Many individuals are stressed, concerned and worried about COVID-19 as we struggle to adapt to this new normal. Many are thinking, do I have COVID? Or they hear that if you drink a certain tea or have a particular blood type, you cannot get the Coronavirus. There’s a lot of misinformation out there which is contributing to what I refer to as “COVID Chaos.”
Here are six ways to avoid COVID Chaos and reduce your stress during these tough times.
- Find reputable sources of information and news and don’t fall victim to false claims. I mean, if you want to be healthy, you’re going to eat healthy food, right? So if you want good information, you need to feed yourself good information coming from a qualified news source that’s based on science and medical facts.
- While it is important to stay informed, it’s also important that you don’t stay glued to the news all day long as that can increase your anxiety. Stay on top of the information but limit your viewing to two times per day and move on.
- The third thing is, once you start to feel this weight of the world and the way everything is going on, not just COVID, but race relations, a heat wave, tropical storms, COVID, bills, everything. That can totally be anxiety provoking. Go off to your quiet spot, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes. If you’re around other people, go to the restroom. That’s the one place, you know that you can be alone and by yourself for a few moments, where you can get it together and do some deep breathing. Breathing is an essential method for finding your calm.
- Follow recommended guidelines that are shared by the authorities who are studying this virus and doing the research behind it. The newest guidelines stress the importance of wearing a mask to reduce your risk and the risk of others. This should not be a political topic – this is a health and safety topic and we need to do our part of reduce the spread of the disease. And always wash your hands and use hand sanitizer to further protect yourself.
- Avoid crowds when possible – shop early in the day and always wear a mask. Many stores provide sanitizer to wipe down your shopping carts – utilize these when they’re provided.
- Get checked out. Now, what do I mean by that? Go ahead and contact your healthcare professional and see if you are actually at risk or if you actually need to be tested. There’s something to be said, for sure, about peace of mind. If you are at low risk and you’re still concerned, see if you can find a testing center, someone who’s conducting the test. There’s also telemedicine, where you can have the conversations online, to see if you should actually come in and get tested or go find some place to get tested.
During these tough times, let’s please try and help each other out and just do the right thing. Do right by each other. Be nice to each other. Together we can stay safe and healthy.
Relax Well!
Dr. Deitrick
