Keeping Calm During COVID19

As someone who was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as a teenager, I can confidently say that I can easily freak out at the thought of a germ on my body. That being said, I do have my own coping mechanisms for dealing with anxiety during a time of heightened illness; usually this means during cold and flu season, but now...we have a brand! new! disease! Here are just a couple things we need to remind ourselves of while this disease is spreading and everyone is buying 358 packages of toilet paper in one stop:

1. Wash your hands often throughout the day, for TWENTY SECONDS EACH TIME (sing the ABCs or twinkle twinkle little star in your head; both songs are about that long).

2. Use hand sanitizer with a 60% alcohol base if you can't wash your hands right away after touching a hard surface.

3. Avoid touching your face (eyes, nose, mouth).

4. Stay home if you're feeling sick; you should be doing this (and everything on this list, really) whether or not COVID19 is around.

5. Don't panic. Going into "panic mode" is going to make us decide that buying 358 packages of toilet paper is a sound choice, instead of just...washing your hands more often.

And 6. Don't be a racist. Do you know how many people from all over the world travel to China every year?

With the basic hygiene and human decency tips out of the way, here are ways to calm yourself down if you're particularly anxious during this time:

1. Talk to your doctor/health care provider over the phone about your concerns (I would avoid going to a doctor's office with lots of potentially ill people anyway, unless it was necessary). S/he will go over the facts with you and reassure you of any worries you may have about the coronavirus.

2. Live as normally as you can, while taking the usual hygienic measures you would in any public place (as mentioned above: wash your hands, don't touch your face, cover your mouth with the crook of your elbow when you cough or sneeze, etc.).

3. Talk to your family and close friends about how you're feeling. We all may be worried and anxious about this new disease, so it's entirely understandable that you may need to talk about your concerns. With any illness outbreak, take the usual precautions and stay away from public spaces if you feel unwell.

4. Know that this will pass. This is a new disease and the medical world is still navigating how this virus affects us, but again, taking the usual steps to avoiding illness is the best way to go—without letting your anxiety take over and convince yourself you're "going to die."

The only thing I do worry about with places and events shutting down is the effect it will have on workers' salaries—and the economy overall. If Disneyland is closed for the rest of this month, how will its employees pay their bills? If college campuses are closed down and students are asked to move off campus, where are these students supposed to stay? What about kids who rely on school lunches to eat because their parents can't afford enough food, and now aren't allowed on campus? These are real concerns, and I honestly don't know how it's all going to play out—none of us do. If you are in this situation, reach out to organizations or people who can help you. Talk to family members and friends, and especially your employer and school. Get all the information you can get about continuing to pay your bills, having a place to live, and feeding your children. We need to keep having these conversations so we can find a solution; we don't know how long this virus is going to keep spreading, so we need to have these talks now.

If anyone knows of any causes or resources that can help with the above concerns, please let us all know on my Instagram @zoeparisblog, or simply post about it on your own social media accounts. We all need help during this time.

Stay safe, and stay healthy.