Staying Healthy Physically & Mentally

Keeping your body healthy

Eat healthy and keep hydrated (this is good advice always)

• "Food Safety and Coronavirus: A Comprehensive Guide" by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

• The Knights Table Food Pantry (https://knightstablefoodpantry.org/) is a resource for matriculated students experiencing food insecurity. Make an appointment using this website: https://qcknightstablepantry.setmore.com/.

• NYC Schools are offering meals to ALL New Yorkers! If you need meals, use this website to find a local NYC Public School distributing meals to NYers of ALL ages. They have plenty and are there to help you: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/freemeals

• Food Bank for New York City: https://www.foodbanknyc.org/get-help/

• Healthy CUNY has many resources and detailed information about food and food insecurity in NYC: https://www.healthycuny.org/healthy-food-and-food-insecurity

• Queens College Psychological Center has compiled useful resources and organized a webinar on May 19: https://qcpccovid19.wixsite.com/website

  • Check this flyer for more details

Try out some at-home exercises

• Free fitness videos:

  • Planet Fitness is streaming free at home workouts

  • Try Zumba with Fitness Marshall

  • Peloton & Daily Burn have 90- and 30-day free trials

  • Try yoga or stretching

  • List of other free fitness apps

• Go outside! Try to avoid other people, but when the weather is nice, take a short walk to get some fresh air and clear your mind

  • "How to run safely amid coronavirus concerns"

  • "Exercising during coronavirus: Can I jog? Is that water fountain safe?"

Keeping your mind healthy

Get help when you need it

• Find your Campus Counseling Center: https://www.cuny.edu/current-students/student-affairs/student-services/counseling/campus-centers/

• QC Counseling, Health, and Wellness Center provided services remotely and will continue to do so throughout the Fall 2020 semester. Students with specific health concerns can make a virtual appointment with the RN to answer any questions: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/counseling/Pages/default.aspx

• QC Counseling Center: call +1 718-997-5420, and leave your contact information. Referrals are available to low-cost, sliding scale, and pro bono mental health practitioners. https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/counseling/counseling/Pages/default.aspx

• New York State COVID-19 Emotional Support Helpline

  • 1-844-863-9314 (8am-10pm, 7 days a week)

• Crisis Text Line

  • Text HOME to 741741 to chat by text (SMS rates apply)

  • Visit https://www.crisistextline.org/ for more information and resources

• If your symptoms of stress become overwhelming, reach out for support and help. You can contact NYC Well, a confidential 24/7 helpline, staffed by trained counselors. They can provide brief counseling and referrals to care in over 200 languages.

  • Call 888-NYC-WELL (+1 888-692-9355)

  • Text "WELL" to 65173

  • Chat at http://NYC.gov/nycwell

• If you work for QC, you have access to mental health services from Deer Oaks

• For many anxiety resources, check this website: https://www.virusanxiety.com/

• Resource sheet for parents: "Finding the right words to talk with children and teens about coronavirus"

Personal time

• Create and stick to a routine

• Avoid obsessing over the news

• Take breaks from work: just because you work or take classes at home now, this does not mean that home must revolve around work and school all the time.

• Practice social distancing, physically. Keep connected with people you care about:

  • Check social media

  • Make a phone call

• Allow yourself time to think about and do other things.

• Visit the QC's own museums:

  • Louis Armstrong House virtual exhibit

  • Godwin-Ternbach Museum

• Virtually visit some great destinations like zoos, aquariums, or the philharmonic!

• Check out these cultural collections from museums around the world.

• Enjoy art while at home using these resources

• Check Healthy CUNY for tips and suggestions about staying healthy: https://www.healthycuny.org/mental-health

Helping others

New York State has officially launched the NYS COVID-19 Contact Tracer Initiative in an effort to recruit 6,400 to 17,000 tracers to help prevent the spread of the virus.

• Read President Tramontano's email about the initiative

NYS is looking to immediately fill the following roles:

• Contact Tracers: reach out to the contacts of anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 to assess symptoms, ensure compliance with quarantine and determine social support needs.

• Team Supervisors: lead a team of 20 Contact Tracers, and one Community Support Specialist who are working remotely using digital tools.

• Community Support Specialists: work with the team and the local health departments to address the physical/mental health, and social/human service needs of those contacted, especially those who are under isolation or quarantine.

• Part-time wages are $17-$22 per hour working a minimum of 20 hours weekly and full-time salary ranges $57,000 - $65,000.

Self-care advice & other resources

"You Can Take Care of Yourself in Coronavirus Quarantine or Isolation, Starting Right Now"

"Make time for self-care during a self-quarantine"

A list compiled by faculty in QC's Department of Philosophy, linking to information about Coronavirus; listing places that will help you navigate financial hardship and unemployment; providing supports related to emotional health; and providing quarantine-friendly recreation ideas.

Writings and observations during COVID-19 isolation

"What I miss most working under quarantine" by Derek Loosvelt

"I Spent a Year in Space, and I have Tips on Isolation to Share" by Scott Kelly