Recently the Center for Disease Control advised that people engage in social distancing to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 in the United States. According to Lisa Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H., senior director of infection prevention at John Hopkins, social distancing, is “deliberately increasing the physical space between people to avoid spreading illness” and recommends staying 6 feet away from others to lesson the possibility of getting COVID-19.
But, how can this be managed when we can’t avoid people in many situations at the gas pump or supermarket? Also, will not seeing our friend and relatives for a period of time hurt our relationships? Will it make us feel sad not getting together with others? It sounds easier said than said and will take practice for sure, but, he
re are a few common sense tips to help you achieve your social distance goals:
Do only essential things and do them in off peak hours when there are less people present. For example, if you need to shop for food, do so first thing in the morning when the store opens or right before the store closes in the evening to avoid larger crowds. The advantage to shopping first thing in the morning, though, is you get to shop when the shelves are likely restocked form the night before.
It is a new way of life to collaborate with friends and family to achieve goals for most of us, but now is a great time is a good time to connect with neighbors and friends to help achieve mutual goals. So, for example, communicating needs with nearby friends and neighbors and deciding if you can help each other find certain items on each other’s shopping list.
Of course this is not easy from 6 feet away, but could be accomplished with e-mail or texting. The key here would be talking and sharing what is going on and what your needs are. Arrangements would have to be made for how to connect with each other while staying physically 6 feet apart, but plans could be made to drop things at each other’s door etc. This is a good option for helping your neighbor who may need assistance even if it is something they cannot do for you. Helping others in challenging times helps strengthen your community.
The term social distancing is misleading in that you are only really physically distancing yourself from others. We need to stay connected to our family and friends to avoid feelings of loneliness and ward off possible future mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Yes, it is good to try to reduce physically being around others as much as possible. This means cancelling group get together with family and friends which hurts. But, we can still stay connected to others by opting for Face Timing or talking on the phone. It is good go express your feelings to others and be honest about what you are experiencing through all the ups and down related to COVID-19.
Staying connected through social distancing is helpful in making it through the constant change everyone is experiencing as a result of COVID-19. Making some basic changes like the ones recommended here may make social distancing goals worth the 6 feet distance. I would love to hear from what ways you are staying connected while socially distancing yourself from others, please leave a comment below.