The tension over the Covid-19 epidemic is inevitable given how terrifying its global spread is. Feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness, and confusion about the future are common during a pandemic. Fortunately, being proactive in your mental health can help keep both your mind and body stronger.
How to relieve stress from the Covid-19 epidemic
Here are ways to help ease the anxiety around Coronavirus.
Read news from reliable sources
Avoid hype or focus on uncontrollable media. Instead, turn to reliable sources of information about how to protect yourself, such as the Department of Health website or Facebook Government Information.
Develop an action plan to reduce stress from the disease
There is always a way you can do it to reduce your risk. It can be as simple as washing your hands properly and often and restricting movement. But recognizing these things can remind you of how important it is to focus on the things you have control over. Just making sure that the things you take to reduce the season stress are recommended by reputable sources.
Setting limits on reading news online also helps to reduce stress
Watching too much about how contagious or how many people get sick or die from Covid-19 will increase your anxiety. Limit the time and level of news reading to a certain time frame or a certain number of articles.
While it is very helpful and important to keep up with information, it is equally important to limit yourself to overexposure to negative and anxiety-provoking news.
Avoid herd psychology
Please note that many people acted negatively before the Covid-19 pandemic. Do not frantically buy things to store or wear a mask in a bluff. If you don't wake up, your actions will be in vain and contribute to the worse situation.
Take good care of yourself
Following a well-balanced diet, getting adequate sleep and participating in leisure activities is always key to being as physically and mentally healthy as possible during times of stress. Taking good care of yourself also keeps your immune system strong.
Seek help from people with professional experience
If your mental health is being affected by the stress of an epidemic, seek help from a psychologist. A licensed mental health professional can help you manage your fears while empowering you to make the best decisions for you and your family.
Pay attention to mental health during pandemic stress
In addition to mental health concerns that can arise from anxiety surrounding a pandemic, it's important to monitor psychological conditions to make sure they don't get worse.
Depression and anxiety
Researchers have found that certain individuals may experience mental health problems during a pandemic. Problems with depression and anxiety can arise.
Research from the Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone shows that the number of people with mental health and psychosocial problems has increased. One study from the 2009 H1N1 flu has shown an increase in a range of emotional symptoms. In addition, some negative psychological stress can get worse.
Health care participants are also particularly at risk for emotional symptoms during a pandemic. They can experience:
Increased depression and anxiety
Increased concern about protecting loved ones
Feelings and guilt about unintentionally spreading the illness of a loved one if they are sick
And children will also be affected when their parents or relatives act negatively. High anxiety and a feeling of powerlessness can cause some individuals to take unproven preventive measures or methods. And inadvertently some ways can cause harm to both individuals and the entire community. Therefore, it's important to make sure that whatever action you take is helpful.
Rumor or isolation
The individual's response will be different when faced with fear. When you receive too many negative rumors, the behavior of many individuals will become more negative. If psychology is unstable, they may experience an increase in psychosis or paranoia.
What should be done to relieve the stress of the disease?
It's easy to see those around you panic. On the other hand, you might meet people who don't seem to care at all as a pandemic is on the rise. You may also feel a variety of emotions or be confused and not sure what to do.
Respond to unfamiliar situations
People tend to overreact to threats as they react to familiar threats. For example, although motorcycle crashes are common, driving may not be as scary if you do it safely with regular use.
People tend to increase anxiety when faced with unfamiliar situations. This is one of the reasons why past pandemics, such as Ebola virus and Zika virus, created an increase in anxiety for most individuals.
Being "attacked" with so much news about the number of deaths and the number of people infected can cause people to overreact to the risks they face when getting sick.
Ways to take care of yourself include:
Read news from reliable sources (and avoid reading a lot of negative news)
Recognize things you can control, like good hygiene
Only take necessary measures when recommended by the government
Practice taking care of yourself
Seek professional help from a licensed mental health professional if needed
The influence of the mass media has made people stressed about the epidemic
The media can promote anxiety and stress by constantly reporting disease outbreaks. However, when used appropriately, the media can also be an ally in disseminating useful information.
Use active means
During the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, Australian and Swedish media both accurately reported the risks of getting sick.
However, the Swedish side is more effective because it teaches readers how to protect themselves and reduce the risk of disease. The Australian media, on the other hand, largely chose to focus on reporting mistakes made by public agencies or governments. This may have had a negative effect on the reader.
Before the pandemic H1N1, Sweden and Australia had similar vaccination rates. After an outbreak, vaccination rates were 60% in Sweden and 18% in Australia.
As a result, the researchers found that news can reduce panic and anxiety about disease in communities by recommending specific, detailed actions for people to take. This approach can prevent individuals from overreacting or taking drastic measures when a new threat emerges.
Fortunately, most pandemics will go away just as quickly as they begin. Know how to deal with and handle the stress of your disease. Wash your hands often, limit travel and wear a mask (cloth) when going out to protect yourself, your family and the community.
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