How to manage stress, anxiety under home-quarantine

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Cox Gazette April 3, 2020, 10:46 PM

The world is shivering with fear and anxiety due to the massacre caused by the new coronavirus 2019. The number of newly affected persons is skyrocketing day by day. The death toll of COVID-19 disease is mounting rapidly around the world pushing us into great despair. The governments of different countries around the world have already shut down schools, offices, and markets to avoid the further outbreak of COVID-19 disaster. People are asked to stay at home and maintain self-quarantine. However, while staying in home quarantine many people are suffering from coronavirus-anxiety which is deteriorating their mental and physical health. Here goes some ways about how to handle your coronavirus anxiety during the home quarantine.

Make a quarantine routine, don’t panic

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It is told that a lazy brain is the creator of evil thoughts. Are you staying at home and watching TV continuously? The news scrolls will remind you about the morbid effect of COVID-19, even if you are skipping the news bulletin. It requires some effort to escape the panic regarding coronavirus which is gulping the whole world every moment. The easiest way to immune from coronavirus anxiety is to divert your mind. You can make a routine for your quarantine period. Start your morning with some workouts or yoga. Schedule a timetable for watching your favorite TV show, reading a new novel, maintaining a blog, watering your plants, doing household chores, etc. When you can keep your mind busy with creative works, anxiety can hardly catch you!

Spend quality time with family

In our hectic days, it is not possible always to extract some quality time for sitting on the couch to watch a movie or eating a meal together with all family members. Coronavirus home quarantine period can give you this windfall opportunity. If you have kids, spend more time with them helping in their academic study. To ditch the anxiety you can bake/cook a mouth-watering dish. You can also surprise your loved ones making their favorite food. It will not only help you to reduce your anxiety but also help other members of your family to stay healthy and happy.

Hold an optimistic mind

Hold an optimistic mind

If you are constantly worrying about the death of you and your loved ones, you will eventually get sick of mental shock which is no less harmful than any virus attack. Therefore, try to be optimistic about the win of humankind against COVID-19. Instead of emphasizing on death tolls of COVID-19, think about the increasing rate of recovery from the new coronavirus 2019. Always try to remember that nothing on earth is permanent. Sooner or later the morbid occurrences of COVID-19 will end and the people will get back to their regular pace of life. Until that situation arrives, hold your patience with immense mental stamina. It will give you hope to fight against this disaster both mentally and physically.

Schedule for a daily ‘anxiety’ time

Schedule for a daily ‘anxiety’ time

So far we have discussed some steps to reduce your coronavirus anxiety. If you are still worried about coronavirus, then schedule a daily ‘worry time’. You can allow yourself a limited period – like 30 minutes or less – to get anxious. During this period you can watch the news or read an authentic blog to stay aware of the COVID-19 situation. It will both pacify your curiosity and help you stay aware of what’s happening around the world. After that go back to your quarantine routine and occupy yourself with other healthy tasks.

Don’t check health bulletin frequently

It is great to stay aware of the current situation of COVID-19 occurrences in your city and the country. But if you are frequently checking out the statistics of how many people are getting affected or dying every day, then you are risking your mental peace. Remember that worrying can’t save you from coronavirus, but awareness does! However, escaping the news totally may not be wise. It would be sensible to reserve a fixed period of your daily schedule for checking the latest news update instead of watching the news constantly throughout the whole day. If you are anxious about any health issue, you can share with your family members and take medical assistance, if required.

Beware about googling symptoms

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Nowadays, people are often google about health issues rather than seeing a doctor, which might be dangerous. If you experience any symptoms of coronavirus consult with a doctor, instead of wasting time for googling. Google is flooded with counterfeit medical message-boards, blogs, and forums who often suggest dubious health advice. For instance, if you search for covid19 symptoms, Google will pull thousands of articles from both authentic and non-authentic sources. Some of their information might seem contradictory. It may increase your anxiety and worsen your health situation. So, it would be better to follow a reliable authentic source – like the WHO Coronavirus website – to stay informed.

Bottom Line

On the whole, your mental strength can protect yourself from coronavirus anxiety. However, it is strictly recommended to take care of your health, stay at home quarantine, practice hygiene, maintain social distance, and take necessary safety precautions to prevent getting infected by coronavirus 2019. Stay Safe!