The new reality we are facing is completely unprecedented. It has never happened in the history of mankind. Therefore, it is understandable that we may feel anxious, concerned and sorrowful. Here are recommendations to navigate this circumstance as best as we can. 

Acknowledge and accept your reality.

Comprehend the situation you are in.  Don´t pass any judgment. Take it the most objective way you possibly can. It is what it is. Our feelings and thoughts won´t change that. We have to make the best of it and, also, do things the right way. As psychologist Carl Rogers articulated, acceptance is key in dealing with any occurrence. Only then one can take action on the matter. 

Limit the quantity and quality of the information you receive.

It is important to stay calm in this time and day. Avoid clicking on every article on social media. Don´t believe every text that seems to be the latest news. Misinformation is traveling fast through the internet and it only brings anxiety, grief, and distress. Follow reliable sources, such as known newspapers, government statements, radio, and television news. More so, set up many times you update a day. On this occasion, less is more.

Establish a routine

Don´t let the uncertainty outside reach you inside. Even though your daily routine has changed, your life still needs structure and organization. Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day. Eat your meals around a schedule and keep it. Put your activities on a time table and follow it. Enjoy your leisure time but stay active: your pajamas must be left on the bed when you wake up.

Eat healthily and exercise

 Junk food and a sedentary lifestyle is an awful combination. In this period, increasing your nutrition and favoring the immune system is a recommendation by the World Health Organization. Also, because you can´t burn calories outside or go to the gym, exercising at home is a great option. Follow classes on the internet or just do what you used to. It may not be the same but anything can help. A little can be a lot. Remember the Latin phrase: “Mens sana in corpore sano”: a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Keep in touch with your loved ones

Even though face to face interactions must be reduced, you don´t have to spend this time completely isolated. The Internet gives you a great platform to counteract it. Set up video chats where you can see each other. Text daily just to make sure they are ok. Talk on the phone and express your feelings. Man is a social being by nature, Aristotle said. Don´t be out of reach.  

Time is an opportunity

Seize the moment. Transform this unfortunate period into a possibility. Take it as a chance to do what you weren´t able to before. Be with your family, tidy up the house, listen to music or catch up to that book you had to leave. Moreover, try to learn new things, like a foreign language, an instrument or cooking. There is an opportunity in every crisis. It is for you to find it.  

Look after yourself

Be in touch with your feelings. Acknowledge your negatives thoughts and accept them as part of the situation. Take care of your health and see to your needs. Your reality has changed abruptly. It´s not easy to manage. Take your time to grieve, but also, do the things that can help you come to power within the limitations. As neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl expressed, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”.    

Plan ahead

This will pass. It is indefinitely but not eternal. It is just a phase. A chapter in your life that has not stopped: it´s ongoing right now. Since the arrow of time only moves forward, go along with it. Conceive and design future goals that can be achieved when this is over. Exploit your imagination and develop your potential. Transport your mind onwards with your ideas. Tomorrow will be waiting. Be prepared when it comes.

References

• Carpio, C.; Principles of Philosophy; 1974.

• Frankl, V.; The Will to Meaning; 1982.

• Madrid Oficial School of Psychology; Orientation for the Psychological Management of the Quarantine over the Coronavirus; 2020.

• Rogers, C.; Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications, and Theory; 1951.

• University of Buenos Aires; Faculty of Psychology; Psychological Recommendation to Deal with the Pandemic; 2020.

• World Health Organization; Coping with stress during the 2019-nCoV outbreak; 2020.