By Dr. Cazamed (www.cazamed.com & @ Cazamed22)

The coronavirus pandemic has led to the closure of public places and staying at home in most countries, which can create physical and mental stress for many people. Here are some general recommendations for maintaining adequate mental health and continuing to help the world combat this threat.

The first…

• Let’s think about helping and not looking for guilty or negative reasons to generate personal, social or governmental criticism at a time like these.
• Let’s not think that those who have caught the COVID-19 did something wrong, it can happen to anyone.
• Let’s not associate COVID-19 with racism, geographic locations, or ethnicity.
• Do not call those who have suffered from the virus with nicknames or strange words, this worsens the restart of a new stage when everything calms down.

Secondly…

Let’s learn to find peace of mind: It is not easy to know what techniques help me to be calm if I have not tried any. Here are some to experiment at home:

• Breathe deeply several times a day, during sessions of 1 minute at least and ideally 3 minutes, with your eyes open or closed and focus on distend the abdomen
• Let’s read: Let’s look for books on a subject associated with our profession or an area in which I have always wanted to know the basics or delve into something specific.
• Silence: Use moments of the day to have silence at home (without TV, computers, cell phones)
• Sabbatical moments: Constant contact with the world through technological means is one of the most common stressors and we do not perceive it since the work or personal need causes the stress it generates to be hidden. Determine what time of day you will be with all technology devices turned off.

Let’s take care of ourselves:

• Let’s take advantage of the time at home to cook again, to avoid processed foods as much as possible. Let’s relive family mealtimes. Remember that the kitchen is one of the places where our species evolved the most since it is where it has shared the most time with other human beings.
• Move on! Without a doubt, it is the best time to start and maintain body care, not only with the first medicine, which is food but with exercise as a complement to the perfect medicine. Remember that this is another meditation and mental health strategy.

Let’s take care of others:

• Keep in touch with your neighbors and family, they may need something from you at this time. It is a good opportunity to help.
• Locates older adults who have previous respiratory illnesses, but also who may have other illnesses such as Alzheimer’s or hearing problems: They need timely help to protect themselves or to be attended promptly by health personnel.
• Let’s buy food to have at home, but do not get carried away by fear to buy in excess, others also need to bring food home. Oh, and don’t think that foods that last longer are better since they are the most processed and can affect you as much as the coronavirus itself.

By last…

• Let’s focus on learning from this situation
• Let’s use the schedule for the day since we get up
• Let’s support our country, government and health system, no matter my opinions or political preferences
• Let’s consult the status of the pendemic but only once or twice a day at most, and use reliable sources (government, health personnel or experts to guide us) that propose and not criticize or create fear.

Help us share valuable, non-panic-focused information. Visit us at www.cazamed.com and write us if you have questions or need help