Covid has inevitably become a part of our everyday lives over the span of the past two years. Nonetheless, a positive Covid test can be a marker for a reaction of a variety of different emotions, including fear, anxiety, and/or heightened stress. If your test comes back positive, what should you do? Likewise, what should you not do? Here are some useful tips and tricks for coping with a positive at-home test.
Verify. Before you get worried or emotionally worked up, verify that your result is indeed positive. Go ahead and double check your test result at a testing center so that you can find out for sure whether or not you have tested positive for Covid. The situation has become a bit tricky and confusing, so it’s best to ensure first and foremost that the test result is indeed accurate. Quite frankly, I’ve personally heard of numerous cases in which one test comes out positive, and then another following it results in being negative. If your second result is positive, do follow the remaining steps that are highlighted below.
Don’t panic. Much easier said than done, this is potentially the most important yet most difficult step to implement if your Covid test comes back positive. Upon seeing that positive result, it is natural for thoughts to go in about a hundred different directions, for quite valid reasons. Remain calm, remember that Covid is becoming normalized, and consider how the vast majority of Covid-positive cases turn out just fine. Think and focus more on the ones who test positive and recover with no issues, rather than focusing on the cases which do result in being more severe.
Avoid the news and searching the web. No matter what happens, refrain from looking up symptoms because that can cause more anxiety than anticipated. Seek the advice solely of a medical professional, as websites and web searches are not aimed to describe symptoms and provide treatment on a case-by-case basis; rather, they give a one-size-fits-all approach which is not ideal to follow. Additionally, watching and following the news will also simply trigger added stress due to the news outlets highlighting and magnifying the number of cases, deaths, and lack of mask mandates around the country. After testing positive, the last thing you’d want to do is read more about how Covid has overtaken the world…that would be the least bit helpful!
All in all, if your at-home Covid test results in being positive, do your best to remain calm and avoid panicking. If you feel that your mental health is being adversely affected, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Niyyah Counseling for support and to make an appointment to speak to one of our highly qualified and experienced therapists. We are a click away and would be more than happy to help you walk through your thoughts. The pandemic is far from over, but remember that you are not alone in feeling these emotions - talking about them and seeking guidance on how to manage them is the first step.