Some of you or your relatives are currently placed in isolation due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Being alone for so many days is tough for everyone, but particularly for children and the elderly. It can cause loneliness that might affect one’s emotional well-being.
How should we best prepare for this in order to help ourselves and our loved ones?
The social work team at Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital has gathered some useful tips:
1. Speak to the person who is about to go into isolation. Make sure s/he understands the meaning of it, the fact that s/he cannot see people, and s/he needs to give up their regular activities;
2. Try to accept the feelings that she/he may experience, i.e. sadness, concern, anger, helplessness, frustration etc. Try to convey the message that this time can be an opportunity for peacefulness and a time to gather inner strength to deal with the challenge;
3. Prepare for isolation in a practical way: make sure the person has enough clothes, bed linens, and devices he often uses such as glasses, medication, cell phone charger, etc. It is recommended that the room will be equipped with dry food, cans and bottles of water;
4. Brainstorm with your relative how he plans to use his time while in isolation, and prepare the necessary items to go with it: computer games, reading material etc. Recommend your relative to have a personal diary. Writing her/his thoughts and feelings can help express and deal with the feelings that emerge;
5. Encourage her/him to have virtual family gatherings. Isolation calls for other ways of getting connected. Download Skype, Zoom or other applications that can ease connection online;
6. Isolation is difficult for relatives of the person in quarantine. All of the family members should be encouraged to express their feelings with creative various methods such as cooking, painting, writing, singing as means to coping with this forced situation.
We hope this pandemic ends soon and we return to our daily lives.
Stay healthy
