to run on my treadmill at least five days a week. People can also do workouts that they come up with on their own or follow a mini-routine on something like YouTube. I’ve also been playing with my dog a lot and taking her on walks. I think now is a good time to also do things that you don’t normally have time for. For example, I have been drawing and spending time with my family,” said senior Jackie Mutter.

There are many different ways for each individual person to manage their anxiety, stress, fear, or even depression. With a variety of ways, it will be different for each person since everyone in the world is handling the situation in different ways.

“The best things to do to manage fear or depression are different for different people. In the current climate, one important thing for many people is to limit our time watching the news or engaging with other media that heightens our fears,” said social worker Joe Alger. “Finding and maintaining a good routine that includes exercise, rest, socialization, work and play during the shelter in place order is important to manage feelings of depression. We can all feel overwhelmed, or isolated, or scared by the current situation, and staying connected, talking out our thoughts with another person, and engaging in those activities that are fulfilling can help us to manage better.”

Students can also find ways to manage their stress through different routines or finding moments of relaxation in their daily lives.

“When I am feeling depressed or anxious, I like to meditate to calm myself. Some other things that help me are making myself tea, journaling, taking a walk, coloring, or taking a warm shower,” Mutter said.

“Students can do a lot of things to distract themselves. Generally, I’d encourage students to develop a routine that involves a variety of things to keep the mind and body satisfied. We don’t want to just engage with some of our typical distractions, like video games, social media or television, but those might be part of our day. We also want to get out to take a walk, work on a project or read just for fun, engage with family and friends over the phone or a video chat app,” Alger said.

The students at North can find many different ways of handling stress, anxiety, and depression while at home through speaking with family and video chatting with friends. The staff at North is also reaching out to students daily though emails and schoology, and students can email staff if they need to.

“Speak with family members you live with, siblings and/or parents about your feelings. Don’t be afraid; most likely they are feeling the same way. Text a tip is another way students can get support. Here is the link to our GNHS resources: https://www.d127.org/north/one-stop-shop-spring-2020/social-emotional-spring-2020. Staff are reaching out to students via technology. A lot of staff are using Google Voice to connect. Students should watch their school email and Schoology messages. A lot of staff are posting on social media too. Connect with them that way,” said counselor Megan Stenberg.