Our World Has Changed and I AM CONFUSED

To tell the truth, I am confused. I don't know what or whom to believe anymore. The media is out of control. I hear one thing from one station and the opposite from another. On social media folks are outing those who aren't adhering to the government mandates and then there are those folks who are protesting the Machiavellian power seized by government. Where will this end and what can I do about it?

As an educator, I am influencing many young people. Fresh minds. Open minds. Minds I don't want to blemish with untruths and negativity. But if I am confused, how am I able to do that?

Anxiety thrives on uncertainty.

And, as the coronavirus spreads, our unanswered questions can make us feel vulnerable or fearful. "Will it come to my community" or "Am I at risk?'

"We've got national anxiety at the moment, a kind of shared stress, and we are all in a state of extreme uncertainty," says Catherine Belling, an associate professor at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, who studies the role of fear and anxiety in health care.

And here's a catch-22: The more you stress, the more vulnerable you can become to viruses, because stress can dampen your immune response.

Listen to this advice from a learned colleague from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/811656226

So remember good health hygiene - something for now and for the future, no matter what!

1. Sleep at least 7 - 8 hours.

2. Increase your water intake.

3. Express gratitudes daily. 

4. Unplug from the news

5. Do something fun.

6. Exercise more - move, move, move!  

7. Don't isolate socially - use social media to connect with others.