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Tips for Physical Distancing in a Multigenerational Home

California, like much of the world, has been greatly impacted by the current coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. Recently California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order for all California residents to stay home, practice physical distancing, and only leave their home for essential activities.

This directive will keep people isolated in their homes for the foreseeable future, which depending on an individual’s home living situation can bring up a variety of situations and emotions. Experts predict many people will experience mental health challenges as a result of this decree.

According to a report published by Pew Research Center, U.S. Hispanics are one of the most likely populations to live in multigenerational family households. That means during this period of isolation, many Hispanic families will have multiple generations under one roof experiencing various challenges. For example, given the reports about how lethal this virus can be among the elderly, the grandparents in the household might be experiencing a vastly different mental health challenge than the parents and grandchildren.

We encourage families to make time to unite and talk about the different health and mental health challenges each person might be facing during this pandemic. Opening a conversation is likely to bring subjects to the table you might not have considered. For example, grandparents could have wisdom to share about how they managed anxiety when living through other troubling times in history. While the younger members of the household might be able to share their feelings along with their knowledge about technology and resources like this toolkit courtesy of Shine or the Each Mind Matters blog that highlights the importance of staying connected with your community now more than ever. We also encourage you to read and share our Tips for Self-Care During COVID-19.

Talking about these mental health challenges among family during a time like this can help everybody cope and overcome the anxiety and worries we are all experiencing. For more information follow us on social media at @EachMindMatters on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

COVID-19 Resources: