Living With the New Normal
Over the last six months, the world has become a new place to live. After the initial lockdown, businesses remained closed, restaurants only opened to 50% capacity, wearing a mask became a requirement for survival, and CDC recommendations prohibited groups of 10 or more people from assembling. As summer blooms, remaining positive has become difficult but necessary to maintain good mental health.
What is the New Normal?
Although times are changing rapidly, it is essential to remain safe. Since a vaccine is still several months away, the best way to prevent illness is not to contract COVID-19 in the first place. The virus transmits mainly through aerosols from breathing. An infected person could transmit the virus through sneezing or coughing to healthy people standing by through the natural breathing process of the nose or mouth. Not leaving your house is the best method to prevent spread, but not the most practical.
If you have to leave your house, be conscious of those around you and always wear a mask. Many shops and hair and nail salons have implemented new reservation restrictions, ensuring no persons without an appointment granted entry into the building.
Similarly, restaurants operate at 50%, or less, capacity to maintain a six-foot distance between tables. It might seem like a hassle, but it helps prevent the spread of disease and keeps everyone in the restaurant safe in the long run.
The CDC recommends a few easy-to-follow rules for anyone leaving their house to minimize contact with potentially infected people.
- Wear a mask
- Stand at least six feet apart from other people
- Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer
- Be aware of your physical health
Always follow the CDC guidelines to keep yourself, your family, and those around you safe. To assist in remembering a mask, place one in every car, or print off a sign that reminds you to bring a mask and tape it to the back of your door. Additionally, be conscious of the people around you and maintain at least six feet of distance.
Washing your hands should be a given, but in the age of COVID-19, there must be extra effort to keep your hands clean. This doesn’t just mean after using the restroom, but before and after every meal. If you’ve been out of your house, wash your hands once you get home before doing other activities, and try to limit contact with your mobile device.
If you have sniffles, a cough, a headache, and especially a fever, stay home.
How to “Run Errands” at Home
The best method to keep you and everyone else safe is to stay home. Granted, there are instances when leaving your home is a must, but the internet provides ways to maintain your lifestyle without ever leaving your home.
- Grocery deliveries with companies like Instacart or directly through the grocery
- Food deliveries through the restaurant or companies like Uber Eats
- Ask doctors if they provide a telemedicine option
- Use Remote Patient Monitoring
How to Remain Positive
No one would argue that the new way of living is easy. As a whole, humans are social creatures, and being forced to remain isolated can be detrimental to mental health. There’s a balance between staying safe and maintaining relationships outside your home. While not everyone’s way of managing a healthy mind is the same, there are a few ways to keep yourself positive.
- Buy/Make fun masks to wear.
One Twitter user shared her Dad’s photos of a matching tie and mask set in July, and the internet blew up. Self-expression is important, so what better way than to add a bit of pizazz to your masks? Not to mention it gives you a great hit of dopamine when someone compliments you.
- Schedule a Facetime/Google Hangouts/Zoom meeting with friends.
Human interaction is great, but when we’re stuck at home for the good of society, what is there to do? Create a virtual cocktail hour, baking club, or just catch up with friends. Make a weekly scheduled meeting to give you something to look forward to all week.
- Go for a walk in a park.
Studies have shown that spending just 20 minutes a day in a park or field with grass and trees can significantly boost mental health. Extra exercise is not needed to start feeling better, but it does help give your body a jolt of endorphins linked to happiness.
- Learn to meditate.
Whether through yoga or general relaxation techniques, meditation has an impact on a happier mind. Meditation can happen anywhere and requires no special equipment. Several free channels on YouTube can help teach you some great techniques to transition into the new normal way of living.
The world is changing, and that is always scary. Many resources help learn how to live with this virus, from the CDC to health publications. How we take care of our physical health and maintain social relationships, have changed, but those changes can be positive with a little work and mental restructuring.