Q&A: Maintaining Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19

UC San Diego's fall plan is continually evolving, informed by the university's Return to Learn program. We invited students, faculty and staff to submit their questions on topics such as how to maintain mental health during a time of great uncertainty, ways to combat loneliness and what mental health support is available to students, faculty and staff. To address several of these important topics, we spoke with Reina Juarez, Ph.D., director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at UC San Diego. Q. What is mental health and why is it important to maintain? A. Mental health can be described as a state of cognitive, psychological, emotional and social well-being. This encompasses having the ability to manage and respond to the daily demands and vicissitudes of life, recognition of your own inner strengths, having meaning and purpose, as well as possessing an ability to contribute to your community. Said simply, it means savoring life regardless of your circumstances. There is a connection between mental and physical health—the two cannot be separated.