The Psychology of Coping During A Lockdown
By Tosin Adesoye, MBBS, Founder, SICKLELIVE FOUNDATION
A disease outbreak can usually be associated with panic, anxiety and fear, while staying at home is usually associated with boredom
People living with sickle cell disease need to carefully handle the mental stress because emotional disturbance is a trigger for sickle cell crises which is the last thing we want during a lock down
1. As much as it is good to keep yourself reliably informed, If too much fear is creeping in due to the pandemic, you might consciously stay away from the news, social media and info about the pandemic to keep your sanity for a period of time
2. Plan your daily activities to make it more interesting which could include reading , watching movies, exercising, writing, learning a recipe ,music , social media content production, online learning etc
3. Make a list of things you enjoy doing and deliberately include them in your activities
If too much fear is creeping in due to the pandemic, you might consciously stay away from the news, social media and info about the pandemic to keep your sanity for a period of time
4. Keep in contact with friends and family, talk to them via phones, video calls and social media in general.
5. Activities like yoga, meditation, religious prayers can also help ease mental stress
6. Exercise can also help (make sure you exercise within your limit) to avoid triggering a crisis
7. Joining fun social media groups you can relate to can also be helpful
8. If you still feel mentally stressed after doing all these then you should consider talking to a professional preferably over the phone.