Love Can Heal All
By: Dave Smurthwaite
Tags: Wellness, Travel, Health, Community, Love

Love Can Heal All

In a world driving us towards exclusion and self-protection, it’s important to remember that love and compassion make for a stronger, healthier world

Thanks to CDC on Unsplash for the image (heart graphic added)

Yesterday we got an exclusive COVID-19 deal on bike parking.

Typically, we buy drinks from the local store in exchange for our parking spots but yesterday, after parking our bikes, the small Vietnamese store owner shooed us away like disease-ridden vermin, preferring to give away parking than risk infection.

Shaking her finger vigorously “no” at us from more than twenty feet away, she made sweeping motions towards the beach, her face masked and eyes stern.

Her message was clear: “You are not wanted here.”

There’s no way I can blame her. Here in Vietnam, in an odd twist of events, European tourists have become the unwanted mascots of COVID-19. It all began last weekend when, for the first time in four weeks, the virus resurfaced after passengers arrived from the United Kingdom.

Furthermore, it’s not just the Vietnamese in Vietnam being concerned about foreigners carrying the virus. Globally we’re being conditioned to fear those around us, as the US Centers for Disease Control points out:

“Public health emergencies, such as the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are stressful times for people and communities. Fear and anxiety about a disease can lead to social stigma toward people, places, or things.”

In America, people that might be experiencing stigma because of COVID-19 include:

Persons of Asian descent

People who have traveled

Emergency responders or healthcare professionals

While in Vietnam, it’s persons of European descent, along with tourists and anyone traveling within the country.

Truth be told, everyone is on edge these days when outside among strangers. Case in point, fourteen days ago someone would sneeze or cough around me without it even registering.

Today, however, it’s like a gun firing or bomb going off.

As humans, it’s natural for us to seek out our own personal best interests, especially when our lives are on the line. But turning inward and closing ourselves off mentally and emotionally is not a winning solution.

As the CDC points out “Stigma affects the emotional or mental health of stigmatized groups and the communities they live in. Stopping stigma is important to making communities and community members resilient.”

If we want to be stand up against the looming threat of a pandemic, we cannot do it in a self-quarantined state of mind.

There’s no better time to extend our love and support to someone else than in moments such as this; where everyone is being asked to watch out for themselves.

With that in mind, here are three basic suggestions of things you can do today to reconnect with the community and world, without risking the spread of COVID-19:

1. Be mindful of yourself and those around you

This is a stressful time in the history of the world. For many young people, it’s their first time experiencing such uncertainty on a global scale.

As reported in Forbes earlier today, “When certainty is questioned, your stress response goes haywire, instantly arousing your stress response... [and] waiting for certainty can feel like torture by a million tiny cuts.”

Such feelings of emotional and mental discomfort take their toll physically on both young and old. In order to remain as resilient as possible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests the following:

Avoid excessive exposure to media coverage of COVID-19.

Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep and avoid alcohol and drugs.

Make time to unwind and remind yourself that strong feelings will fade. Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories. It can be upsetting to hear about the crisis and see images repeatedly. Try to do some other activities you enjoy to return to your normal life.

Connect with others. Share your concerns and how you are feeling with a friend or family member. Maintain healthy relationships.

Maintain a sense of hope and positive thinking.

In addition, being especially mindful of those most likely to be affected by the uncertainty is key. Older individuals with preexisting health conditions, children, and medical workers on the front lines of combatting the virus are all at high-risk of stress. It’s important to keep that in mind when interacting with these groups of individuals.

2. Be an active friend and advocate virtually

No one is immune to the suffering in the world today. Everyone is one or two degrees removed from someone struggling with the effects of COVID-19, be it emotionally, mentally, or physically.

There are plenty of good resources out there on how to be a good friend in times of trial. I’m going to reference here a 2018 article from Time Magazine, entitled: 21 Ways to Help Someone You Love Through Grief.

Here are just a few ideas for you to consider in the face of mounting concerns and confirmed cases:

First, the DONT’s:

Don’t be sensationalist about it

Don’t try to put a positive spin on what they’re saying

Don’t compare it to your experience

Don’t say anything to diminish it

Next, the DO’s:

Do reach out

Do find your own way to express your love

Do acknowledge just how bad it really is

Do give a little and give often

There’s plenty of other great advice in the article that you can customize for your situation in helping others. The most important thing is to be willing to compassionately communicate.

3. Volunteer your time and talents where possible

Businesses all around the world are suffering because of COVID-19, especially those dependent on volunteers.

Two areas of critical concern are blood and food banks.

In a press release from the American Red Cross, President Chris Hrouda encouraged people to still donate where possible:

“We are asking the American people to keep the blood supply stable during this challenging time… As communities across the country prepare for this public health emergency, it’s critical that plans include a readily available blood supply for hospital patients.”

The Red Cross points out in the same release that there is “no evidence that COVID-19 or any respiratory illness can be transmissible by blood transfusions:”

Food banks are also seeing a decline in support, both in the form of donations as families sure up their own supplies and volunteers, many of whom are older and at risk of contracting COVID-19.

Currently, the best way to help may be cash, as reported yesterday in The Hill:

“To help food relief organizations, cash contributions — rather than donating cans or dried goods — can more efficiently shore up food stocks. Federal and state governments should provide substantial emergency financial support and support efforts to align food distributions with areas of greatest need.”

In addition to blood and food banks, there are numerous other local volunteer organizations and individuals that will be negatively impacted by containment measures.

Staying open and listening in for opportunities will help communities and nations stay stronger.

While the media and many international organizations focus on combatting COVID-19 on a macro level, we alone have the power to make a difference on the micro-level.

If enough of us engage, not even a pandemic can keep us down.