The coronavirus has been something that has greatly affected people’s lives and it’s not for the better. People have been freaking out and concerned about what’s best for them to do at this time. I’ve heard many people talk about they are tired of social isolation and not being able to spend time with their friends.
It’s a hard time and I think that people don’t really know what’s best for them to do. It makes sense since this is something that affects everyone and it’s something that not a lot of people have experienced before.
What is The Coronavirus?
For those that don’t know what the coronavirus is all about, I’m here to give you some useful information. According to the World Health Organization, the coronavirus is an infectious disease that has similar symptoms to the flu. These symptoms include:
- Coughing
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Sore Throat
- Difficulty Breathing
It is recommended that you get tested or contact a doctor if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms. Currently, around 580,000 people have been confirmed as people that have the coronavirus. That is a lot of cases for people and it makes sense for people to feel scared.
In my eyes, I feel like there’s nothing to worry about and it has to do with the 6 practices that I go through on a daily basis. I’m here to show you exactly what those practices are, so you can feel safe as well.
Follow Healthy Sanitation Practices for The Coronavirus
The first practice to help you deal with coronavirus is to follow the sanitation practices that the CDC and WHO gave out to everyone. According to WHO, the best ways to protect yourself from the coronavirus is:
- Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap or hand sanitizer
- Cover your nose with your elbow or a tissue when you sneeze or cough
- Avoid close contact (3 feet apart from people if you can)
- Stay home and do your best to not leave the house if you can
- Try to limit touching your face and mouth if hands are not clean
It’s important to follow these safety precautions in order to assure that you’re safe and that you limit exposure of the coronavirus. I want to advise people that stocking up on toilet paper and paper towels is not necessary as it will do nothing to help prevent the virus.
Recommendations for Safety
The same goes for wearing face masks. The face masks are for those that do have symptoms or are feeling sick. If you are someone that is sick or have symptoms, it is best to have someone go out and get whatever you need while you stay home.
It is also important to recommend that you do not have to go crazy with washing your hands and staying at home. It is important to go outside and get some fresh air.
For some people, it would be a good idea to go outside for a walk or a run. It will help you get some sunlight, which can help with depression or anxiety if you’re experiencing any.
If you are someone that locks themselves in their house, then it does not make sense for you to consistently wash your hands over and over again. If no one in your house has the coronavirus, it is important to stay calm.
Limit News & Media Exposure of The Coronavirus
Why do I mention that it’s important to stay calm during a stressful situation like this? The answer’s quite simple. When you have fear and anxiety over events or situations, you go into fight or flight mode. When you’re in fight or flight mode your body acts like it is in a life or death situation.
Even though the coronavirus situation may be indeed a life or death situation, it is not something to be paranoid about. Feelings of fear and anxiety weaken your immune system. If you recall earlier, I said that people with compromised immune systems are more at risk of developing this virus.
The fear and anxiety that people get to come from the news and media spreading information about the coronavirus. It’s important to stay informed as to what’s going on regarding the virus, but it can be detrimental to your health.
Most of the news stories regarding the coronavirus talks about the severity of the virus and the number of cases that’s been confirmed as of late. You never hear of any stories about the people that have been recovered or the fact that a small percentage of people have died.
Number of Coronavirus Cases
So far there have been around 857,000 cases (rounded down) that have been confirmed with around 43,000 deaths (rounded up). If you do the math, that’s about 5% of people that are dying. Around 180,000 people have recovered from this virus, which adds up to 21%.
More people are recovering and that should be the kind of information that people keep track of.
Coronavirus Symptom Confusion
Another thing that doesn’t make much sense is the symptoms of the virus. The symptoms of the virus are very similar to many other common illnesses like the flu and the common cold. People are getting these symptoms and freaking out over it because they are scared that they have the virus.
It can be really confusing dealing with those symptoms in fear of catching the virus. This also results in many testing kits going to waste and that’s why there aren’t enough kits for people that are in serious risk. Limit what you see online and on the news. Focus on things that you can control.
Focus on Things You Can Control
It can be pretty difficult to navigate around the whole virus situation. However, there are some things that you can do to help you out. One of the things has to do with focusing on the things that are in your control.
For most people, the things in their control are themselves and taking care of the people around them. You can control how you deal with this situation. This means the thoughts and feelings that you have. You can’t change the fact that the virus is here to stay, but you can change your perspective on it.
You also have control over how careful you are when you’re around others. Being sure that you are safe also falls into this practice as well. If you don’t get out of your house as much, you are safer. If you follow the safety precautions, you are safer. Safety comes in many different shapes and sizes. Just focus on the things that you do have control over and let those that are not in your control pass on by.
Do Things That Boost Your Immune System
This is something that I think is really important and is left out of many news and media stories. The coronavirus is a disease that heavily affects those that have compromised immune systems. You never hear of any news or media stories that talk about ways to improve or boost your immune system.
You have to dig deep to find some that are actually useful. In fact, I had to search under the tag #immunesystem on Instagram just to find useful information to share with people. If you have a strong immune system, then there’s nothing to worry about. Even if you get the coronavirus, your body will have a solid chance of fighting it off and you will have no symptoms.
Here are some ways to boost your immune system:
- Exercise (At least 30 minutes of activity)
- Adequate sleep (7-9 hours of sleep)
- Eat healthy foods (lots of fruits and vegetables)
- Little to no stress (try meditation, journaling, or deep breathing techniques)
- Take vitamins (especially if you’re low on them)
Here are some ways that your immune system gets weakened:
- Fear and Anxiety (limit news exposure)
- Poor Nutrition (no unhealthy food if you can)
- Smoking (Pretty obvious)
- Drinking (Pretty obvious)
- Having a preexisting medical condition
Make sure that you’re doing more to boost your immune system and less to weaken your immune system. By following these tips, you will have a good chance of not getting the coronavirus. If you do end up testing positive, you will have a better chance of fighting it off.
Keep In Contact With Loved Ones
During a serious pandemic like this one, it is important to surround yourself with people that you care about. Obviously, with everyone being in quarantine, it doesn’t make sense for people to go and spend time with their friends. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot keep in contact with them.
Over the past month when I’ve been counseling people, two main problems regarding the coronavirus came up The first one was the feeling of being isolated. Having no one to talk to and be around can be difficult, especially for those that are extroverts. The second one was the feeling of being bored and having nothing to do. Most people would go to work, school, and spend time with people they cared about.
Now that our environment has changed, we don’t have the ability to do that anymore. I’m not a huge phone/social media advocate, but at a time like this, it is important to stay relatively active in the right way. It is important to:
- Stay in contact with close friends and family
- Stay informed with news that is important and useful
- Share and promote useful information to others
- Find alternative ways to cope through this pandemic
- Find ways to help out in the community
These are all things that we can do at this stage in our lives. To help those around us. To bring support to the people that need it the most.
Spend Time Working On Your Purpose
This is something that I think a lot of us need to work on. There’s something that we all enjoy in life. It’s something that we would do if we weren’t getting paid for it. Some people may have held it back and decided not to work on it.
We are all designed to do something great, to be something great. So many ideas and projects moved to the side because we thought we weren’t capable enough to do them. Maybe we didn’t have enough time to really get things going and execute. However, this is the time to change that.
We are all locked in our houses due to quarantine for the coronavirus. There are many people that are bored and stuck not knowing what to do. For some people, they may feel useless and not being able to contribute to society. For those that are listening and reading this, I am talking to you.
Reflecting Time Starts Now
This is the best time for you to reflect on your life. Ask yourself, what do I want to accomplish in life? What is the bigger picture that I’m not working towards? Am I just sitting here waiting and wishing for this to end because I am bored? If you feel like you don’t have a purpose to work on, that’s fine. End it here.
For those that know this is true deep down inside, now’s your time. No distractions. No excuses. This will test how disciplined you are and how entitled you are. Take time to plan things out and plan accordingly. This will be the only time where you have limited distractions. so make use of it.
