It\u2019s normal to feel anxiety, worry and grief any time you\u2019re diagnosed with a medical condition \u2013 and that\u2019s certainly true if you test positive for COVID-19, or are presumed to be positive. If your symptoms aren\u2019t severe and you can recover at home, this will involve home isolation until it\u2019s safe for you to be near others without potentially spreading the infection.<\/p>\n
Isolation protects others from getting sick \u2013 but for the person who is sick, it might seem like one more thing on top of an already stressful situation. \u201cStress negatively affects your body, so while you rest up and work on recovering physically, it\u2019s important to keep your mental health in check, too,\u201d says psychiatrist Amit Anand, MD.<\/p>\n
Here are some ways to keep anxiety and sadness from the creeping in while you recover from COVID-19:<\/p>\n
Focus on what you can know and control
\nYou may not know how you got infected, or how long it will take to recover. Instead of focusing your energy on regret or what ifs, double down on what you can do. Your job now is to take care of yourself, get well and avoid spreading the infection to anyone else.<\/p>\n
Engage your support network
\nAsk loved ones to check in on you regularly via phone, email or video chat. Talk to them about how you\u2019re feeling. If you\u2019re worried about taking care of children, pets or household duties while you\u2019re sick, identify family members, friends or members of your community who aren\u2019t part of a high-risk population and may be able to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s normal to feel anxiety, worry and grief any time you\u2019re diagnosed with a medical condition \u2013 and that\u2019s certainly true if you test positive for COVID-19, or are presumed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-programs"},"yoast_head":"\n