- Remain calm, do not panic! Relax!
Take a deep breath in and hold it for 4 seconds. Exhale slowly in 6 seconds. (Repeat this several times)
- Tell yourself things will be okay, we’ve got this.
Tell yourself, the government has a plan in place to keep things under control.
- Spend time with the family and engage in some fun family activities to keep your mind off things to reduce the anxiety and to make you laugh. Watch movies, play games with the family, fix a puzzle, complete word searches or crossword puzzles, read a book or do some painting.
- Connect with friends you have not heard for a while through social media, video chats, email or the telephone
- Eat healthy foods and foods that will build your immune system such as grapefruits, oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, broccoli, red bell peppers, ginger, spinach, papaya,
- Exercise daily. We need at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. We do not have to exercise 30minutes straight, we can divide the 30 minutes up. For example, we could exercise 15 minutes in the morning and another 15 minutes in the evening, or 10 minutes in the morning, 10 in the afternoon and 10 in the evening. Exercise improves your health and assists in protecting you from diseases. When we exercise frequently, it strengthens your heart, improves your lung function and reduces the development of coronary heart disease. Exercise also reduces your stress hormones (e.g. cortisol and adrenaline) and triggers the release of endorphins. Endorphins are feel-good hormones that play a role in elevating mood and assist with relaxation after a stressful day.
- Make sure you are getting an adequate amount of water each day. Keeping hydrated is important for good health.
- Get some sunlight. This is a free source of Vitamin D which is needed to help us absorb calcium and phosphorus which are further important to give us strong and healthy bones.
- Get fresh air. Spend some time out on your porch, or in your garden and take in the fresh breeze.
- Get adequate rest. We need about 8 hours of sleep. Adequate sleep is needed to allow our bodies to renew, repair itself and improve immune function.
- We at the NCSA will still be providing services for our clients through video calls on WhatsApp or Skype. The WhatsApp number is 239-0584. We will also call clients who do not have WhatsApp.
- Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings are being facilitated online. You can visit this link to get further information https://aabarbados.org/tabs-covid19/f2f-meetings. The AA 24-hour hotline number is 426-1600.
- Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is also having online meetings. You can visit this link to get into a meeting: https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/ . The NA hotline number is 238-0443. For local online meetings, you encouraged to call the hotline number by 11:00 a.m. to get the meeting time and link.
- For individuals with a severe crisis such as alcohol or cocaine withdrawal symptoms, we encourage you to contact the Psychiatric Hospital at 536-3091
- Trust in God- Have faith in a higher power. This can help us improve our outlook on the situation and give us a sense of hope/positivity in this current situation.