During this time, check on your mental health.

If you’re prone to depression, it won’t be easy being trapped in your house all day long for weeks with the same routines and the same day playing on repeat.

If you’re a mom, you may feel overwhelmed with figuring out what you should do with the kids all day long. And maybe they aren't following your schedule, and you feel like a failure for that—AND for the increase in screen time and junk food if you're honest.

And you feel down—like you’re the worst mom ever, and that quickly turns into you walking around in a zombie-like daze.

And If you’re prone to anxiety, it isn’t easy listening to the influx of media coverage and worrying about everyone in your life getting the virus ON TOP OF worrying about the day-to-day.

If you’re in recovery from an eating disorder, you may start wanting control over something through all the uncertainty.

If you struggle with addiction, that bottle of wine may look good after being stuck in the house all day with terrible news blaring in the background.

So, check on your mental health.

Because we’re all going through things besides this pandemic,

and it’s hard.

Because the woman who struggles with depression may also have a mom who just had back surgery and needs her assistance more than not.

Because the man with anxiety may also have a child struggling with behavior issues, and it's an all-day, kicking and screaming, take-no-prisoners battle--and now that his family is social distancing, it's extra challenging.

Because the woman in recovery from an eating disorder may also be going through a divorce, and it's vulgar, and she's hurting.

Because the woman with a history of addiction may also be struggling with her fertility, and each day is harder than the next.

Everyone has “stuff” that doesn’t get put on pause during the bad.

So, reach out and make sure your friends and family who struggle with mental illness are okay.

Because mental illness is a pandemic too.

So, check on the mental health of yourself and others,

you could save a life.

This post originally appeared on the author's Facebook. Her book Living FULL: Winning My Battle with Eating Disorder is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2O4mJId