Day 131: Chillaxing While Social Distancing

Day 131: August 4, 2020
Global Cases: 18, 693, 259; Deaths: 703, 380
Egypt Cases: 94, 752; Deaths: 4, 912

Salma Darwish
Integrated Marketing Communications Junior

The COVID-19 crisis has been the most impactful and stressful chapter in my life. COVID-19 took us all by surprise and many of us were unprepared for it. At the beginning of this pandemic it was extremely stressful for me, not just because it was the first time I go through a pandemic but also because I was away from my family.

I also was never able to cope with the stress I was experiencing daily, so it took me around three months to find ways to cope with this pandemic.

Moreover, our normal daily routines shifted so much because of this pandemic. No one could’ve imagined we were going to be put in a situation where we had to be separated from our loved ones, friends, and families for four consecutive months.

Everyone deals with stress differently and have their ways to cope with it. What may work for me may not work for everyone else. However, there are many healthy ways one can cope with to adapt to this change. It was really hard to cope with at the beginning but with time we learned to accommodate with what we had in front of us and tried to make the most out of this lockdown.

I made a routine for myself to cope with this pandemic and in order to be as productive as I can. Despite that things are slowly opening up again, I’m still playing my part in the community by social distancing and quarantining. However, if I ever do leave the house, it’s solely to buy necessities, get food or buy coffee.

Managing stress is important, especially in a time like this because it makes it a lot easier for us as human beings to cope with it. I think having a positive mindset is important at a time like this because it makes you filter all the bad things happening and focus on the good things. Some people during this pandemic got closer to their families, others found hobbies they never knew they were interested in.

I try to maintain a positive mindset by helping others on social media as well as being a positive influence for people and myself. I constantly repeat this phrase to myself “it’s just a phase and it will pass,” it helps make me feel better.

I coped with the stress during this pandemic by exercising. It has been proven that exercise is good for a person mentally and physically. Exercising is also beneficial because during a time like this our minds are constantly overthinking of everything happening so exercising distracts a person from having negative thoughts, improves memory and sleep.

I think this lockdown helped us to realize how much we take our health for granted. This period in history also taught me how community plays a role in shaping our health, and the need to have higher expectations and goals when it comes to personal and outdoor hygiene to avoid struggling with a crisis of this magnitude.