During the COVID-19 pandemic, people report feeling more stress and anxiety than usual. This is normal. We can help.
It can also be hard to stay at home apart from the friends, places, and activities that are normally part of your day. We’ve compiled resources to help you stay healthy, fit, and entertained while you may not have access to your usual daily routines.
Staying Healthy
General health
8 Tips for Supporting Mental Health During COVID from Vanderbilt University
Self-Care Tips from the Carruth Center at West Virginia University
Mental Health and Coping Tips from the CDC
Maintaining Mental and Physical Health During COVID-19 from Psychology Today
Things to Do At Home: A list of free activities to do while you’re socially distancing at home
How to Stay Healthy During the COVID-19 Quarantine from Military OneSource
Physical activity
Fitnessblender.com: Free workout programs online
Pure Barre: 1-week unlimited livestreaming and free foundations class
Planet Fitness: Streaming live at home workouts for free on Facebook daily at 7pm
Orangetheory Fitness: Free Orangetheory at home on YouTube
OBE Fitness: Offers 100 live classes per week, including cardio, strength, yoga and stretch based workouts. Use code SWEATSANDCITY for a month free
Dance Body: Dance fitness workout offering free 7 day trial and then 50% off the first two months with code DBHALFOFF
Skyting: Yoga TV on demand seven days free and then $20 a month.
Don Saladino: Celebrity personal trainer offering four week bodyweight training program.
Peloton: 30-day free trial of their app which gives access to on-demand classes including running, strength, cycling, yoga and more.
Daily Burn: 60 day free trial of 2000 streaming workouts
YMCA 360: Free on-demand fitness videos
Golds Gym: Free trial of their app through the end of May with FIT60 code
Life Time: Cardio, strength, and yoga classes for free
Blink Fitness: Live-streaming workout videos at 8am Eastern time
Eating well
Free meals and food deals: Good Housekeeping lists all of the food chain providers who are offering discounts, free delivery etc.
Harvard School of Public Health: Tips on nutrition, grocery shopping, takeout and delivery, meal planning, cooking, eating, and exercise tips
West Virginia Resources: Information on WV public food assistance for children during school closures
Staying Entertained
Reading
Apple Books: Offering ‘stay at home’ eBook catalog
Amazon Kindle: Free titles in the eBook store: Kindle unlimited 30-day free trial and then $10 a month afterwards and discount pricing on other titles
Google Play: Free eBook titles in the Play store
West Virginia Reads: Lets WV residents use Libby, Hoopla, and other Library apps to virtually check out books or other media using your local library card or university login
Comixology: Free issues of comics and manga
Open Library: Has free e-books that anyone can borrow
Duke University Press: 90 days of unlimited electronic access to their course materials and Duke eBook collection
MIT Press: Free to faculty and students and libraries access to catalog of eBooks on MIT Press Direct through May 2020. More than 2,770 eBooks.
Ohio State University Press: All monographs, linguistics textbooks, and language files are available through the repository online.
University of Michigan Press: All content free including removing access restrictions on over 1000 titles until the end of June.
JSTOR: 6000 eBooks and more than 150 journals free to public
Project MUSE: All scholarly content available for free from the following: Johns Hopkins (all books and journals); Ohio State (all books and journals); University of Nebraska (all books and journals); University of North Carolina (all books); Temple (all books), and Vanderbilt (selected books) and will continually update the list of publisher offerings
Cambridge University Press: Over 700 textbooks published and currently available until June 29th
Dominion Post: Free local COVID updates/articles from the Dominion Post without subscription
Streaming
HBO Now and HBO Go: 500 hours of programming available for free
National Theater At Home: London’s National Theater has made select programming available for free streaming
Kanopy: 30,000 documentaries, classic and indie films and popular movies available for free with a public library or university account
Sling TV: ‘Stay in and sling’ with free content. For paid content, it costs $20 for the first month subscription
Marketplace Podcasts: Free podcasts
Shudder: Streaming site dedicated to thriller, suspense, and horror movies offering 7 days of free access to new users
Movies Anywhere: Added a screen pass that allows members to lend digital movies to friends and family
Masterclass: Offers a free streaming class from a celebrity expert every week, and you can watch recorded classes
NFL Game Pass: Through July 31, 2020 complimentary access to a library full of football programming
CBS All Access: Two-month free trial with code GIFT for first 30 days and ENJOY for second 30 days
Amazon Prime: Free access to many shows and movies
Pocket Casts: An app that helps you find and listen to thousands of free podcasts
Kids and Family
Action for Healthy Kids: Over 20 resources for physical activity, nutrition, mindfulness & play
Live Science: Activities and online resources for homebound kids
Culture LA: Arts resources for homebound kids
Chrome Music Lab Song Maker: Create multi-track songs
Family support: Facebook live video chats with expert clinicians 10am and 430pm, remote evaluations and telemedicine, phone consultations for follow-up about Facebook Live events and other questions about how to manage kids at home, daily tips for parenting during the crisis via email, and comprehensive resources for parents on COVID topics
Online games: A comprehensive list on Google Docs grouped by type of game and age appropriateness
Staying Smart
Travel and Culture
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Live cameras
Animal livestreams: Watch cute animals from home
The Met: Has a free video library including educational talks, how-to classes, and videos for kids.
Travel and Leisure: Here are 12 worldwide museums you can tour for free virtually
Berliner Philharmoniker: German Orchestra based in Berlin digital concert hall for 30 days with more than 600 performances when you use the code BERLINPHIL
Online Education
Free Code Camp: 450 free college courses you can take
American Psychological Association (APA): Resources to support distance learning including free access to PsycLearn: Research Methods, eight modules of intro to social psychology for educators and students.
The American Psychological Association (APA): Online tutorials and webinars to help with academic writing and research.
Khan Academy: Free online courses for all ages, from schoolkids to adults.
Coursera: Free online courses on all kinds of topics.
Free Technology Resources
Netflix Party Chrome extension: Allows you to watch Netflix with friends and family from afar
Penguin Random House open license: Gives teachers, librarians and booksellers permission to create story time, read aloud and videos using their books.
Bookclubz: An online platform to organize your book club
Houseparty: A free mobile app that lets you easily have video chats with friends, one-on-one, or in a group
Zoom: A web meeting software. Free accounts allow you to host up to 100 people for up to 40 minutes at a time.
More about m-HELP
The m-HELP initiative is designed to link people with the online stress management programs that are best suited to their particular circumstances.
m-HELP was created by a group of internationally acclaimed researchers in the fields of psychiatry and psychology affiliated with leading universities around the world.
Over decades, mental health researchers have discovered tried-and-true approaches that reliably help people to cope with anxiety, stress, and depression.