Fear of corona

Thank you for your question and explaining your situation. You indicate that you experience a lot of fear about Corona. A few weeks ago you experienced something frightening: you might have been infected with the virus. Since the visit to Brijder and the anxious wait for the results, you notice that you have lost your appetite. Sorry to hear that you have to deal with this!

Losing appetite is often a stress response from your body. A short-term loss of appetite is not necessarily a problem and is often a natural response to a busy, stressful period. In your case, this was probably waiting for the results of the test. After a stressful period, it is important that you give your body and mind time to recover. You don't experience a pandemic every day. It is therefore completely normal to feel more tense and more anxious in this new and unfamiliar situation.

In general, we humans have trouble coping with uncertainty. How we deal with this differs from person to person. It depends, among other things, on our personality, our background and the environment in which we are. You may notice that some people dismiss the severity of corona and believe that all will be fine. Other people around you may panic and start hoarding in fear of a shortage. Because the situation is so new and unknown to everyone, you may find that you often don't even know what to feel or how to react. This fact alone can cause a lot of anxiety and tension.

How do you take good care of yourself during the corona crisis?
The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that in the fight against the coronavirus it is important that we continue to take good care of ourselves, including our mental well-being. But how do you do that in this exciting situation?

- Your mental health can change significantly with relatively small changes in lifestyle. When we talk about lifestyle, we mean enough exercise, a healthy and varied diet, a healthy weight, moderate alcohol consumption, not smoking, sufficient relaxation and a regular day-night rhythm with sufficient sleep. All these factors contribute to a healthy body and mind. It increases your mental toughness and resilience, allowing you to better deal with stress and setbacks. So keep an eye on your lifestyle. Especially now that you are at home a lot and your daily structure is different, it is important to continue to pay attention to your nutrition, sleep and exercise.
- Don't isolate yourself and stay in touch with friends and family. Whether you feel anxious, insecure, confused, as well as gloomy or angry; it's important that you continue to talk about it with others.
- Do not use substances such as alcohol and drugs to deal with your emotions. If you're feeling overwhelmed by everything that's coming at you right now, you might want to consider talking to a professional, such as your GP. He/she can possibly refer you to an (online!) psychologist.
- Stick to the facts. Only look up information from reliable sources, such as the RIVM website. There is a lot of fake news and websites that only pay attention to everything that is still unknown and uncertain about the virus. Try to avoid this information.
- Limit your (social) media use. We can follow the news about corona unlimited (24/7), but try to limit this. This way you are not continuously triggered with corona. Read the following article about the news diet: https://niceday.app/nieuws-over-corona-dit-effect-hat-het-op-je/
- Rely on your strengths. Think about how you have dealt with exciting situations and setbacks in the past. Look at what helped you then and reapply this tactic.

Give yourself time to apply the above tips and to experience its effect on your mind and body. Do you notice that complaints persist or that your fear about corona is growing? Do not hesitate to make an appointment with your doctor for help. He/she can inform and advise you about your options.