Role of stress and coping during the Corona virus outbreak is a matter of great concern.It is also the time when our mental well-being is of utmost importance.
It is rightly said that “A healthy mind is equivalent to a healthy body.” The more the positive outlook a person has in any anxious situation, the better is his emotional and physical well-being, the stronger the immune system and lesser the chance of catching any type of infection. The immune system plays a vital role here as it does a commendable job by protecting us against the disease causing microorganisms. If you keep stressing about a disease, not only you weaken your immune system but at times you may also start feeling symptoms without actually having the disease, so it is very important to keep your stress levels under check.
There are several ways of strengthening one’s immune system:
1.A proper diet with lots of green vegetables and fruits.
2.Adequate intake of Vitamin C and Vitamin D.
3.Meditation, sitting in the sun
4.30 min of any form of exercise daily, (which also has the added benefit of releasing feel good hormones in the body) and
5.Breathing exercises in fresh air can definitely help beef up your immune system.
In order to reduce the fear which is haunting each one of us, we should focus on the things that are in our control rather than the things that are not. Instead of just watching the news all day, we should keep a fixed amount of time for it and spend the rest of the time for other recreational activities. We should also take the necessary precautions seriously like wearing of masks, washing and sanitizing of hands frequently, social distancing, ,remaining indoors and following the instructions given by the government. Besides that we can also boost each other’s morale by making use of the phone /video calls to our family and friends and also reminding them of the necessary precautions that need to be taken time to time. For people with severe anxiety and stress, it is advisable to take the help of a counsellor telephonically which would definitely help them to calm down and deal with the situation.
I would also like to draw attention towards the doctors who are at maximum risk of catching the infection and passing it on to their family because they are directly coming in contact with patients. Earlier it has been seen that many cases of violence have been reported against the doctors who are doing their level best and even risking their own lives, so the general public should cooperate with the doctors and not add to their stress. Also it is advised to visit the hospitals only in case of emergencies and not for minor ailments because frequent visits to crowded hospitals can get them cross infected,. Moreover, a priority treatment will be ensured to emergency patients.
Amidst this lockdown I would like to say that,” Every cloud has a silver lining. “This bad phase too shall pass and when it does, we all will return to our normal life forgetting all this as a nightmare. The government is doing whatever is possible from their side to deal with the situation and we just have to overcome the fear in our minds and be hopeful that the world will soon recover from the physical and mental trauma inflicted by this pandemic.
About the Writer:
Ishita kaul is currently a PhD scholar at Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, under the guidance of Professor Dr.Jaysankara Reddy, Department of Psychology. Ishita kaul’s area of study is,” Emotional Intelligence as a Mediator between Stress, Burnout and Coping among Medical Doctors of Himachal Pradesh.