SA lockdown: How to take care of your mental health
Written by POWER Digital on 26 Mar 2020 18:37
The thought of having to stay indoors for 21 days can be overwhelming and daunting for many. Furthermore, it can create panic, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and worthlessness but you can rise above all of this.
Speaking to Thabiso Tema on POWER Drive on Thursday, psychologist professor Ashraf Kagee says a lockdown in South Africa is unprecedented.
“We need to remember that this type of crisis has never happened before in all our lives. This is a time of great uncertainty and so feelings such as distress, worry, anxiety are not out of the ordinary under these circumstances.
“I think almost everyone will be have some of these feelings at some point and there’s nothing wrong with anyone who feels anxious and worried.”
He says one of the issues is overexposure to the news media and being bombarded with stress-inducing content.
“Limiting exposure to news would be a good thing for anyone” who’s triggered by the content, adds Kagee.
He explains that it’s important for people to consume credible news because we live in a time of disinformation and misinformation.
“Maintaing a connection with other people is going to be very important this time,” he says hinting at social media and making telephone calls to loved ones.
Tips for you mental health
- Keep busy
- Schedule time for exercise
- Prayer or medidate
- Structure the day with activities
- Have some quiet time
- Keep in touch with loved ones by phone or text
South Africa has gazetted a new set of regulations, which include a number of stringent measures to curb the spread of the virus in the country. Travel bans, the closure of schools as well as limiting the sale of alcohol are of the new regulations.
Read more here on the regulations gazetted as part of the Disaster Management Act after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the Covid-19 outbreak a national state of disaster last Sunday.
There have been no Coronavirus-related deaths in the country since the first case was confirmed on Thursday 5 March. South Africa has so far recorded 927 Covid-19 cases.
Under the lockdown, South Africans will be required to stay at home from midnight on Thursday 26 March until midnight on Thursday 16 April 2020.
During his lockdown announcement, Ramaphosa said: This is a decisive measure to save millions of South Africans from infection and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
While this measure will have a considerable impact on people’s livelihoods, on the life of our society and on our economy, the human cost of delaying this action would be far, far greater.”
Compiled by: Vukile Dlwati
POWER987 Live