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Mental Health Tips from People Who've Been There

2020-03-24 · list · John · 3:55 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health (also: Personal life, Global development) · mode: Advice & reviews · tags: timely hook, heavy topic

After a hard week for his anxiety and OCD, John shares the ten mental health tips for social distancing from Partners In Health's head of mental health, Dr. Bepi Raviola, drawn from people who lived through outbreaks, with how each works for him.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — John's hard week with anxiety and OCD; Hank's Friday video; therapy, medication and PIH's tips

  • ★★★ John says it has not been a great week: because of his anxiety problems and OCD, his brain is not well suited to pandemics and he is having a hard time. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John loved Hank's video on Friday, which gave him comfort and context. — 00:00:00 · Hank Green
  • ★★ John has virtual therapy and medication, but found most helpful this week (week of 23 March 2020) mental health tips from Partners In Health, informed by people who lived and worked through big outbreaks. — 00:00:00 · Partners In Health

00:00:29 — PIH's partnership model: learning from Liberia's Ebola contact tracers and Sierra Leone's mental health providers

  • ★★ John says PIH values partnership enough to put it in its name, because in global health, as elsewhere, everyone needs to learn from everyone. — 00:00:29 · Partners In Health, global health
  • ★★ John says that during the Ebola outbreak community health workers in Liberia became experts in contact tracing. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John says mental health providers in Sierra Leone have worked with people who had to self-isolate to prevent disease. — 00:00:29 · Sierra Leone
  • ★★ John says we have a lot to learn from these people, and in the PIH model colleagues around the world learn from each other to serve patients and the public. — 00:00:29 · Partners In Health

00:00:58 — Dr. Bepi Raviola's ten tips, with John's own experience of each, and his list for scared moments

  • ★★ John says the ten tips come from PIH's head of mental health, Dr. Bepi Raviola, drawn from wide experience of living with social distance: advice from people who've been there. — 00:00:58 · Partners In Health
  • ★★★ First tip: social distancing does not mean emotional distancing; use technology to connect. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John says amid traumas like illness and job loss it is easy to isolate, which is dangerous for many, him included; for him connecting means FaceTime and phone calls. — 00:01:27
  • ★★★ Second tip: keep clear routines and schedules seven days a week without going overboard; John finds it hard and is being patient with himself. — 00:01:27
  • ★★★ Third tip: daily exercise if possible; when sad or scared John does not want to exercise, but always feels better when he does. — 00:01:27
  • ★★★ Fourth tip: learning and intellectual engagement with books, reading and limited internet; for John, books, essays and marble racing on YouTube. — 00:01:56 · YouTube
  • ★★★ Fifth tip: positive family time to counter negativity; John says his kids are very good at it. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ Sixth tip: alone time, outside if possible; John's only alone time is his daily bath. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ Another tip: focused meditation and relaxation, daily if possible; for John that is taking a bath. — 00:02:26
  • ★ John keeps a gratitude journal, and jokes that about 80% of its ink goes to baths. (playful) — 00:02:26
  • ★★★ Another tip: remember the things you really enjoy that you can still do in this situation, and find a way to do them. — 00:02:26
  • ★★ John says this is a struggle for him and his friends, some of whom love jobs they now lack or cannot do as they love. — 00:02:26
  • ★★ Things John can still enjoy include rewatching Penguins of Madagascar, which he calls the greatest achievement in film history, reading, and his one daily Diet Dr Pepper. (playful) — 00:02:55
  • ★★★ Last tip: limit exposure to TV and internet news, choosing small windows and then cleansing yourself of it. — 00:02:55
  • ★★ Because of his obsessive thinking disorder, too much news makes John panicked rather than better informed, making it harder to be a father, friend and concerned citizen. — 00:03:24
  • ★★ John keeps a list of the ten tips, linked below, and when scared or overwhelmed asks what on it he could do; not a cure, it helps him and he hopes it helps viewers. — 00:03:24

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In a comment John urges viewers concerned about their mental health to reach out for help, to a friend or a mental health professional, many offering e-therapy. — creator comment · mental disorder

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: Partners In Health

Also: Works: Penguins of Madagascar

Organizations: YouTube

Concepts: anxiety disorder · community health worker · contact tracing · global health · gratitude · loneliness · mental disorder · obsessive-compulsive disorder · physical exercise · social distancing

Places: Liberia · Sierra Leone

Events: Western African Ebola virus epidemic

Products: Diet Dr Pepper

Only in the description or credits: Bepi Raviola

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