Let’s be real: thinking positive during the Coronavirus is not easy. Especially when you’re stressed from how things are going (i.e. unmet expectations and stuff).
In a constant state of stress, your body will constantly be releasing cortisol. In a nutshell, cortisol is what helps your body cope with stress. But cortisol is a steroid hormone so it messes up your immune system, making it worse for your body to fight whatever is out there.
It’s hard. Definitely. But living in constant fear will kill you faster than Corona. So, what can you do? We’ve composed some winning pointers to help you stay AHEAD of the Coronavirus so you don’t get infected.
STAY CLEAN.
Wash your hands for the next 20 seconds. I sing an anime theme song that’s been shortened to make sure. It’s around 1 min to 1 min and 30. Besides, nostalgia trip~. Or if you prefer a more local flavor, the Jeep Song of Willie Revilliame or some local artist. Disinfect. You wanna know why Japan looks so clean? Cuz they’re capable of this.
Stop Panic Buying.
Panic buying will just keep making your body pump out adrenaline, keeping you stressed. This will mess up your immune system further. So, the more panic buying you do – the higher your chances of getting Corona. It works two fold: your immune system will weaken and people around you will also weaken. So, all of you get Corona.
Donate and Help others if You Can.
Whether it’s for your own selfish desires (i.e. being praised, acknowledged, etc.) or not, biologically – it triggers endorphins that assist your immune system. Happy = Stronger immune system. There are A LOT of people who need your help. Yes, it’s scary to help people you don’t know. But this virus doesn’t give two nuts if you’re rich or not. Help who you can. They’re a soldier in this crazy virus war just like you. Some of us just happen to have more equipment. This is a raid. The boss is a virus and we, the more equipped raiders, have one duty: help the under-equipped ones get more equipped. The whole “git gud, scrub” ain’t gonna cut it anymore. We hear Caritas and RITM are gonna need all the help they can get. And not just them. Check around! Our front-liners need more help than ever.
Listen to Music and Maybe Dance a Little?
Even if you’re alone in your room. And it don’t matter if you got two left feet (cuz I know I do). Music has always made people happy somehow some way whether cathartic or not. For me, I like Metal and it makes me happy because it makes me be aggressive (i.e. angry, furious, vicious) without hurting anybody. Plus, dancing lets your body just go with the flow. It can be any kind of music. I’ve seen people dance to Happy Birthday and it works!
Time to put that Spotify to good use.
Sleep
The world deprived us of sleep. Now we can make up for it. 8 hours is always the best.
If You See Symptoms, Check One by One.
To register, there are normally at least 2-3 symptoms that need to appear from what we’ve heard. Crush the symptoms. While we do believe in meds, we believe also food can be your meds. For sore throat, ginger, lemon/ calamansi tea. Insomnia due to worry and feeling a little worn down, we hear Sampaguita tea is yummy. Wondering how to get it? Just get from the little kids from the street. Wash it well and steep.
We can’t say spend time with family because some people have a dysfunctional family relationship. What you can do is intervene for yourself. To win against this virus, you gotta fight smart. It’s not about fighting strong all the time.
Sources:
Faith, R. E., Good, R. A., Murgo, A. J., & Plotnikoff, N. P. (Eds.). (2013). Enkephalins and endorphins: Stress and the immune system. Springer Science & Business Media.
Hanna, J. L. (1995). The power of dance: Health and healing. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 1(4), 323-331.
Chouhan, S., & Kumar, S. (2011). Comparative study between effectiveness of dance movement therapy and progressive relaxation therapy with music for stress management in college students. Indian J. Physiother. Occup. Ther, 5, 179-182.
West, J., Otte, C., Geher, K., Johnson, J., & Mohr, D. C. (2004). Effects of Hatha yoga and African dance on perceived stress, affect, and salivary cortisol. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 28(2), 114-118.
Tripp, R. A., Maule, A. G., Schreck, C. B., & Kaattari, S. L. (1987). Cortisol mediated suppression of salmonid lymphocyte responses in vitro. Developmental & Comparative Immunology, 11(3), 565-576.
Buford, T. W., & Willoughby, D. S. (2008). Impact of DHEA (S) and cortisol on immune function in aging: a brief review. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 33(3), 429-433.
Butcher, S. K., Killampalli, V., Lascelles, D., Wang, K., Alpar, E. K., & Lord, J. M. (2005). Raised cortisol: DHEAS ratios in the elderly after injury: potential impact upon neutrophil function and immunity. Aging cell, 4(6), 319-324.