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Now everyone in Sweden has lived most of the year with covid-19 around them. All have been affected in some way, but to varying degrees. Some have lost a family member, others have lost their jobs. Holidays, weddings and parties were canceled. And what Christmas and New Years will be like, probably most people can figure out.
In addition, restaurants will close from 10:30 p.m. More or less you can say that the most fun is ready. As if the coronavirus was not enough, it is November and the sun is completely shining in its absence.
READ MORE: Tighter wreath restrictions may apply during Christmas and New Years
Harald Aiff, chief physician of psychiatry at Varberg and Knowledge Support for Mental Health in the region, has some solid advice on how to cope and what to do in this different time that no one knows when it will end. Because there is light in the tunnel.
– First and foremost: get a flu shot, because you don’t want the regular flu as much as the corona; then the situation can become more serious.
Harald Aiff, head physician for psychiatry at Varberg, believes that there are a lot of good things in Sweden now, like we don’t have a blockage but we can get out. Photo: Private
One tip is also to make sure you get extra vitamin D from November to April, as many people are vitamin D deficient without knowing it, he says.
When there is a shortage of sun outside, Harald Aiff suggests that you can buy a daylight lamp to get more light.
– Use it in the morning, but don’t have too strong a light at night because then it can be difficult to fall asleep. The same happens with the light of the mobile and the iPad.
Exercising is a good thing in most situations, even now. His recommendation is some form of activity to increase the heart rate for 30 minutes, at least three days a week, preferably outdoors.
READ MORE: Here’s the latest on the coronavirus
Beware of alcohol
When you are home as much as you are now, and you may not think life is at its best, it is easy to take alcohol as comfort. This is not a good solution, says Harald Aiff.
– Be careful with alcohol, preferably do not drink more than twice a week. If you drink to reduce your anxiety, it’s easy to end up in a vicious spiral that can intensify. Alcohol does not help with anxiety, quite the contrary.
Enjoying everything that is said and written about the crown is not a good idea either. Especially not if you worry a lot. It is enough to stay informed.
– Because it is not good to delay, it leads to more anxiety.
Everyone has heard it: keep your distance, wash your hands and persevere, but the infection increases a lot. Why don’t people listen as much as they did last spring?
– I think you are dominated by the crisis, in the end you get used to the crisis. Some follow the restrictions and others can no longer bear it.
Everyone in the world is having a hard time
It’s easy to lose your appetite and energy with all the restrictions that only get you more. So it may be good to remember what is good here. Harald Aiff thinks that we must bear in mind that we are not the only ones who have a bad time, but that everyone else in the world has it difficult, those with.
– Many countries have total blockages, but we in Sweden can go out, we have food in stores, we can go out into nature, not everyone has access to it. But he also accepts that it is difficult right now, but not forever.
His tips for feeling good when you’re at home are reading books, going for a run, and watching Netflix.
The only thing everyone is talking about is the coronavirus, is that good?
– It’s a form of processing, people need it.
Although it is difficult to see anything positive in this crisis with the corona pandemic, Harald Aiff believes that something good can come out of it.
– Perhaps people are more grateful for what we have, like when we can go abroad again, leave, meet again, so that we can live as usual again and appreciate what we took for granted before. But also that Sweden’s crisis preparedness works and that we are more prepared for the next crisis.
Is there light in the tunnel?
– Yes, in part the vaccine will come, then the crown will not be there forever, says Harald Aiff.
READ MORE: Now we live in a guardian state, and that’s our fault
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