Don’t Let Coronavirus Affect Your Mental Health

The Coronavirus pandemic (as declared by the WHO) has caused anxiety and stress to grip the world. Being constantly bombarded by an overdose of both information and misinformation, we are in the midst of an environment full of uncertainty, fear, sadness, anger and a lot of other overwhelming emotions.

We asked our experts for some precautions that we all must follow to prevent panicking in this situation and have summarised below:

1. Maintain good Hygiene

2. Wash your hands with soap frequently

3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth

4. When sneezing or coughing, cover your mouth with the bend of your elbow, or a tissue

5. Avoid crowded places, and if you feel unwell then stay at home

6. Distance yourself from social media. Avoid reading/watching any and every news story about Coronavirus, seek information that allows you to take practical steps to safeguard yourselves and your loved ones

7. Refrain from forwarding WhatsApp messages or information from random/ untrustworthy sources.

8. Practice self-care. Follow a regular eating and sleeping routine, exercise regularly, and practise mindfulness and relaxation

Here are some legitimate agencies/ sources that you can follow for accurate and practical information –

1. World Health Organisation (Global)

2. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (India)

Stress and Anxiety are not all bad! What we must do is maintain them at optimum levels so that we may take the right precautions and handle this situation with maturity.

For example – We’ve all heard or read about some essential precautionary measures from doctors/ experts, to wash our hands, not touch our face, and avoid crowded places.

But are we following these? If not, then we should definitely follow them.

Are we “over-following” these to an extreme level like, say, obsessively washing hands?

Well, that is the level of panic and obsession that we need to prevent.  How do we do that? Try this simple but effective trick –

When you notice yourself panicking or getting into an abnormal behaviour/ practice, just take a 30-second pause and question yourself. This gives your brain’s prefrontal sufficient time to analyse and come up with the most logical suggestion.

It’s easier said than done! That’s what we have our experts for.

If you’re feeling anxious or stressed from all the uncertainty around, please visit YourDOST and book an audio session with an Expert today. Use the coupon code “BESAFE” to get 25% off on all audio appointments