The past 18 months have had an overwhelming impact on our collective mental health.

From the never-ending dire news cycle to the hard lockdowns, this global pandemic has tested us like never before. And it appears it will continue to.

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To help us cope and make sense of this (don't say it) unprecedented time (sorry), we asked seven mental health experts to share their one piece of advice. Here's what they said.

Tara Hurster, Psychologist and Founder of The TARA Clinic.

My main piece of advice is to remember that this isn’t normal (being in our houses and feeling restricted) so it’s important to give ourselves permission to not always get it right.

While there are some sure-fire things you can do to help yourself, such as limiting alcohol consumption (as it increases anxiety), exercising (as it tricks the brain into thinking we have run away from or killed the tiger) and maintaining our sleep hygiene (only using your bed for sleep and sex, and going to sleep and waking up at the same times each day)… we aren’t going to feel calm and centred every moment of every day in lockdown.

So give yourself a break and scream into a pillow if you want to!

Dr Averil Cook, Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer at the Australian College of Applied Psychology.

Create small goals and reward yourself when you achieve them. Have coffee or lunch in the sun or remind yourself of past achievements.

Have a hug (inside your household), pat your cat or send a gift to someone. Watch some comedy and have a laugh, send a funny meme or joke to a friend, or eat a few pieces of dark chocolate.

Listen to The Quicky, Mamamia's daily news podcast. In this episode, we discuss the psychological impact of uncertainty. Post continues after audio.

Vikki Knott, Associate Professor at the Australian College of Applied Psychology.

Instead of constantly worrying throughout the day, try to employ the technique of daily 'worry time'. This is where you allocate a specific smaller window of time in the day - 10-15 minutes perhaps - to mindfully concentrate on your worries and form solutions to address them.

If worries arise outside of your ‘worry time’, defer thinking about them until 'worry time' arrives. Write them down in a notebook or your phone and decide to come back to them.

Then, during 'worry time', focus on your worries and think about how you can solve them. If it turns out you’re worrying about things you can’t control, allow yourself to lean into the worries and then let them go once 'worry time' finishes.

This is a great technique that anyone can use. It helps us to avoid becoming overcome or obsessed with worries throughout the day, and it gives us the opportunity to mindfully think about our worries, and determine whether they are related to things we can or cannot control.

Luke McLeod, Founder of Soul Alive and Meditation and Mindfulness Expert.

I actually think taking some time to rest is a good idea. Most of the advice I've heard is all about how to be more productive, start a hobby, clean out the garage, etc.

How about we take a moment to just chill. Take more walks in nature, meditate, just give yourself a moment to recharge and reset for once.

Chelsea Pottenger, Founder of EQ Minds.