Your GR8 Resource Guide to COVID-19

Right now, we’re living challenging times. Information on what COVID-19 means to our lives changes by the day, if not the hour. As most of us find ourselves practicing self-isolation, the flood of information coming through our phones, news, and even our loved ones, it’s starting to have a detrimental effect on our mental health.

The truth is, continually checking updates around the Coronavirus pandemic is critical for our wellbeing. However, at GR8NESS, we believe it’s essential to keep our mental health and self-care stable if we want to make the most out of an unfortunate and heartbreaking situation in the end.

Because of this, we created this resource guide to COVID-19, as your one-stop space to cover your basics, find help, and access valuable information at your fingertips.

What’s the Latest on COVID-19?

When a situation is as fluid as this one, arming yourself with reputable sources of information is paramount to making sure you and your family are following the recommended guidelines to stay as safe as possible. Besides Google modifying their search result page to include information about the Coronavirus. To access this dashboard, a simple search “Coronavirus” on Google.

Besides Google, the following resources outline the current state of the pandemic:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers up-to-date information on COVID-19’s spread, severity, risk assessment, etc.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) offers access to global health response information and extensive resources on how to stay safe.
• The National Institute of Health (NIH) provides plenty of information about how to practice social-distancing.
• UNICEF offers a guide that helps prevent stigma and misinformation about the pandemic.
• The Federal Trade Commission has resources on how to guard yourself against COVID-19 scammers.

Additionally, make sure you only follow information and updates coming from legitimate news sources. Stay away from messages that try to minimize the impact and potential danger of the pandemic and the disease itself. If you find a piece of information sketchy, turn to the sources above to prove its integrity.

CDC Guidelines for Control & Prevention

When it comes to control and prevention, the CDC should be your go-to source for guidelines. From the beginning, their recommendations help stop the spread and flatten the curve of new cases.

Primary Safety Guidelines Include:

• Wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds using water and soap.
• Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Avoid close contact with others.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth, even if you’re not showing symptoms. Learn more about how to make your cloth face covers here.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched areas of your home daily. Learn more about how to make sure you’re disinfecting everything according to CDC guidelines.

 Preparing Your Household

Additionally, the CDC recommends establishing an action plan with your family, neighbors, and friends. It’s essential to make sure you’re taking all preventive measures to ensure you and your family’s wellness. Here are some of their recommendations:

• Talk about your COVID-19 plan with everyone in your household.
• Plan ways to care for those who might be at higher risks, such as older people, to ensure their safety.
• Get to know your neighbors and discuss emergency planning.
• Have a list of local organizations that can help you, such as hospitals, food organizations, and more.
• Create a list of emergency contacts and share them with everyone in your household.
• Make sure you have at least 1-month of prescription medications available.
• While there are currently no approved antiviral treatments for COVID-19, doctors recommend having acetaminophen, saline solutions, pseudophedrine (avoid if your have high blood pressure) and phenulephrine.*

*Keep in mind, if you have flu or cold symptoms, it’s advised you talk to a doctor before you try any over-the-counter solution as many of COVID-19 symptoms mimic those of a flu or cold.

Running Errands

However, even when we try to stay at home, running errands is a common concern among many. Ideally, you’d want to avoid contact with others to reduce your chances. But, if you must step outside for errands, follow these guidelines:

• Order online or choose curbside pickup options when available.
• Practice social distancing (6-feet distance) when shopping.
• Cover your mouth using a face cloth.
• Disinfect the shopping cart and use gloves if possible.
• Try to use a touchless payment method or use a tissue to protect yourself.
• Wash your hands once you come home.
• Make sure you clean and disinfect everything you buy using these recommendations.
• Avoid in-pharmacy visits as much as possible.
• Ask your doctor for a phone or video call appointment instead of an in-office visit.

These same recommendations also apply if you’re going to get gas, banking, or any other errand. It is paramount that you follow these guidelines.

Caring for Your Body during COVID-19

What’s important to understand when we talk about COVID-19 is not by focusing on the disease only. Isolation, stress, anxiety, and everything happening around this situation can have a profound effect on our bodies. Make sure you’re caring for your body from every angle to ensure your health remains in top shape.

The following articles can help promote body-care rituals and new routines:

• Anti-inflammatory foods you should add to your diet.
• Indoor fitness trends you should try right now.
• Your guide to weight training at home.
• Natural remedies to keep flu at bay.
• Your beginner guide to bodyweight workouts at home.
• Natural cough drop recipes.
• Natural remedies for a better night’s sleep.
• Superfoods you should add to your diet.

Caring for Your Mind during COVID-19

One aspect of our wellbeing taking a toll right now is our mental health. When there’s uncertainty in our lives, anxiety and stress are becoming the norm for many of us. Caring for your mind means taking the time to acknowledge the elephant in the room and making sure you’re having challenging conversations with yourself and speak up about your mental health struggles. Because guess what? We’re all in this together.

The following article breach the subject of mind-care:

• Supplements for better brain health.
• How to train your brain to manage anxiety.
• Quick and easy stress relievers you can do anywhere.
• Understanding what your stress dreams mean.
• Mindful practices to notice your mind-body connection.
• How to get through bad mental health days.
• How sunshine can help mental health.
• How to know when you’re struggling with anxiety versus stress.
• How to cope with daily stressors.
• Edit your social media channels to protect your mental health.

Caring for Your Soul during COVID-19

We’re all trying to process millions of emotions at once. Whether you’re a spiritual person or not, there’s no denying our soul is in deep need of attention right now. Soul care is very personal and can mean different things for different people. Not to mention, what it means to you right now might be different tomorrow. Breathing techniques, meditation, or even self-talk can be part of your soul care plans.

Soul care is equally important, so we’ve provided core care articles below:

• Phrases you need to tell yourself more often.
• How to make meditation a habit.
• Meditation mantras to inspire calmness.
• Affirmations to share with your partner.
• Affirmations to share with your children.
• Powerful affirmations to lift others.
• Learning the 4-7-8 breathing technique.

GR8 Self-Care during COVID-19

Finally, we want to offer you a resource for practicing self-care during COVID-19. With many states issuing stay-at-home requirements, we’re all trying to find the best way to remain healthy, happy, and sane. Here are some ideas to help you care for yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Here are some articles that help support a better self-care routine:

• How distracting yourself is a form of self-care.
• Amazing self-care ideas for beginners.
• Ideas to plan your self-care Saturday.
• Self-care ideas to try with children.
• Daily self-care checklist to use today.
• How to create a self-care plan.
• Self-care activities to start trying this year.
• Self-care tips to be happier every day.
• Self-care books everyone should read at least once.

A Note from GR8NESS

Keep in mind, the situation around COVID-19 is continuously changing. At GR8NESS, we’re following the various health organizations to offer you updates, resources, and comforting content to help you navigate this uncertainty. Consider us your space for non-biased, transparent information that has one purpose and one ideal only — to help you. Let’s try to do our best and maintain a positive mindset.

Remember, we’re all in this together. Also, remember that grieving is perfectly healthy during this time. Grieving the loss of a loved one, grieving a special event, a celebration, is all part of the process, don’t feel guilty for feeling grief. Be mindful of your emotions and know when you need to seek help. Talk to your loved ones, reach out to a therapist, find online support groups. Now, more than ever, help is a click away.