Within this past month, the world has changed so drastically due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. People are working from home, streets and businesses are deserted, and most horribly, people are getting sick and dying. I don't know about you, but I've been feeling a lot of sadness, hopelessness, and loneliness at times.
But, in an effort to reclaim some positive energy in the face of this crisis and feel useful, I've come up with these tips to help you reclaim power against COVID-19.
1. Check in on your loved ones
GiphyVIRTUALLY! Practicing social distancing is essential to slowing the spread of the virus, ensuring hospitals can adequately take care of everyone. Call your grandparents, your immunocompromised friend, and check in on them. Ask them if they need their prescriptions picked up or groceries. Here's how to sanitize groceries. Pick the items up and leave them at their door. If you're social distancing away from your loved ones, set up a zoom meeting, or a group FaceTime to check-in.
Social distancing≠ emotional distancing.
2. Donate Some Extra Food
People have been panic-buying to "prepare" for isolation. While it is important to have the food and necessities you need in case you have to self-isolate, buying gluttonously is irresponsible. It makes it extremely difficult for people who live paycheck-to-paycheck or on food stamps to get what they need too. So, if you have a few extra cans of beans lying around, a sack of potatoes, or extra toilet paper, consider donating them to a local food pantry.
3. Donate Blood
The need for blood is constant and with many blood drives being canceled, there is a critical need for blood. Patients will always need blood. If you are worried, there is no evidence that coronavirus is spread through blood transfusions. So if you are healthy and able to give blood, consider it!
4. Support Local Businesses
Local restaurants and businesses are hurting due to the lack of revenue that inherently comes with social distancing. Buying a gift card to use later on for a local business supports them. If takeout and delivery are still options in your area, consider it. Most food delivery services have implemented contactless delivery, where your food is left on your stairwell or porch. Support your local businesses!
5. Make Cloth Masks
There is a dangerously low supply of PPE in hospitals around the world. If you can sew, make cloth masks and donate them. Using cloth masks are not ideal for COVID-19, they can be used for other things. Most importantly, it conserves the precious supply of N-95 respirator masks that are used as a first-line defense for COVID-19.
The instructions are here. Even if you don't know how to sew, it's a new skill you can pick up.
6. Stop Ingesting and Spreading False Information
Everyone everywhere seems to have an opinion on COVID-19. But, making outlandish claims about "cures" or "prevention" is alarmist, unsubstantiated, and irresponsible. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and generally practice social distancing and good hygiene.
Get your information about COVID-19 from reputable sources. The New York Times and The Washington Post have free informational articles and daily briefings about COVID-19. Also, a lot of their articles are now free to read, which is a fun bonus.
Also, be wary of TV news and set limits on how much content you want to consume, for mental health. I personally don't watch TV news, but my parents do, and it's on ALL. THE. TIME. Getting proper information is essential, but being constantly reminded of the direness of the situation wrecked my mental health. Now, I read my daily briefings and that's enough for me.
Spread accurate information.
7. Document Your Experience
We are living through an important part of history and I for one, want to remember the authentic experience I had. I want to remember how I acted, thought, and felt, not what will forever be memorialized in future history textbooks. Make videos about how you feel or what you do every day. Journal and document this experience.
But most importantly, remember the good. Try to include the positive aspects of your social distancing journey. Speak your authentic truth and reclaim some personal power. We will draw upon reserves of strength and tenacity that we never knew we had. We will find the good. We will win.
