Vexed by Vaccination? Ask Yourself These Questions for a Clear Decision.

You are bombarded by the debate about to vaccinate or not and then about which vaccine is the safest for your age group. Should I wait for the dust to settle first before I take the leap of faith or should I just trust the experts who think it is safer to protect yourself first rather than wait and expose yourself to the danger lurking in every corner and in random encounters with people and even your own family members whom you had thought are safer? But “No” that is a false belief and one that puts not only yourself at risk but those you love.So how do you prevent yourself from being vexed by all these noises? First you ask yourself what is it I want? And invariably everyone wants to be safe.

Next you ask yourself, what is the BEST option given to me and even though there are risks, am I willing to accept the hard truth that the other options presented also come with risks. Each person will have different priorities because of our living arrangements, the nature of our jobs, our family commitments and our PERSONALITIES!

Someone who is usually calm as the Pacific will wait and ponder and see whether there are other options or whether there is real danger for them. They can watch the daily statistics and still sleep like a baby every night. For the majority, they will eventually take the vaccine and then hope for the best.

Those who are highly anxious will do frantic research and get worked up about how each vaccine does not really provide the protection the experts claim. They wring their hands in despair and worry about the long term side effects. They feel trapped in this nightmare and cannot decide whether to vaccinate or not.

So which category do you belong to? Whatever you decide, you have to convince yourself first that this is the BEST OPTION for you. The proof is in how much sleep you will get every night and how calm you feel everyday after you have made the decision.

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS

• What do I need now?

• What action am I taking to ensure my needs are met?

• Have I made a careful assessment of my options?

• What is my plan?

For instance, if you are a teacher with a young family. Your first priority is the safety of your family. How do you protect yourself and your family from the virus? If you feel that it is almost impossible to protect yourself fully in the course of your work as you are exposed to so many students at school then you might want to consider vaccination. Although it will not prevent infection, it will increase your immunity and reduce the severity of the disease. You might also want to encourage everyone who is eligible in the family to be vaccinated. This will reduce your anxiety a bit but of course nothing is 100% foolproof. The important thing is to take the necessary action and not to be tormented by fear.

However, if you are a Creative Designer living with a housemate, you may not be as anxious as you work from home and you only drive out into the world to buy groceries or go for your morning jog. So ask yourself, what do you need? Do you feel your immunity level is robust enough to fight off the virus? If not what are you doing to increase it? Vaccination is one option but there are other alternatives like ensure you take good nutrition, proper rest and regular exercise. On the other hand if you think you are not exposed to so much risk of infection, you may plan to take precautions and follow the SOP strictly and take your time to consider vaccination.

HOW DO I TOLERATE DISTRESS?

Even after you have done all you could to protect yourself and your loved ones, you may experience distress. These are some techniques to distract yourself from anxious thoughts.

• Try listening to soothing music and breathe in a slow, steady rhythm

• Take time to admire nature - gaze outside at the clouds, the rain, trees

• Place a cold towel over your forehead and relax.

• Engage in high intensity exercise for 5 to 10 minutes to raise your heart rate.

• Watch a candle burning slowly

• Reach out to someone