‘Pathogen’
A pathogen is any organism which can cause disease in a person, animal, or plant. Collins dictionary
Ten ways to cope in a coronavirus society
During these uncertain times, you will have some anxieties over the safety of our society, especially with lockdown measures being lifted. Rules concerning social distancing, personal hygiene, compulsory masks on public transport and self-awareness is going to be our new norm. It’s a very stressful time, but luckily there are mechanisms you can put in place to ease yourself back into society and adapt to this new norm.
Take a moment: No matter where you are, home or out, take a moment to accept this virus is not going away. This awareness will bring some clarity to your stressed-out brain.
Focus on the positives: It seems to be easier to focus on the negatives of this virus, given the medias influence. Instead look at how people have come together, how families have spent more time together and how as a society we will get through this.
Media: If you have questions about the virus please don’t rely on unreliable sources like Facebook, use credible ones like the BBC. Then limit your time, otherwise, it will stress you out more. I have a morning alarm that plays the news updates when I wake up; it’s only three minutes and I’m up to date.
Vent: Don’t let fears of catching the virus clog up your mind, jot them down in a daily diary or vent to your friends. Remember, if you can’t fix it, what’s the point in moaning about it.
Routine: Having a routine enables you to have some control over the virus. You can’t control what’s happening, but you can control your daily plan.
Keep busy: You can stop those worrying thoughts going around in your head by distracting yourself.
Exercise: It’s stressful adapting to our new society, but exercise will help expel some of that.
Look to the future: It may seem bleak, but you will go on holiday, you will party with your friends or even go to the gym. Plan your holiday to Europe or beyond, but in the meantime, go to a holiday park and get to know your country.
Preparation: A good way to ease anxiety is reading up on the rules for public transport, or social guidance in your workplace; that way you have some control of your environment.
Educate yourself: Look up how to wear the mask correctly and how to wash your hands. Even though we have more freedom, you should be limiting your outings and keeping a social distance from others. Even if you don’t think you need to wear a mask, if you’re out and about and wearing one, subconsciously others will keep their distance from you, and it will stop you touching your face.
Any changes are stressful, and this virus is testing the human race; being aware of how it affects your health will ease the transition into the new norm. This virus is out of our control but educating ourselves properly and taking responsibility for our actions, will make it easier to adapt to a coronavirus society.
I am challenging myself to write a 500-word post a day for 30 days. I will choose a random word from the dictionary and to make this challenge more complicated; I will use the same word to create posts on Twitter and Instagram. I will create a haiku for twitter and post a photo on Instagram. If the word I choose is too obscure to make a post, I will choose another word.