It’s the 23rd of March 2020 and as announced by the government all non-essential activity and services are to cease to get COVID-19 under control and stem the spread. Our beautiful
Kilsyth gym Spartans Warrior Zone is closed indefinitely, and the vibe is different, people are concerned but have mixed
emotions, we are diving into the unknown like being thrown in the deep end of the pool as
a child and told to just “swim”. The media and all other forms of exterior communication
that we can easily access portrays such events as “unprecedented”, “crisis”, “tragedy” and
most have no choice but to swallow the bitter pill that are borderline sinister to our mental
health. Because after all, if it’s on the TV or in our hand it’s gotta be true…
But, how about we for a moment consider the good. What if just for a second consider the
opposing view to the polarising message that is being sent to us and weigh up the benefits
to said drawbacks. After all, with every charge we have in a negative there is a positive. In
every scenario where there is happy there is sad. In every strong there is weak and so on.
While things seem on the surface are doom and gloom, just stick with me on this one.
Here we go…
In sickness with Coronavirus spreading, this polarity of “sickness”, an idea spread by all
forms of media immediately and synchronously creates health. You’re thinking, what? Stay
with me… Peoples immune systems are going to be firing due to the fact it needs to create
new immunity to a new virus that is hasn’t seen before; Health in the face of sickness.
People are finding new ways to educate themselves on home workouts and exercise now
that gyms have closed. This is knowledge that can be universally used in many scenarios eg.
Staying in a hotel that doesn’t have gym facilities.
On Google the phrase “immune system” is currently being searched 10x more than it ever
has been before Worldwide (don’t take my word for it. Type into Google “google search
trends” and check for yourself. See screenshot below). Empowerment on their immune
system knowledge, understanding of how the immune system operates is breeding health
through “sickness”.
“immune system” Search Trend on Google
In economic contraction where service-based industries are now becoming obsolete due to
government rules and also people’s unwillingness to spend or their directions given for
social distancing – Expansion is occurring, and online services are now booming by bringing
value to others staying home. People are now consuming more content than ever because
of the quarantining and self-isolating. For example, online dashboards (such as teachable)
that promote online content are being overloaded and they cannot keep up with demand
on new ventures being created to bring others value in the comfort of their own home (like
home workouts to keep fit). The economy has just transformed and shifted rather than just
completely evaporating into thin air. It doesn’t just disappear; it needs to go somewhere or
is being kept (cash for the crash).
Another big emphasis during this time from people is staying away from each other. While
this is good practise and is required to help control the spread the opposite of staying away
is immediately being manifested. People are coming together more than ever to educate
and enforce the right thing on each other so we can go back to normal ways of life. We are
posting more content on social media for higher awareness on how to behave, we are
uniting rather than fighting each other when going to buy groceries by enforcing limits on
products and the norm is now to be mindful of others more so than ourselves who may be
less fortunate. When faced with a common enemy people come together to fight back so
we can all live the life we want to choose.
Humans want to gravitate toward comfort in almost all scenarios, but it is undeniable that when we need to come together and unite, we create strength and comfort for each other.
The relevance this has to our own health is to not allow ourselves to be too charged by the
“negatives” of this pandemic and to weigh up the opposing “positives” to keep ourselves
sane during a tough time. It’s imperative to our mental and in turn physical health that we
work as a unit until such time we can return to what we consider normal life.
Written by – Ben Caneva @bencaneva
Ben is a qualified Personal Trainer not an expert in mental health.