As my friend expressed it the other day “It’s so odd being a part of something that will be a part of the history books of the future!” It is indeed an interesting time to be alive in today, and with all the uncertainty and fear going around, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. I find myself worrying about my family, my friends and the vulnerable ones in our communities. But what I want to talk about today is not all the reasons why you should take this pandemic seriously (which you should if you haven’t already) but about not letting the fear overtake.

We’ve seen the many memes if not experienced it ourselves at our weekly shopping’s: shelves completely empty, no toilet paper, if you’ve not already went home you’ve probably noticed campus completely empty. And with the news bombarding us every minute with updates and precautions and death numbers it’s easy to get drawn into the paranoia and fear. But I’m here to tell you to stay strong and keep faith in this difficult time. 

This is your chance to spend time with your loved ones hopefully, refocus and find your faith, whether it be in God or humanity. We have no control over this situation, but remember to have a realistic perspective. Perhaps limit your time looking at the news and social media if it excelerates your fears. Of course we need to know what’s going on; but it’s important to make sure it doesn’t leave you panicking. Yes some people die but it’s important to remember that this is the rare cases not the rule. 

I think the best thing we can all do at the moment is to accept the fact that nothing is certain. You can console yourself with the fact that everything is being done to find a resolution, but until that happens we don’t know what the future might hold at the moment.

It might reduce your feelings of helplessness to focus on what you can do rather than what makes you feel unsafe. Minimize your risk of infection where you are: be aware of your own hygiene and how you’re interacting with the people you’re around. But most importantly, take care of yourself and your mental health. Do not let fear overtake and as hard as it can be right now, try and focus on the good things. This might be the people you’re surrounded with, perhaps this will make your family or friendship bonds stronger now more than ever. God know this is the time for staying strong together.

Stay strong, keep your faith and don’t submit to panic.