Calmness: Solution for COVID’s Asymptomatics.
I was part of the 80 % with mild symptoms and healed from home.
To not spread misinformation, I will reserve how my symptoms were.
My positive test results arrived while recovering from suspicious flu and assuming that I would be ok. I was alone and, of course, the very first thing I did was to try to remember where I got it or whom from because I wanted to make sense of this. I couldn’t believe it. Mainly because it happened not too long ago when restaurants and other crowded places started to reopen, and everyone was going back to work and into a new normality.
I realized that the information I had gathered about the virus was superficial: wash your hands, wear a mask, social distancing. I thought it could never happen to me. I was lucky, and my symptoms didn’t need many cares, yet I wanted to know what I could expect, and to get this information was challenging because most of it is about the worst part of the virus.
As indications said in that article, to take care of myself included taking breaks from COVID news, and it was the best I could do. I followed every recommendation my doctor told me, and even though I saw non-indications of alarming, my thoughts didn’t let me sleep that first night.
Being apart felt personal instead of a form to protect me and others around me. I felt so far away from the people I love, uncomprehended. There was something dangerous inside of me, and I couldn’t do much. Even my doctor was very calm about it: You can be tranquil. He said as well as every single person I shared my fears and thoughts.
And yes, I didn’t see anything alarming, but it just felt like no one was taking this seriously or, again, to add to my anguish, I wasn’t taking this seriously and was losing time while having fear.
The only people who were as concerned as I was were my parents. When they heard my answer to their question, How are you?, they said: We are the same, but if you’re not ok, neither we will be. Please help us. And those words changed everything because it is true; COVID is 5 % fear of being sick and 95 % fear of spread it to others. They were healthy and having the same anguish as me, which was worst. My mom shared a conference from the Secretary of Health in our city, talking about how sorrow, fear, and thoughts of fatality were affecting the patients recovering from home, encouraging us to stay calm and be aware of significative changes. He shared how he spend more than 45 minutes talking to a patient to calm her. I felt so related. I would have needed the same time.
I had to walk around my room and say aloud: Everything will be better once you’re calm. Everything will be better once you’re calm. Everything will be better once you’re calm. Because I understood it, I knew what to do not to feel like that, but I couldn’t achieve it.
So I cried the anguish away for over 20 minutes, non-stop, and slept for 9 hours straight. The first three days were the hardest, and then, as time passed by, and I accepted what I had to do, I took this to my advantage. I started to work out again, something that would help to breathe better and let go of the evil thoughts, so stretching was the perfect solution. Breathing is crucial and the pain to stretch for a beginner was enough to put that bad energy away. I ate better, I read, I watched musicals, took a shower every day, took care of my skin, organized my drawers, went for a drive, slept better, and always remained in contact with my friends.
My energy changed. I was in a good mood, which made me understand this virus better and its reaction in my body. And that was key. When I felt mentally better, and friends and family were aware of that, they would call me to tell me stories of people that weren’t as lucky as I was and bringing back the fear that anything could happen.
When I finished my quarantine and allowed to be outside, with my mask on, always, my friends and family ask me for advice because they knew someone who was going through the same, most of them were starting.
It’s simple to help someone who’s recovering from home:
- Bring them food: perhaps a note, like you’re in the third grade. It feels awesome.
- Call them to know how they are: Calmness is everything during these times, and to know your not alone means the world. Let them know how important they are, cheer them up, and keep the bad news and gossip away.
- Recommend entertainment: Share your series, your movies, articles, YouTube videos, whatever you think might interest them.
- Call, text, Zoom: Tell them what you are doing, share pictures from the outside, it doesn’t hurt, on the contrary, one wants to know what’s happening and that the world hasn’t ended.
It’s overwhelming to hear tragic news about something you have.
Being apart as an asymptomatic feels like you’re a danger for no reason; signs are invisible. You are vulnerable, calmness comes and goes, so, to remain sane and aware of your health, take breaks from that information and have continuity from the doctor’s recommendation to continue, mainly because the only way to get out of this is to live one day at a time.
Everything is still uncertain. We can help by following the rules and wearing a mask. Please wear a mask. Calmness won’t reach us until there’s a solution. It’s simple, fast, and we help ourselves, our loved ones, and strangers.
