More than 80% who are diagnosed with coronavirus have the mild form of the disease. If you have been diagnosed with mild Covid-19 disease, chances are that you are self-isolating at home. This is an extremely difficult period both for you and your family, emotionally. There are a few ways in which you can deal with this duration for home isolation which will be of around 14 days in most cases and may have to be extended for upto 28 days.
· Keep your physical health in check: You are in-charge of your own health in isolation. Sure, you can get medical advice from experts but you still have to monitor your symptoms such as fever, cough, breathlessness, chest tightness etc. You also need to monitor your vital stats in the terms of temperature, pulse rate and oxygen saturation levels. The best way is to make a checklist and make daily entries twice a day. This will help your doctor/ healthcare provider.
· Keep essentials in your room: Besides monitoring your health, make it a point to keep some essentials in your room such as a water kettle, a large water thermos to store water, a cup, glass, plate and other utensils you may need. It is really easy for your care provider, when you can manage a few things by yourself.
· Food and medicines: Your medication will be prescribed by your doctor and these will include vitamins and supplements. Besides this, it is essential to include plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts and fluids in your diet. Keep yourself well hydrated and well nourished.
· Set a routine for yourself: It is easy to let yourself go when you have no-where to go to. Avoid this by setting a routine for your-self. Wake-up and sleep at set times.
· Meditate or pray: If you don’t already do it, it is a good idea to incorporate 5-10 minute short meditation in your routine. It helps keep the mind calm.
· Read or write: Now is a good time to read all the books, articles, papers, blogs that you may have wanted to read but never had the time. Explore what interests you and give it a try. Avoid reading too much about the pandemic. Even if you are not a writer, documenting day to day feelings, recording your gratitude, just noting down words or feeling you may feel can help reduce anxiety and calm the mind.
· Connect: Stay connected with friends and family. Video calls, phone calls, whatsapp messaging are all easy way to stay connected. Self-isolation does not mean isolating the mind. Keep connected with people who lift your spirit and have a positive impact on you. You are not alone in feeling worried or frustrated. Reach out to people.
· Hobby time: Is there a hobby that you had, that you have lost touch with. That you don’t have the time to do anymore because you are so busy. Do you like to knit, sew, paint, write poetry or anything else which can be done in your room. Do give it a shot.
· Exercise: A good thing to include in your daily routine is a little bit of physical exercise. Don’t stress yourself out. You can follow your pre-covid routine, however do monitor if the physical exercise is causing any symptoms. The best exercise at this time would be deep breathing exercise, stretching and yoga.
· Entertainment: Watch movies, web shows, documentaries and keep your self-entertained and motivated. Listen to music and podcasts. Avoid seeing too much news and negativity. Limit your news time to 1 hour per day.
· Productivity: You can use this time to plan your days ahead, make phone calls from home, arrange things for when you will get out of isolation. Try cleaning a wardrobe, sorting your email, managing your social media account and deleting junk photographs from you phone.
These are some ways in which you can deal with this period of self-isolation. Ofcourse, what works for one person may not work for another but the main idea is to keep yourself occupied and not get anxious. There can be no rules of dealing with a stressful situation but
you have to remember through this period of home-isolation that you will come out of it and it is important to maintain a positive outlook through it all.Take care, and stay safe!
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