As Nigeria battles the rampaging Coronavirus pandemic, one of the key strategies is to quarantine or self-isolate to curb the spread of the virus. Taking a shift from the normal daily routine and staying at home appear daunting even though unavoidable. Here are few tips on how to manage your daily routine during the stay at home period.
You can eat normal, tasty, healthy foods
Just because you’re stocking up doesn’t mean you have to live on non-perishable foods and canned vegetables. That’s going to get tiresome real quick, and there are plenty of ways to eat the things you normally would.
“Fill your freezer with fresh, flavourful soups. Think about the foods you would want to eat on a typical day; usually there’s a way to keep those around. Also, eat a lot of fruits and drink water”.
Avoid being too isolated
Being forced to stay inside might sound like an introvert’s dream come true, but when it’s in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and everyone is panicking, it’s not such a fun and chill time. Check in with your people. Get on the phone or FaceTime and call your family and friends with some regularity — you’ll probably need it, and so will they. When the SARS epidemic broke out in 2002, Facebook, Twitter, and even Myspace did not yet exist. Now, people are far more digitally connected, and the ability to keep in touch over social media and video chat can have major benefits on mental health during isolation.
Get a little fitness exercise
There are plenty of workouts you can do from the comfort of your own home, and doing so can seriously help your mental health. YouTube has a bunch of exercises you can do without any equipment. And if you can still go outside, nothing beats a walk, just avoid big groups of people.
Clean your home
Not only does it protect against the spread of illness, it also makes staying at home a lot more pleasant.
Be careful with getting and passing misleading information on the internet
The internet creates issues that didn’t exist during SARS — namely, the spread of misinformation. People are afraid, and that’s okay — we are human, there are things in our lives that are going to scare us but how we handle that fear is what matters. I think fear can be lessened if we have accurate information. Be wary of those hawking fake cures online or trying to infect your computer with malware by sending you suspicious coronavirus-themed emails.
Plan out your entertainment
Watch the news, for sure, but don’t just stay glued to cable news. The worst thing people can do is sit around and watch TV or watch their screens and look for the hourly update of numbers. That just exaggerates the symptoms of fear and its effects. Get out a bunch of books from your library. Pull out the board games and puzzles and any other fun stuff.
Seek professional help if you’re really struggling
Whether you’ve been to a therapist before or are just realising you might need to see one, seeking help with your mental health doesn’t need to wait till you can go outside again. Lots of therapists offer sessions over the phone or video chat. There are also apps to help you with your mental health.
If you’re working from home, do it right
Try to keep a regular routine as much as possible, including getting dressed and grooming yourself like you usually would, eating breakfast, and having a ritual to signal a transition into the workday, like taking a walk. You can also hold meetings over video chat — and actually turning the camera on for better interaction
Remember to stay healthy and practise good hygiene
Perhaps the easiest way to stay healthy is to maintain proper hygiene. You don’t need a face mask (unless you’re sick), but you should be washing your hands regularly (and remember, soap and water is just as effective as hand sanitiser). Once that’s done, just try to take it easy (and maybe order some dumplings to support your favourite Chinese restaurant). These are tough, uncertain times, and the best thing we all can do is be kind to ourselves and our neighbours as we all go through it.
Source: buzzfeednews.com
