[Monthly Column Special Edition: The other side of Social Distancing]

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[Monthly Column Special Edition: The other side of Social Distancing]

大家嘅2020年過成點呀？我唸無論邊個答都好，個答案都會係一樣架啦。我地都知道大家而家係一段好艱難嘅時間入面。無得再正常咁做野同娛樂，社交嘅機會少左好多，仲要留係屋企呢個咁細嘅地方，應該都唔會更差啦掛？抗疫嘅時間仲有好長，我希望大家可以保持住健康。我所講嘅健康，唔止係無病同個人衞生咁簡單，各種重重覆覆嘅資訊我地就唔係呢道講啦，大家應該仲清楚過我。我地想講嘅，係健康嘅另一面，心理上嘅健康。

減少社交同自我隔離無疑係防止疫情爆發嘅好方法。但作為一種須要社交嘅物種，夾硬防止我地同其他人溝通交流好自然會有唔少負面影響。近排有好多新聞都有提及到呢樣野，就以英國衞報一篇報導就講到，自我隔離幾日就可以令一個人出現焦慮同抑鬱嘅問題。做成呢啲問題有好多原因，當然有啲係好直接嘅，例如無得見朋友屋企人，時間管理上亂哂，過度反省自己搞到負面情緒堆積左等等。衞報指出左一個幾得意嘅原因，就係平時我地無左日常生活中會出現嘅 “小確幸“ (Micro-lift), 例如無啦啦撞到一個好耐無見嘅朋友，忽然食到啲勁正嘅野，忽然間交通好順暢令你早左番到屋企等等。呢啲野本身好少事，但當所有嘅小確幸都無哂嘅時候，長久以黎都可能會令你無咁開心。

如果你覺得近排有啲頹，睇下係咪就係呢啲原因？當然，我地可以做啲野去解決嘅個問題。就算你覺得ok，都不妨睇下下面嘅建議，我地又點知我地聽日，後日會係咩情況，係咪？有時間就同朋友傾多啲計，facetime 又好 texting 又好，即使佢地同面對面見面差咁啲，但呢啲方法都足以令你同其他人傾訴，亦都會令你感到自己唔係孤身作戰，點都會令大家開心啲。嘗試保持住自己嘅日常作息同飲食，咁樣大家先至可以有營養去支持自己強健嘅體魄同有正面嘅生活方式。大家亦都可以去發掘一啲新嘅興趣，或者做啲本身想做好耐嘅野，新嘅語言，煮啲未試過嘅野食，拎本新書黎睇， 播啲輕鬆嘅音樂，煲下劇睇下戲等等。亦都有人趁呢段時間去砌模型同畫畫，why not?

係呢個現代化嘅社會，大家靠科技就可以好容易揾到彼此，但唔好唔記得係我地社會入面有一部份人係無辦法適應到呢款新嘅交流方式，老一輩嘅朋友就更加多，可想而知呢段時間對佢地嘅影響更加大。有時間嘅時候，打個電話俾佢地，如果佢地身邊有年輕嘅人，都可以嘗試同佢地facetime 一下， 想佢地開心嘅，買份小禮物俾佢地都ok 架!

呢段時間對大家黎講真係好艱難，但我地想同各位講嘅係，面對住呢場疫症，我地絕對唔孤單。如果大家唸到有咩搞作嘅，不妨留言分享下俾其他朋友知呀!

Monthly Column Special Edition: Remember there are two sides to your health!

How is 2020 going so far? Actually, this is not a proper question at all, we all know how everyone feels during this difficult period of time. No longer work or study in an ordinary way, no more leisure time entertainment, hugely reduced socialization, trapped in a small place, things can’t be worse, can it? With the challenging time still ahead of us, hopefully, everyone can stay healthy in this long long battle. In terms of health, we are not just saying personal hygiene, out of disease, or just isolation from the virus-filled environment. This monthly column is not about the advice bombarding you every day, we know you all are well familiar with that information, the symptoms and precautions needed to do, everyone is the expert themselves. What I would like to raise is the other side of the health, mental health during this period of time.

Self-isolation and reduced socializing might well be proper measures to stop the spreading of COVID-19. However, as a species that needs socialization, separation from the outside world can also pose a lot of negative impact on yourselves. There are many reports saying these kinds of stuff, for instance, a report in the Guardian said that social distancing can lead to anxiety and depression “within days". There are many reasons that lead to this, of course, there are obvious reasons like the lost connection with others, lost the sense of daily routine and over reflections that makes the accumulation of negativity; there is one interesting reason claimed by a report in Independent, as this might be a result of the “micro-lifts" in our daily lives outdoor, such as tasting something unexpectedly good, meeting a friend haven’t met before on the street, suddenly smooth traffic, they might be something small, but when all being added up together, this is actually a source of happiness.

If you realized that you are a bit downbeat lately, have a look at these reasons, they might be the culprit. Of course, there is something where we can do to alleviate this. Have a look at these recommendations even you might still feel ok so far, but who knows what will happen. Find your friends and relatives more frequently via texting, or facetime; although it is not the best way to meet them comparing to meeting them face to face, it is always good to talk your feeling to someone else and this gives you happiness, no matter it is from the chat or the idea that you are not facing all these alone. Try to maintain a daily routine and also try to eat well, this is helpful for you to have a positive mindset, keep fit and also have enough nutrient to keep yourself physically well. Try to discover something new, and pick up something that you might not have time to do in normal days, such as learning a new language, read a new book, play some relaxing music, cook some food you never attempted before, watch some tv-series and movie, There is someone who picks up assembling models and drawing, they are good stuff to do as well!
In this modern era, technology does bring us together, but this is very important to know that some of us, especially in older generations, don’t fit into the role of netizen well. This time would be even tougher for them, hence for us please don’t leave them out, give them a phone call, try to do facetime with them if they are living with younger ones, or simply buying something for them can make them over the moon!

This is definitely a challenging time for all of us, but we would like to reassure that every one of us are fighting this battle together, we are not alone. If you can think of something else nice to do during this time, let everyone know about it by commenting on this post!

References and Further Readings

https://www.theguardian.com/…/coronavirus-isolation-social-…

https://www.independent.co.uk/…/coronavirus-mental-health-s…

Photo Credits
https://www.forbes.com/…/stressed-because-of-the-coronavi…/…