A clinical psychologist says one of the best things to do for your mental health during the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 is to stay off social media.
At midday on Wednesday Auckland will go to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 while the rest of New Zealand will shift to Alert Level 2 following four cases of coronavirus being detected in South Auckland - outside of managed isolation and with no link to overseas travel.
Dougal Sutherland told The AM Show it's understandable to feel anxious over the news.
"The first thing we probably could all do is take a deep breath! There's a tendency to get swept up in the moment," he said.
"Take a deep breath and spend the morning planning - what are you going to do, what do you have to cancel, what do you need to push to Zoom, but yeah take one, or ten big deep breaths."
Sutherland's next piece of advice was to avoid social media where possible.
"Check it once or twice a day - the thing about social media is that it tends to wind you up, right?"
Sutherland admitted he had fallen prey to social media on Tuesday night when the news about the Alert Level shift broke.
"I was watching the Prime Ministers press conference, and checking Twitter and getting really wound up," he said.
"And my wife said 'I think you're getting a bit anxious'...and I just went 'oh maybe I am!'".
He says while staying informed is important, there is lots of misinformation on social media so people should make sure they're checking trusted websites like the government's COVID-19 site.
