I Successfully Made It Through Two Weeks Of COVID-19 Isolation. Here's How You Can Too

COVID-19 isolation tips: I am happy. This is the first time in 14 days I have walked out of my isolation room, sat on my living room couch, eaten a meal with my husband (still being socially distant), and felt so grateful to just be alive.

I am going to try to keep this as real as I can. But don’t worry my reality is not half as bad as the current COVID-19 situation. So yes, this does have a happy ending and I can say that for sure because I am one of the blessed few who has beaten this virus and lived to tell her story.

How It All Started

What started as a mild headache before I went to bed on April 6, 2021, became an unbearable one at 3:00 AM on April 7. When I woke up for my morning prayers at 5:00 AM, I knew something was wrong but like any positive person, I went back to bed hoping when I wake up again I will be fine.

But the virus had already decided my fate. I woke up feeling worse than ever and had all of a sudden developed a strong cough in my chest, a temperature which started at 99 but kept rising through the day until boom! - it touched 101. My body began to give in to the pain, leaving me stuck on the couch without the energy to move. The two people living with me (my husband and brother-in-law) knew exactly where this was going.

On How Early, Quick Action Prevented Serious Escalation

We wasted no time and I think the series of quick decisions we took on that day was what enabled me to have such a speedy recovery. As my symptoms kept increasing, my housemates kept giving me medication for the respective symptoms.

By late afternoon, we were all done with our respective COVID-19 tests. By night my doctor was on board and the quarantine protocols of our home were set. I was isolated in my room, food and beverages were being managed by our loving parents from the other house, while the two brothers lived in fear of their PCR result.

The thing about this virus is that the 14 days are divided into two parts.

The first part is when you are really sick and the second part is when you have almost recovered but are stuck in the room with your thoughts which are not so happy most of the time.

So when I woke up the next day I was destroyed. Even without my result, I knew I had COVID-19 because this disease is nothing like the flu. It’s a virus that will break you physically, mentally, emotionally and then it’s all on you to build yourself from thereon.

Source: Kashish Malik

So what do you do in this situation? You be your own HERO and SAVE YOURSELF.

Because trust me - if you are not someone who is sick enough to be in the hospital, remember you can beat this! The question is, how? Here is what I did to survive this in the hope that this will help you cope.

COVID-19 Isolation Tips: What To Do And How To Find Your Positivity

1. Find your source of motivation

I am a paranoid person but I also am blessed with so many people who were so worried for me. So I thought to myself, I don’t know if I am going to make it out of this, but I am going to ensure that I keep my people informed of my daily progress.

I started making morning videos of myself - talking to them, telling them how each day had passed, how I was coping with my symptoms and how I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. Those videos even though started out to be something I was doing for others, soon became a source of motivation for me to wake up every morning and fight harder.

2. Build your strength

The crossing of 14 days is a great landmark for a ">COVID-19 patient and you only understand this feeling when you are someone who has gone through it, counting each breath and just praying that nothing uncertain happens to you.

So your focus for these 14 days is to build your energy.

Follow your doctor's advice, take medications timely, monitor your oxygen and temperature quarterly, multiple sessions with your steam machine, keep the liquids flowing and ensure you don’t take any of this lightly.

3. Face your emotions

You are not always going to have a good day. On some days you are going to be physically drained and on others, you will feel emotionally overwhelmed. In both these times, you need to take advantage of your support system, even if you just have one person who you are comfortable with.

I was blessed to have someone I love outside my room at all times to talk to and to make me feel safe.

But despite that, I had a feeling of being alone in this because that’s the reality. No matter the support system you have, when you end that conversation or cut that video call, you find yourself alone in that room which you can’t step out of because you don’t want anyone on the outside to go through what you are going through. But that does not mean you drown in this feeling.

Instead, use the time you get with your people to talk to them about how weak, vulnerable, maybe even scared you are feeling. They will not just listen to you but do everything possible to be there for you. You are in this alone but you can choose not to be, so make the healthier choice.

4. Use your time

Eventually, once you get better you are going to have too much time on hand. For your sanity it is crucial for you to use this time effectively otherwise your thoughts will get the better of you.

Set a routine, plan your day, and then just go with the flow depending on how you feel.

Don’t strain yourself too much but take this time to get to know yourself cause you will probably never get so much ‘me time’ ever again.

5. Bloom after the gloom

The other thing about COVID-19 is that we know so much about it but we don’t know enough. It leaves our body after 14 days but creeps up into our day-to-day activities out of know where. Hence, ensure that once you get out of your sickness and jump back into your life you take things slower than usual. We all know COVID-19 has its after effects hence post-covid care is very important. Research, talk to people and push yourself - but not too hard.

Apart from the physical toll COVID-19 takes on patients, it causes a lot of mental pain too.

Some of us, like me, who are innately positive human beings pull through by making routines while there are many more who stay isolated with their thoughts which more often than not are unhappy ones. In the middle of this crisis, and being a patient myself if there is one thing I have learned then it is that all COVID-19 struggles are different. So instead of comparing our situation with one another, we should learn from each other. By sharing our stories, we may end up giving valuable information which someone somewhere can use to cope with their own situation.

Views expressed are the author's own. 

Feature image credit: Hedgehog Digital / Unsplash