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How to cope with social distancing

By Temitope Akintoye,

With advent of the coronavirus in various countries around the world, several terms have sprung up and people have had to wrap their heads around novel situations like self quarantine measures and social distancing, both measures being advised to help limit possible spread of the contagion and protect world populations from the viral pandemic.

So, what exactly is social distancing? The concept of social distancing was birthed from medical reports which explained that the deadly coronavirus infection is spread through body secretions such as saliva, phlegm or mucous, and that its symptoms, coughing and sneezing, can transmit these contagious drops as far as six feet from the patient.

As a result, social distancing specifies that people should maintain a radius of at least seven feet or 84 inches from any other person at any given time and is aimed at reducing infection rates, protecting the healthy from contacting the disease and helping world governments gain control over the pandemic.

Humans, being intensely social creatures would naturally struggle with the feeling of isolation that comes with being socially distant, but the drive for survival has been noticed to surpass  feelings of awkwardness or loneliness which may come  as a result of the limitation in social interactions.

Such drive for survival helps man shift from the norm and adopt new traits, new processes, new principles, and indeed, new lifestyles, with aim to survive the situation at hand.

Questions may then be raised, how does one cope with the emotional rigours, social awkwardness and self-tiring that come with being socially distant? Here are some ideas:

  • Take care of your body. Eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.
  • Stick to your regular schedule. Exercise during your normal gym times, treat yourself to a cup of tea or lunch. Try to keep as much normalcy as possible.
  •  Hang out with your crew, online. Video conferencing apps now make it easy to have meetings online. Have fun with your friends, party and share a few online drinks while you catch up.
  •  Join a social media network, or two where you get to meet  new people and have the upport of millions like you also having to cope with being isolated, quarantined or socially distant.
  • Take up a hobby. Gaming, gardening, reading or writing. Fill your hours with meaningful activity
  •  Make a phone call. When you need to relate with another human, or reach out to family for comfort, place a call to hear a familiar voice.

Recall that social distancing has become necessity to reduce and curb spread of the deadly covid-19 virus, yet it does not negate need for personal hygiene protocols like regular hand washing and sanitizing.

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