Cosmetics Photo: VCG

A psychologist in Shanghai suggested that the public can help get themselves back on track mentally by making some small changes such as putting on makeup every morning while working from home.

It has been over a week since many started working from home due to the COVID-2019 outbreak. While some have felt delighted to be spared from long commutes, others have complained about the prolonged hours caused by increased workloads and others pointed out the relatively low efficiency of working at home.

Below a discussion titled "what you look like while working at home" on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, a lawyer commented, "I used wear suits to work every day, but now I'm terribly untidy." "It would be a big improvement if I just sat up straight while working at home," he wrote in another post. 

Xie Bin speaks at press conference held by the Shanghai municipal government Monday Photo: A screenshot from press conference's video footagepress

At a press conference held by the Shanghai municipal government Monday, Xie Bin, a psychologist with Shanghai Mental Health Center, suggested that people give words of support and encouragement to family members and friends through social media. Also, people can add "a sense of ritual" to their self-isolation time by getting up on time, putting on makeup and sticking to a daily schedule so as to reduce anxiety, as well as be mentally prepared and productive at work.

The hashtag "putting on makeup at home to wake yourself up psychologically" soon gained nearly 6 million views on Sina Weibo. Many shared the psychologist's view, agreeing that some simple small changes may cheer them up. Many posted selfies of themselves wearing makeup along with motivational captions.

Besides sharing selfies of themselves, more posts emerged under the hashtag "the ritual of working from home" which included newly made work schedules and freshly cleaned workstations at home.

"Almost a month has passed [since the Spring Festival Holiday]. Now I suddenly realize that life does need certain rituals. I put on makeup and picked out an outfit this morning for a brand new day. I hope the epidemic can end soon. I want to travel across the country to see its beautiful scenery," wrote one netizen in a post.