So, here is what the coronavirus does:

It creates a lot of fear, panic and even terror

It creates a lot of fear, panic and even terror, which are definitely not good for your immune system and are making you more at risk of contracting the virus. When we are getting into a fight or flight response, our body cannot regenerate and self-heal as it normally does and it uses all of its energy for survival, which makes us more likely to get sick and/ or to have difficulty recovering from an illness (no matter what the illness is).

Here are a few things that you can do in order to deal with any negative emotions that may be arising for you at the moment:

-       Pay attention to how you are feeling and to which emotions are emerging when you are thinking about the coronavirus and the current crisis. Try to process them in the best way you can. Mind body techniques can be very helpful for those who are familiar with them but you can also write down your thoughts and emotions or call a friend and create a space where both of you are able to express how you are feeling.

-      Now that you know how it is making you feel, pay attention to how those emotions are changing your behavior. Do you act differently when you are engaging in those emotions? How is your behavior different now than a couple of weeks ago with regards to yourself and with regards to others: family, friends, people that you may interact with during the day whether physically or virtually? What about your attitude towards life in general? Is your behavior driven by fear or by love? If it is driven by fear, can you try to adopt a more loving attitude and behavior, while continuing to protect yourself and take care of yourself? Rejecting the other and being in fear does not help anybody…

-        If there was no coronavirus scare going on, how would you act and be different? Can you try to act as if there was no coronavirus while still taking care of yourself and protecting yourself? How can you find a balance, to remain compassionate, loving and caring at all times even in the current state of events? The idea is to try to reduce this distance and separation that the fear of catching and propagating the virus is creating at the moment. Meaning being aware of what is going on, taking care of yourself but also trying to not let your actions and behaviours being dictated by your fears.

-      Engage in any activity that calms your nervous system down and allows you to relax and think positively about the current state of events. Try to avoid to go into panic mode. This will not be helpful. If you need to take an important decision, try to do so when you are in a calm state rather than in a state of panic and fear.

-      Practice gratitude. I know these times can be extremely hard and challenging for some people, but trying to set some time apart every day, every couple of days or just when you can manage to find a little bit of time to do this may be extremely beneficial. It is not possible to hold a negative emotion in our mind while we are feeling gratitude. So, with that in mind, list at least 5 things that you are grateful for today and feel into the positive emotions that these things elicit in you. It could be something as simple as: I am grateful I have a house to live in or I am grateful I am healthy or I am grateful it is sunny outside and that I could have a little walk to enjoy it (for those of us in confinement for example). Repeat this exercise as many times as you want. :-)

It creates isolation and loneliness

A lot of us are now being confined with as little contacts with the outside world as possible, in the physical world anyway. Loneliness is one of the biggest killer and can have very detrimental effect on the psyche.

As mentioned in an article published in Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201901/can-you-die-loneliness

“Researchers have found that loneliness is just as lethal as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Lonely people are 50 percent more likely to die prematurely than those with healthy social relationships. There are several reasons why loneliness can be deadly. First, it reduces your immunity, which can increase your risk of disease. It also increases inflammation in the body, which can contribute to heart disease and other chronic health conditions.”

 Many other studies are available online on this subject for those of you that may want to explore this subject further.

Things that you can do in order to reduce the feeling of loneliness and or/ isolation:

-         - Think about things that you can do in order to reduce your own feelings of isolation and loneliness if you are feeling affected by this. Be creative. There is always a way to find a solution. Sometimes all that is required is to open ourselves to it.

-        - Try to stay in touch with loved ones (family, friends, people that you usually see but may not be in contact with that often). Try to make sure that you have people surrounding you who you can talk to and express how the whole situation is making you feel. Many of us are now in confinement, but we can still text, call, etc… in order to meet these needs.

-       - Think about ways that you may be able to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness in people that you know (but also for people that you may not know personally). Reach out to others if you feel they might need it, but may not dare to express their need for contact, for help, to talk and exchange, etc...

-        - Engage in activities that make you feel good and that you can do on your own. Make a list of them and refer back to them every time you are feeling lonely and/or isolated so that you have ideas to keep yourself busy, happy and with a positive mindset.

It creates separation with the other, fear of the other and in some cases rejection and ostracism (again not good for the immune system)

It makes people who are on the receiving end of that rejection more susceptible to contract the virus as it isolates them and can also create emotional distress and trauma, which in turn will weaken their immune system. Once it is contracted and they have even less social interactions and no physical touch/ contact, it makes them even more susceptible to have more severe symptoms, to have difficulty recovering from it and in certain cases it may make them more susceptible to die from it. Human connection and touch is extremely important and can be a determining factor as to whether a person heals from a disease or not.

Also think about how certain people may be concerned to infect their friends and families: children, parents, etc… and what  this kind of thoughts may cause in terms of stress, which one more time will not be helpful to their immune system and to help them cope in a good and efficient way with the disease. This is especially affecting people who are coming from areas where there are lots of cases of coronavirus, people on the fore front like the healthcare workers, people working in food shops, transporters, etc…

What you can do:

If you know somebody who is infected or at risk of being infected, think about the ways that you can support them in this challenging time. If you feel that you are going into a survival mode and want to avoid as many contacts as possible out of fear, try to take some time to reflect on this and see if there is any way for you to react and behave in a different way that may be more loving while still taking care of yourself and protecting yourself.

It creates a fear of catching the virus and of dying from the virus and/ or losing a loved one to the virus

 Whatever we concentrate and focus on, we attract. So, yes some people are affected by the virus and some people are dying from it. But being in fear of catching the virus, and so, being in resistance to the disease is not helpful as it keeps this energy active within ourselves, which makes us more likely to catch it. Exploring our fear, on the other hand, can help lessen the intensity of that fear and so help to make us less vulnerable to this virus.

Here are a few questions to help you explore your thoughts and emotions around these fears:

-        What is it that you are most afraid of? How is it making you feel? Do you recognize this emotion and feeling? Meaning, were you already having a similar kind of emotion and feeling but with regards to other areas of your life? What can you do in order to make yourself feel better and not engage in this negative emotion or at least lessen it? What are some positive emotions that you could focus on instead? Like, for example you could focus on your body’s ability to develop anti-bodies and immunity for this virus rather than on how likely you might be to catch the virus. 

I hope you found this article helpful. Please share it with the people you think may most need it.

Take great care of yourself and of your loved ones in this challenging time and engage in activities that support and strengthen your immune system.

With much love, light and gratitude,

Noëlie