Making the transition from an office environment to a work-from-home situation can be a challenge at the best of times. Add in a daily dose of grim news about the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the strain of sheltering-in-place, and you’re putting your mental wellbeing into a pressure cooker. It’s imperative to let off steam whenever possible. Here, a handful of mental health professionals offer their best advice on maintaining a healthy outlook during this trying time.

1. Host a Zoom happy hour.
Just because you can’t visit friends, family and coworkers in person right now, doesn’t mean you can’t see their familiar faces. Brianna Harrington, founder of Seek United, which provides corporate wellness workshops, suggests using Zoom for group video chats. Just be sure to select panel view so you can see everyone at once. “Yes, it will be hard to have more than one conversation at a time, but stick with it, and you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing this pre-COVID,” Harrington says. If Zoom isn’t your thing, try scheduled Facetime calls or even start a Netflix watch party. “Staying in touch right now is essential to good mental health,” says Amy L. Saborsky, a Pennsylvania licensed psychologist and director the Lehigh Valley Center for Child and Family Development.

2. Stay active.
Go for a walk outside in the park. “Being out in the sun when you can, not only will increase your vitamin D, but it’s been proven to help with depression and anxiety,” Saborsky says. If the weather is poor or you can’t leave your home for other reasons, try an online workout video or even just clean your house. “During times of stress, people sometimes feel like they can’t do much, but that’s not true,” Saborsky says.

3. Eat healthy and stay hydrated.
“When we’re stuck inside for whatever reason, we tend to carbo-load,” Saborsky says. “Make sure you’re still eating good-quality food, fruit and veggies, and drinking water. A healthy diet can really help us feel better as we get through this.”

4. Get enough sleep … but not too much.
When you don’t have a daily commute (or at least not one longer than the time it takes to descend a flight of stairs), it’s easy to give in to the temptation to sleep in, but it’s a slippery slope that’s best avoided. “Set your alarm for the same time as, or no more than a half-hour later than, you usually wake up for work,” says Natalie Chaykin, a doctoral candidate in psychology at Widener University and doctoral intern at Jefferson Headache Center. “If you’re sick or developing any sort of symptoms, sleep as much as possible, but if you’re healthy you must maintain routine in order to maintain good sleep hygiene. Also, never do work or take calls in bed.” If you must take a call in your bedroom, sit in a chair or stand. You don’t want your bed to be associated with the stresses of work.

5. Schedule “worry time.”
Rather than letting your worries overwhelm you throughout the day, Chaykin recommends blocking out time in the late morning or early afternoon to write down all your worries, whether they’re related to COVID-19 or not. “Separate the list into categories of what you can vs. what you can’t control with deadlines,” she says. “For example, worrying about the virus itself and when it will be contained isn’t something you can directly control, aside from following CDC guidelines. So, you can put that in the ‘cannot control’ category and use breath work or an attitude of acceptance to let go of that worry for the next 24 hours.”

6. Self-care, social distance-style.
“When we get stressed, it can be hard to remember that we need to take care of ourselves,” Saborsky says. “Don’t forget that it’s OK to do things you like to do, unless there are things where we can’t appropriately social distance.”

7. Practice gratitude.
It’s easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed. Sometimes, it helps to take a step back and remember all the good things in your life. “Having a daily gratitude practice not only helps to give us more perspective, but it reduces depression and anxiety, improves our physical health, fosters resiliency and even helps us sleep better,” Harrington says. “You might make a practice of sharing a few things you’re grateful for before dinner or write down a few things you’re grateful for every night before you go to bed.” Whatever method you choose, make sure you’re specific and spell out what you’re grateful for and why.

8. Enjoy your alone time.
Being stuck in a house all day, every day with your family can take a toll, Harrington says. “Make a point to give everyone some personal space and quiet time so you don’t get burnt out on too much togetherness,” she says. If you live alone but are a social butterfly, social distancing will be a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to get to know yourself, Chaykin says. Try journaling or reconnecting with old hobbies. “Learn to be alone and to be OK with that,” she adds. “It’s a skill that many of us don’t have, but we’re all learning together.”

9. Seek professional help if needed.
The strategies outlined above can go a long way to helping you maintain balance, but they’re not always enough. “If you find yourself feeling depressed, hopeless, panicked, anxious or overwhelmed, reach out to your therapist to see if he or she is providing telehealth,” Chaykin suggests. If you don’t have a therapist, try scheduling a free phone consultation through PsychologyToday, she says.