How I Am Dealing with COVID-19: Social Distancing

Hello, my name is Dara and I want to talk about our world’s current situation. As we all know, on March 11 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. As of April 24th, 44,856 Canadians tested positive and 614,190 tested negatives. Right now, Quebec and Ontario have the most cases in Canada. We all are practicing social distancing and there is no going to malls, friends’ houses, schools, or even restaurants.

It’s strange for people not to be able to go places, travel, or even talk to their friends. This has never happened before and the only thing even close to it are lockdowns during wars or bombings.  

There is a lot going on in the world right now and for me being trapped in my house is very agonizing and hard, but I know it’s for safety so I’m trying my best to be positive. There is a bunch of positive and wonderful deeds happening during these seemingly negative and harsh times. Communities are coming together, people are making music together through virtual programs, and donating and sewing masks for essential workers. According to the CBC, carbon dioxide is down all across the world and China has even cut about 25% of its carbon emissions. These are all great and make me feel more secure and in control in these uncertain circumstances; however, I am still trying to keep myself entertained and mentally healthy. 

To keep myself occupied, I have been reading books, binge-watching TV shows and movies on Netflix, playing my saxophone and piano, singing, and spending time with my family.

While all of these exercises and activities are great distractions and are fun to do, to keep my mental health intact during these isolating times I have frequently been doing important activities such as online Zumba with live love party, Yoga with Adriene, taking walks, and sitting by the lake near my house and journaling/writing poetry. I have also been using an app called Stop, Breathe and Think. Stop, Breathe and Think is an app where you can quickly do a 10-second breathing exercise, log your emotions, and do an activity such as meditation, breathing, or just think about things like gratitude, joy, or change. This app has been beneficial for me during these times because it makes me feel in control of something, and I believe we all need some control during this out-of-control time. 

These days it’s important to make sure that you are staying active, healthy, social, and entertained.

The only way to overcome this hard situation is to stick together and work through it as a community, even if we can’t physically see each other. We can connect, help, and be kind to one another.

We can keep our same habits and make them 10 times greater in a cyber way. You can exercise and stay fit by walking around your house, to the park, or even just running up and down your stairs, or simply put on your headphones and dance to the music for 15 to 20 minutes every day. I’m sure on social media you have seen people snacking and snacking because we are bored. I know personally I have been doing this, but after isolation is lifted and we return to our old habits. I believe it’s going to be very hard to eat healthy again, so trying to keep healthy is important even if it seems useless right now.  It’s hard to be social in these times because you cannot physically see anyone. It’s hard to talk to people because it’s a stressful time, but we all need someone to talk to. If you can Facetime your friends or message them, do that at least every other day. If you have social media and can contact through that and stay connected to the world do that every day. Entertain yourself in any way possible, by doing activities you love, with any of the loved ones you are quarantined with or even virtually with apps like House party, WebEx, or Zoom. 

I hope that after reading this you’ll know that someone else might be feeling the same way you may be. I hope that you are doing things to keep yourself occupied and distracted and I hope that soon we will be able to go out in the bright sunshine of the summer and be social again. 

Stay safe, stay home, and I hope you are all well!