Staying Healthy During Pandemic-CONNECTION
Staying home, social distancing, and washing your hands frequently are all great ways to avoid becoming infected with Coronavirus.
Health Services will use this time to present other tips for keeping you strong and healthy in body & spirit during these weeks of isolation. We’ll look at topics like exercise, nutrition, sun safety, and staying connected.
Today we want to talk about connection.
Social distancing is necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19 and something that we need to embrace for now. While this action benefits those most vulnerable in society, these weeks of isolation at home can lead to loneliness. That’s obviously not good for your mental health, but also has an impact on your physical health! Prolonged feelings of loneliness can cause the body to release stress hormones, which increase inflammation and decrease the immune response. Since we can’t predict how long this pandemic will be affecting our lives, it’s important to discover new ways to feel connected to family, friends, and the world from isolation.
- Reach out to family and friends by phone, social media, or even snail mail. Maybe this is a chance for renewed connections to people you have lost touch with over time.
- Schedule virtual face-to-face events, like a “shared” meal or a group chat with your family.
- Challenge your friends to an online board game, like Monopoly, Clue, or Scrabble.
- Find a volunteer opportunity, like dropping off a donation at the food pantry, picking up some groceries for a neighbor, or even writing a few “thinking of you” cards to seniors at a local nursing home.
- If the news or social media make you feel even more anxious and alone, consider putting them on hold for awhile!
Remember that the person you reach out to is probably feeling as lonely as you are and will welcome the contact. We are all alone together!
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/29/457255876/loneliness-may-warp-our-genes-and-our-immune-systems
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/03/31/coronavirus-human-connection-social-distancing/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-prevent-loneliness-in-a-time-of-social-distancing/
