#3 I Am Mortified!
But it’s not just bad luck that we have to worry about when staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic. While bad things sometimes do happen to good people, the things that we do (or don’t do) can also have far-reaching consequences.
The two main things that can have a negative impact on your well-being are a lack of physical activity and a lack of social contact. We’re called social animals for a reason: we need other people to thrive.
According to Dr. Ashburner, it’s recommended that everybody does some form of physical activity each and every day.
“For many people who are now working from home or not working at all due to social distancing, it is likely that their physical activity will also be reduced. It is, therefore, more important that they make time for this every day.”
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She continued: “The NHS recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week which is best spread throughout the week. They also recommend doing muscle-strengthening exercise such as yoga or lifting weights twice a week.”
Dr. Ashburner stressed how important it is for your mental health to maintain contact with friends and family. “We recommend that some form of social contact is made every day, even if you don’t particularly feel like it. This is best in the form of telephone calls or video calls but texting, social media, and playing games online are all ways to feel socially connected,” the doctor said.
“Try to get creative. perhaps you could set up a virtual book club, film night, or quiz night,” she added.
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The doctor said that it’s difficult to predict the effect that the coronavirus pandemic will have on mental health. “There are numerous COVID-19 related factors that could worsen someone’s mental wellbeing, both relating to effects of the virus, for example, trauma, physical disability and bereavement, and the effects of the measures used to prevent the virus, like social isolation, relationship breakdown, loss of occupation and financial difficulties,” she told Bored Panda.
“Unfortunately, many people’s homes are not a safe environment which can also put both their physical and mental wellbeing at risk. Others may have lost their usual coping mechanisms and could turn to more harmful ways of coping such as alcohol or other substances. Healthcare workers are also particularly at risk due to occupational trauma and stress.”
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Dr. Ashburner mused that we might see the ripple effects of the coronavirus on mental health for many months (and possibly even years) to come. “However, the most crucial point is that mental health services will remain open throughout this crisis and will continue to provide support and treatment to anyone who needs it, so please do not be afraid to seek help.”
The doctor shared that the NHS provides information about mental health right here.
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A 2015 meta-analysis of over 308k people found that you are 50 percent more likely to die if you have weaker social relationships.
"If we think about loneliness as this adaptive response kind of like hunger and thirst, it's this unpleasant state that motivates us to seek out social connections just like hunger motivates us to seek out food," lead study author Julianne Holt-Lunstad explained to Business Insider how our need for relationships is hardwired into us.
However, she pointed out that during the pandemic, people need to endure the lack of social contact to protect their health. It’s a real dilemma, but you can maintain social connections by phoning, messaging, or video chatting with the people you care about. It’s a crutch, but it’s the best alternative at this time.
Meanwhile, on the flip side, most of us stuck at home are likely moving far less than we normally would. Just 2 weeks of inactivity can start reducing your muscle mass. This also affects your heart which we sometimes forget is also a muscle.
So keep moving and keep contacting your loved ones, dear Pandas—we might not be able to avoid bad luck, but we can be prepared to deal with it when it strikes.
