Covid19: What is your winning strategy?

In the wake of the Coronavirus, I was almost going paranoid. Here on Facebook, I follow major international news mediums and set them on See First. This means once I log into Facebook, the first set of stuff I see are news stories and analysis from daily columns and I delve into the ones I deem fit, before proceeding with the normal stories on my newsfeed.

Must be informed and updated on this, I told myself.

But, this was a bad move at this time.

These international news mediums were reporting hourly, the spread of the virus and how the curve has refused to flatten. I swallowed everything; hook, line and sinker.

From the USA to France, the UK to Germany, I followed the news and needless to say, it did little good for my mental health.

…
Back in Nigeria, I’d follow the NCDC and was abreast of ALL the states with the virus, the number of people infected daily in each state, and all that. The only thing I did not do was share the NCDC’s post on my wall.

I would call my parents and talk with fear, how much they should avoid crowded places. I’d call my younger brother who had gone for NYSC and had just left camp, also bombard his WhatsApp with talks. I’d call the other one and talk and talk. Kai. It was obvious I was afraid.

One thing my mom would do when I call to talk, was tell me ‘’God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and of sound mind’’. She knew how melancholic I could be and knew my continuous ingesting of these harmful news would be a problem for me.

…
And someday, during my devotion, I just knew I was harming myself.
What are you feeding yourself, came the question in my spirit?
What did I do? I did not unfollow these international news mediums. Mba. I rather gave myself the pep talk with The Word, Armed myself with enough verses that helped regain my sanity, and said them over and over.
I listened to various messages. Played them over and over. And prayed too.

I also stopped caring to know how much each state in the world and Nigeria had been infected, and just kept myself abreast the general news. No more close-marking of cases globally and locally.

These days, I don’t even know how many cases we have in each state. I just know the general approximated cases and when I come across some news like ‘’800 dies today in njxhcjqq, I just waka-pass the news like I did not read anything. I’ll be like ‘’Sharrap, 800 gbuo gi dia’’.

…..
Which brings me to this.
It is a new week and trust me, as people resume work here in Nigeria, the number of cases recorded is bound to increase. Expect a hike in these cases. It is common sense to know this.
But then, you have one option: practice the general precautionary steps and most importantly, exercise FAITH over FEAR.

If it helps, you could say some daily affirmations to yourself. This does not mean you’re denying the existence of the virus. It only means you’re protecting your inner sanity and mind.

Not every news is meant for you. Not every news is meant for you to follow. Not every news does wonders to your system. Some of you, from WhatsApp to Facebook, Twitter to Instagram, you spread both fake and factual news. You forward broadcast messages to your contacts without verifying it’s authenticity. Everyone is now a citizen journalist, struggling to post the most viral breaking news.

For some, sharing these contents is their only coping mechanism in these uncertain times. For many, this is the only way they can stay stable. No yawa. But if you know after posting all these, your mind tends to flicker away, reduce your zest for disseminating this unfounded knowledge and channel them into something more productive.

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This week.
If you come across issues that have tendencies of sending fear into you or changing your whole mental outlook, mai fren, just waka-pass. Press the ignore button. Put your mental health on flight mode and IGNORE inconsequentials.

This week.
Some of you are resuming work against your own will. While you have no say over this, you have a great say in how you, and by extension, your mind reacts to what you’d come across.

This week.
Watch what you read. Watch what you hear. Watch what you talk about. Be very careful to observe the health precautions and afterwards, rest. You could be sending yourself to an early grave…not via the virus, but through fear.

This week.
What verses do you have in your arsenal to help your mind win this battle? We are in a war. A mental war. There’s a BIGGER BATTLE IN YOUR MIND. Your mind is a battlefield. What is your winning strategy?

This week.
Do you care to share what your winning strategy against this ‘war’ is? Let others know how you’ve been able to cope with your mind. You could share in the comments section.

This week.
I leave you with one of my favourite scripture for this period: 2 Timothy 1: 7: For God has not given Esther Mark a spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and a sound mind.

Another translation says: For God has not given Esther Mark a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-control.
…
You can self-control what you expose yourself (and your mind) to. Let this mind, be in you which was in Christ Jesus.

Ngwa, bai bai

#HappyNewWeek
#BeingAuntyEsther
#Covid19
#StaySafe
#AffirmDaily
#YouHaveaSoundMind
#FaithOverFear
#BecauseVictoriesDoNotComeByAccident