LibGuides: COVID-19 Resource Portal: Coping and Resiliency

Tips and Strategies for Coping and Resilience during COVID-19:
Use these strategies on your own or with your team

UHN Wellness & Mental Health Supports

The COVID-19 Preparedness page for Mental Health Supports page on the UHN intranet has information and contacts for:

UHN Cares Counselling and Support Services
Resources you can use on your own for:
- managing stress
- coping with loneliness, sadness and grief
- staying calm, dealing with anxiety and trauma
- family and financial concerns
- coping with anger and irritability
- using mindfulness

If you are off site and looking to access these pages, log in to the intranet then go to the COVID-19 Preparedness page and then the "Mental Health Supports" tab on the right.

The COVID-19 Preparedness page for Staff Wellness and Support on the UHN intranet has:

Peer-to-Peer support line
BRITE Resources for COVID-19
Webinars and other resources from Morneau Shepell
Information about the Wellness Respite Centres for staff
Added Value Benefits for employees
And a link directly to Wellness@UHN which has resources, information and services for resilience, wellness, mindfulness, self-care, thankfulness and more

If you are off site and looking to access these pages, log in to the intranet then go to the COVID-19 Preparedness page and then the "Staff Wellness" tab on the right.

Tip Sheets from UHN CARES - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

Mental Health and Stress During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program.
Preventing Burnout During COVID-19
Information about and tips for avoiding burnout during the pandemic from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program.
Improving Sleep During COVID-19
Steps you can take to improve your sleep from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program.
Improving Sleep During COVID-19: Tips for Individuals Working Night/Irregular Shifts
Tips for improving sleep when you work nights or irregular shifts from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program.
Balancing Work and Caregiving During COVID-19
Three step approach to balancing responsibilities from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Tips on Reading and Watching the News During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Learning to Notice Unhelpful Thinking Traps
Strategies to catch and challenge thinking traps from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

Managing Anxiety and Panic During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Managing Sadness During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Coping with Grief During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Dealing with Loneliness During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Dealing with Anger During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Understanding & Coping with Trauma
Steps for coping with trauma from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Learning to Notice Unhelpful Thinking Traps
Strategies to catch and challenge thinking traps from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

How To Practice Mindfulness During COVID-19
Tips for being more mindful every day from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Belly Breathing: A Mindfulness Exercise
A mindfulness exercise from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
RAIN: A Mindfulness Exercise
A mindfulness exercise from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Soles of the Feet: A Mindfulness Exercise
A mindfulness exercise from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

Resources for Managing Finances During COVID-19
Links to resources for tips and advice about finances during the pandemic from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Talking to your Kids about COVID-19 when you Work in Healthcare
Tips for discussing facts and emotions about the pandemic with kids from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Therapy & Crisis Support Resources
List of free support services that are available all day, every day, from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Balancing Work and Caregiving During COVID-19
Three step approach to balancing responsibilities from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

External COVID-19 mental health services for health care providers

Mental health and COVID-19 Resources for health care workers - CAMH
CAMH's hub for resources, services and information about mental health supports for healthcare providers dealing with COVID-19

Therapy & Crisis Support Resources
List of free support services that are available all day, every day, from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

Psychological First Aid for Frontline Health Care Providers During COVID-19; A quick guide to wellness
Psychological First Aid workbook, PDF.
Prepared by DR. MÉLANIE JOANISSE, C.PSYCH. Clinical and Health Psychologist. 2020

How to be more mindful

How To Practice Mindfulness During COVID-19
Tips for being more mindful every day from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

Mindfulness for researchers: an approach for a healthier, more productive career
Learn a step-by-step approach for practicing mindfulness as a scientist in the new Researcher Academy module from Elsevier.

Belly Breathing: A Mindfulness Exercise
A mindfulness exercise from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
RAIN: A Mindfulness Exercise
A mindfulness exercise from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Soles of the Feet: A Mindfulness Exercise
A mindfulness exercise from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program

Meditations from Headspace for COVID 19
Find selected guided meditations for stress and feeling overwhelmed, as well as sleep and movement exercises.
Mindful Morning Meditation
A three and a half minute mindful meditation for reconnecting with intention and hope followed by two minutes of music for reflection.

Being Mindful - UHN team members can find this online course with tips and techniques to be mindful and reduce stress in MyLearning

How to cope with stress and anxiety

Breathe with the shape:

a geometric shape that slowly increases and decreases in size

Managing Anxiety and Panic During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program
Mental Health and Stress During COVID-19
Tip sheet from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program.

Coping with Stress and Anxiety and the COVID-19 Pandemic – Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH)
Strategies to maintain your mental wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic from CAMH
Mental health advice for frontline healthcare providers caring for patients with COVID-19
Ten suggestions for looking after your mental health while caring for COVID patients.
By Alikhani et al in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal Canadien d’anesthésie, April 6, 2020.
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Alikhani, Rosa, Alireza Salimi, Ahmad Hormati, and Reza Aminnejad. “Mental Health Advice for Frontline Healthcare Providers Caring for Patients with COVID-19.” Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal Canadien d’anesthésie, April 6, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-020-01650-3.
Coping with Stress - COVID-19 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Information from the CDC about reducing stress in yourself and others, including information for parents, responders and for people released from quarantine.
Three steps to coping with anything (including COVID-19)
Seven and a half minute YouTube video providing three steps for hospital workers to cope with COVID-19, from Drs. Bob Maunder and Jon Hunter.
Gretchen Rubin on Coping with COVID-19
Resources and “steps to feel[ing] as happy and as calm as we can be, and . . . strengthen ourselves to be more helpful to others and to our community.”
OISE Library Care Package
This Care Package is a collection of movies, wellness resources, reading, crafts, games, recipes, plant tips, internet games (and beyond) that OISE Library staff have compiled during their time in isolation from COVID-19.
Meditation for Stress
A 10 minute guided meditation for stress relief from Headspace.
Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health During COVID-19 - on Coursera
A free, self-paced on-line course. The four modules take ~ 4 hours to complete. “Leave this course with a better understanding of how your brain reacts to crises, along with some powerful tools for managing it before it manages you.”
How to engage with life when you feel down - Psyche
Brief article by Lucy Foulkes about breaking the cycle between low mood and withdrawing from activities, leading to more low mood.

How to build and maintain resilience

Preventing Burnout During COVID-19
Information about and tips for avoiding burnout during the pandemic from UHN Cares - COVID-19 Mental Health Support Program.

Finding Hope and Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Three opportunities for "moments of strength and hope" in these challenging times. From Your Health Matters, Sunnybrook, by Jennifer Palisoc
Resources to Support the Health and Well-Being of Clinicians During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Information from the National Academy of Medicine on how to support health and well-being during COVID-19. It includes topics such as stress, burnout, distress, resilience, trauma and many others.
The Working Mind COVID-19 Self-care & Resilience Guide
The Mental Health Commission of Canada's guides for workers and post-secondary students for self-care and resilience. Documents can be used to follow along with resilience courses offered by the Commission.
Building your resilience
What resilience is, is not, and strategies for building yours. Brief article from the American Psychological Association
Tolerance for Uncertainty: A COVID-19 Workbook
This workbook, created by Dr. Sachiko Nagasawa, includes chapters with activities for emotional distress and wellness planning, emotional regulation, radical acceptance, improving emotional distress, and self-compassion. PDF
Spiritual Practices for the Coronavirus Pandemic
Spiritual practices to disarm fear and uncertainty, use while taking preventative measures, handle social distancing and quarantine, be present with illness, and sustain hope. By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality & Practice
Five Minutes of Self Compassion
A five minute meditation to promote self-compassion (Use Chrome browser)
Coping with COVID - Community of Practice - ECHO Ontario
For Hospital-Based Healthcare Providers and Residents responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Join ECHO sessions virtually by videoconference technology. Share and learn ways to build resilience and overall wellness through didactic lectures and case-based discussions.

COVID-19 Resource Portal