How To Look After Your Health Amid A Pandemic

The year 2020 is considered to be the most challenging and strangest year in the 21^st Century. The world has experienced severe incidents and news like the massive Bushfire in Australia, multiple airplane crashes, volcanic eruptions. Everyone was trying to cope up with adversities in their regions and industries. Then interestingly, a disease that was only in the news related to China started emerging on a global scale. Firstly, we heard Europe is in its range due to contamination through world travel. And then, slowly and gradually, it turned into an international and worldly issue from a regional matter. The phenomenon of Coronavirus or COVID-19 is occupied all over the world.

Around 7-9 months have passed, but the situation is quite unclear all over the world. Almost every industry and domain around the world has taken a hit due to this pandemic. According to WHO, over 25 million people are confirmed cases of COVID-19, and over 850,000 people died due to it. The world is in a weird and adverse situation. Businesses are either closed or halted, industries like travel and hotel are at almost zero, people are losing their jobs due to economic turmoil, and we all are in a state of chaos and despair.

Before COVID-19, no one had foreseen such conditions and circumstances. No one had imagined the times when you are not allowed to handshake and hug, keeping faces covered with masks and frequent sanitizers. Due to its peculiar state, some people didn’t consider it seriously; some even regarded it as the ultimate conspiracy. No matter what will happen and how it will unfold, the world is currently facing severe physical and mental health issues. Physical health is already in a high danger area, and due to lockdown and chaos, people are facing mental health issues.

Health authorities are frequently suggesting many guidelines. Above all of them are using hand sanitizers and face masks. You can also consider getting tested for COVID-19, regardless of the symptoms shown or not, for your mental peace. There are many credible laboratories out there that are providing quality services of testing in these times like Primex Labs USA. In addition to that, one must consider these times serious and take special care of themselves and their loved ones to stay healthy.

Below we are unraveling some ways we can protect ourselves in such times.

1. Seek Accurate Information:

These days, everyone is feeling overwhelmed and anxious due to the deteriorating progress around the world. The new normal, work from home, and staying away from people has already added a toll on our minds. Similarly, many speculations, conspiracy theories, and fake news spread around, which eventually adds more fuel to the fire. Everyone needs to be mindful of their media consumption these days. By its nature, communication and social media bring anxiety and disturbance to our mental health. These days, try to limit yourself to consume information from credible sources only. Such sources can be the World Health Organization (WHO) or European Commission etc. These types of sources are keys to minimizing anxiety and spreading lesser panic and fear.

2. Set Limit to News Related to COVID-19:

Mental health is highly sensitive to the ill-consumption of negative news. Constant monitoring of the latest developments, social media feeds, blogs, articles, etc., can only bring more negativity and worries. Taking a mental break and considering switching off social media and related notifications can add positive effects. It will also focus on life and possibilities rather than false sensationalism and mindless analysis of “What-ifs.” Start trying with an hour or two breaks from cellphone and social media, and adjust the timings as per benefits and capacity.

3. Self-Care:

Nothing matters how much informed you are and how much prepared you are for the negatives; there are numerous factors and matters beyond you. There are certain things that you can control. For ease and positivity, psychological studies always recommend focusing on the things which you can handle. Rather than giving away attention to how COVID-19 will evolve, one can focus on how to stay healthy and boost immunity. Instead of depending on when the lockdown will end, one can think of ways to be recreational. Therefore, put your attention towards things that are within your control.

4. Stay Positive:

It is one of the essential things to lead a happy life. From Rumi to Buddha to every philosopher in the world, everyone preached the same. However, these times demand it the most. We all are heavily affected by the recent pandemic, but there is always one choice that no one can undermine except ourselves, i.e., to stay positive. Try to look beyond the current and focus on the possibilities and greener side of the situations.

5. Take Care of your Body:

While the virus is out there, nothing can be more important than maintaining your physical health right now. It boosts your immunity and helps fight against COVID-19 and impacts mental health and overall resilience. You can also drink green tea to boost your engery level and immune system.

Eating well is the number one requirement after staying positive. A balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will add strength to the immunity system and positive effects on long term health. Similarly, maintaining an excellent sleep cycle is crucial for improving health and boosting immunity too. In the lockdown days, our routines and sleep cycles are affected heavily. Experts recommend staying punctual to regular practices as it will help to regain the lost frequency of sleep. As deterioration in night’s sleep can increase your emotional response to negative emotions heavily.

Similarly, lockdown and isolation protocols have limited our physical movements.Daily Exercise is quite useful to boost our mood. However, there are many ways to do easy home workouts to stay in shape, high on energies, and get valuable chemicals like endorphins generated in your body.

6. Try Something New:

We all have some unpursued passions or things we always wanted to try out but never got a chance to do them. Well, this pandemic is a perfect time to get your hands on. Try reading a book, learning an instrument, or get your hand dirty in cooking or any craft, etc. Breaking out from the norm can bring immense value as you would learn something new, and it will distract you from the negativities happening around you.

Conclusion:

As discussed, these are unprecedented times which demand our utmost effort and energies to fight through them. Self-care is the ultimate strategy as no one can help others or bring positivity in their lives without being lively and energetic themselves.