Fighting CoVid-19: Are You Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?

5 strategies to find emotional balance and resolve your internal battle against self-quarantine

How’s everyone doing with the requirement to self-quarantine?

It’s difficult, yes?

Sequestered from our friends, work colleagues and, in many cases, our own family members, we feel separated — detached from life itself, unable to connect, and powerless to change it.

One of the reasons we’re having so much difficulty with self-quarantine is the internal battle we must fight on a daily basis. Forcing ourselves to do what we objectively know is best — staying at home, taking protective precautions when we must go out — is completely contrary to our subconscious programming.

Typically, when we’re attacked by something, we’re pre-wired to take physical action.

This defense mechanism — a derivation of the flight or fight response — reflects our belief that it’s seldom in our best interest to sit by and watch as a threat continues to unfold all around us.

This is one of the reasons people have made a run on toilet paper. It gives them something to do — a way to respond to the attack. They believe buying toilet paper will somehow make a difference — even if it’s only a symbolic gesture, like drawing a line in the sand.

“I’m ready for you, Corona Bastard. I’ve got six dozen rolls of triple-ply and I’m not afraid to use it!”

It’s the same with cleaning supplies, food, and most paper products, with people buying — not in quantities of what’s needed for a few weeks — but in some cases, a year’s worth.

By stockpiling these disposable products, many believe they’re taking a defensive posture against the enemy.

A full pantry becomes a ready war-chest. A fully-stocked freezer is ammunition in reserve.

And now we wait it out.

But not everyone understands the message.

And they’re frustrated — some are emotionally distraught — because they don’t know how to placate their subconscious need to strike back.

Wanting to retaliate, they push back against the restrictions, erroneously believing these preventative measures are a tangible representation of the enemy.

These are the people who are refusing to stay home and self-isolate. They consider mandated quarantine an assault on their normal life routine — a result of enemy infiltration.

And as a result, they target the very things that are intended to save them.

Refusing to see the bigger picture, their reckless actions make them directly responsible for expanding the spread of the disease and increasing the human and economic toll we will all pay before this is over.

They have literally switched sides in the fight — traitors in the most deadly sense of the word.

My purpose in writing this article is not to suggest or promote confrontations with those whose ignorance is compensated only by their arrogance.

Rather, I want to offer a few suggestions to make you more aware of what you can do to promote a survival mindset and feel more confident in your ability to self-sustain while we deal with this issue.

I realize this may be the first time you’ve had to face a threatening situation on this scale — the first time in which you can’t depend upon the professional and political establishment as the first line of defense.

So let’s make it clear. We have to take responsibility for ourselves and our families.

Because it’s obvious the response from political and administrative leaders has been inconsistent, slow, and far less effective than it could have been.

Some of the confusion has been blamed on poor choices influenced by political affiliation, cronyism, and nepotism. Fear, reprisals, and profiteering have also taken a toll on a unified and effective response from our leaders, many of whom seem far more concerned with policy than people.

But regardless of what’s causing it, we have to deal with the facts.

So let’s talk about a few things we can all do to be better prepared and increase our level of emotional stability.

1. Be ready to take care of yourself if you develop mild symptoms

Make sure you have a digital thermometer, medications to reduce fever, and a cough suppressant or other OTC remedy to relieve symptoms. Have enough soap and sanitizer for all family members for a month.

2. Stop hoarding

There’s no reason to believe the food distribution chain is in danger.

There’s plenty of food for everyone.

Panic buying is a result of fear. At most, buy what you need for a month. Over-buying fresh produce, vegetables, and other short-term perishables is a waste of food others could have used.

3. If you haven’t already put together a family “disaster” plan, it’s time to make one

Include emergency contact numbers, financial information, the location of storage facilities, safety deposit boxes, and addresses and phone numbers of family members and relatives.

Describe any health problems, medications, and special considerations for the elderly or infirmed.

And don’t forget your pets, and who can be counted on to take care of them in an emergency. The CDC website has a comprehensive checklist you can use to educate your family on general preparation, recognizing virus symptoms, safe distancing protocols, and common sense measures if you need to respond to an infected family member.

4. Make sure you’re practicing self-quarantine

There are far too many media reports of block parties, weddings, church services, bars, and other non-essential businesses refusing to close.

Self-entitlement has no place in this situation, especially if it means you end up killing someone. And that’s exactly what can happen when groups of people get together in defiance of national, state, and county quarantine orders.

Assembling in groups — for any reason — will continue to spread the disease.

It’s already obvious — when looking back at large gatherings from a few weeks ago — how instrumental these too-close encounters were in spreading the virus. These continuing instances of pubic and even clandestine gatherings create virulent hot spots in which CoVid-19 receives new lines of distribution.

So stay home and save someone’s life.

5. Think about this stay-at-home mandate as an opportunity to prepare for the future.

This is an excellent time to start that online course you’ve been thinking about.

You could also learn more about new business activity, or tackle a new subject you’ve always had a personal interest in.

A few months from now we’ll look back on this period of quarantine as the time we used to improve our minds and prepare for the future — or as a complete waste of time.

The difference — the choice — is up to you.

Listen to the podcast of this article at Success Point 360

Roger A. Reid, Ph.D. is the founder and host of Success Point 360 Podcast and author of Speak Up! A Step-by-Step Method to Conquer Your Fears and Give an Amazing Speech. A certified NLP trainer with degrees in engineering and business, Roger offers tips and strategies for achieving higher levels of career success and personal fulfillment in the real world. Find Roger at Success Point 360 Podcast, LinkedIn, Medium, Facebook, and Twitter.