COVID-19
Here at ALMA D Best we are doing everything we can to ensure that our residents and employees are staying safe during this difficult time. By staying informed with government and health organization's updates we are keeping the safety of our clients/staff our top priority.
We are following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other government entities on how to prevent the spread of the virus. Some of those things include restricting visitors allowed to our homes, enforcing good hygiene habits, and increased cleaning regimens. If you would like to view a full list of how to protect yourself and other information regarding COVID-19 from the CDC, you can click here. Although it is important to maintain good physical health practices, let's discuss how this situation is also affecting our mental health.
At ALMA D Best we try to provide a safe environment for all our residents so that they may thrive on their journey to better themselves. Although the stay at home order is intended to keep people safe by slowing the spread of the virus, it can cause people to feel a mixture of emotions such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, etc. Not knowing when things will "go back to normal" and seeing/hearing this constant barrage on the news and all over social media is enough to make anyone anxious.
Some things we can do to reduce any stress or anxiety we are feeling right now are easy to implement and can offer some needed relief. One of the first things you can do is to understand that it is okay to feel some extra anxiety at the moment. Realizing you are not alone in feeling this way may help reduce some stress you may have about being anxious to begin with. Another thought that may ease your worries is the mortality rate of the virus is actually very low; the number of deaths to confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is around only 7%. Next, take a minute to consider how often you are reading articles or watching news outlets with updates about the Coronavirus. This pandemic is all over the news and if you are constantly hearing about it, it is understandable that one might become alarmed or worried about their safety. Try to limit your news updates to once or twice a day; be sure to refer to trusted sources, like the CDC (linked above) or WHO, to ensure you are getting accurate information. If you would like to visit WHO's website for information regarding COVID-19 click here.
Other activities that may help lower one's stress are meditating, going for a walk, exercising at home, writing down your feelings/what you're grateful for, etc. Try to practice at least one or two of these exercises a day to see if they help reduce your anxiety. These options are a good way to take your mind off of all that is happening and offer a sense of normalcy. If none of these works for you, perhaps you can try to maintain some form of socialization.
While we are all trying to minimize our contact with others to help slow the spread of COVID-19, we can still interact with one another. You can call, video chat, message, or play games online with friends and family to ease the tension and have some fun. If you don't have access to a computer/internet or just want a different way of communicating that you probably haven't used in a while (possibly ever), write someone a letter. Communicating with others, even if it's just about how they are getting by, may help you overcome some of your stress. Speaking with a therapist or other trained professional can also be a useful strategy to help ease your anxiety. They can provide you with even more techniques to help you cope with stress. There are also many other ways that are not listed here, try and find your own and do what works best for you.
These are just a few ways that anyone can try to relieve any stress that has been brought on by the pandemic we are facing. As long as we remember to look out for one another we will overcome this, despite how the news or social media may make it seem. There are still ways that we can be happy and stay productive amidst all the uncertainty.