Coronavirus – A window of Opportunity
“No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah – He will guide his heart. And Allah is Knowing of all things.”– Surah Taghabun, verse 11
The coronavirus pandemic has caused massive, worldwide disruption of normal life. Many of us are self- isolating and maintaining social distance. This is a challenging time not just for our physical health but also for our mental health.
Good mental health and positive well-being can help you better cope with the COVID-19 threat and the uncertainty it’s creating.
Things you can do to support yourself
- Cut through the hype: Sensational headlines are designed to get you to click on them, and they often take one small piece of news and blow it out of proportion, instead of blowing out of proportion into the sensationalized headlines, focus on the facts.
- Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is simply acknowledging feelings of discomfort and stress in a non-judgmental way, which can help neutralize the strength of your anxieties about coronavirus and make it possible for you to accept the uncertainty surrounding the disease. An important piece of practicing mindful acceptance is placing your trust in Allah that He is watching over you — no matter what happens. Prayer can be a powerful way to practice mindful acceptance.
- Look after yourself. Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep. This will help you protect yourself both physically and psychologically from the Coronavirus (both the threat of it and the virus itself).
- Connect with friends and family. Even if an in-person meet-up is off the table, try to stay in touch with your friends and family via text, Messenger, WhatsApp, FaceTime, or phone call. Ask them how they’re feeling and share your own experience if you feel safe to do so.
- Learn something new. Have you wanted to get into drawing or learning a language? Now’s a great time to make a start. Here, are some online courses that can help you add more skills to your resume, to make the most of your time spent at home due to the COVID-19 social distancing. While most are free courses, some are paid courses at great discounts.
Islamic & Arabic courses
https://www.madinaharabic.com/
http://www.risalatinstitute.com/dr-shomalis-lectures/
https://alazhararabiconline.com/quranic-arabic-learning-quranic-arabic-online/
https://tasneeminstitute.org/course-modules/
https://www.arabacademy.com/
https://www.al-islam.org/help/onlinecourses.html
Open Online courses for Professional Development
https://m.9gag.com/gag/an5oD2L
https://www.classcentral.com/
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses
https://alison.com/
Personal Development Courses
https://www.coursera.org/browse/personal-development
https://www.ppa.com/education-unlocked
https://setapp.com/apps/wokabulary
https://www.tastemade.com/classes
https://www.today.com/tmrw/yale-s-online-class-science-well-being-free-t176581
Learning about Corona Virus
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/covid19-novel-coronavirus
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/training/online-training
We pray to Allah (SWT) to give us all the tawfeeqat and patience to remain steadfast and united during these difficult times, Ameen.
EB SECRETARIAT