Coping with COVID-19
Iveth Quintanilla
According to Quintanilla, there are several coping mechanisms that can be practiced to cope with the mental effects of COVID-19. Quintanilla says that people are naturally concerned for their own health and that of their loved ones. She says there are several activities that people can practice to ease their burden and look after their well being.
Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator
“We also find that there is still much uncertainty in terms of what will happen. Of importance is to recognize the seriousness of the public health challenge facing our community. And be mindful that reacting from a place of panic and fear is usually not helpful especially in the long term. Looking after our wellbeing in times like these can help to reduce stress and it is important in helping us to take calm and practical action as w face this pandemic. So there are many ways that we can look after ourselves and build up our resilience and by resilience we refer to our capacity to recover adversity trauma, tragedy or threats. So one of the most effective ways we can manage stress and anxiety at this time is to focus on the actions that are in our control. One of those actions is to learn how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. This is something that we have been speaking about single day since this pandemic started and the Ministry of Health has recommended important actions that we can all take to protect against this infection and prevent the virus from spreading. So another activity that we can do is to maintain day to day activities and a routine as much as possible. So having a health routine can have appositive impact on your thoughts and feelings. What are some of the things we can do? We go back to the basics like eating healthy meals, practicing physical exercise, you can stretch, you can cycle, getting enough sleep and doing things that you can enjoy. So even if you are in self quarantine or working from home there are many ways to develop new routines and staying healthy. Of important to mention is that we should stay away from alcohol because that will not help the situation. It will only make the situation worse.”
