A story of a community that fought COVID together, remotely

Surbhi and her husband tested positive for COVID-19 in early May. A nuclear family of four, extended by her in-laws who live in the same house, and her parents, Surbhi’s biggest anxiety was of infecting her family. Fortunately for her, it was only she and her husband who had tested positive. They decided to isolate themselves in their room, strictly keeping away from their children and extended family during the 14-day period.

“I was largely asymptomatic when I tested positive, whereas my husband was symptomatic but had tested negative. The doctor classified his case as a false negative, and advised him to get re-tested. My husband tested positive three days later, but we had already begun our treatment.”, Surbhi explained.

Surbhi had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder five years back, and was on immunosuppressants and steroids for a prolonged period. Autoimmune diseases overbuild the immune system to an extent where the body begins destroying its own cells.

With overbuilt immunity, Surbhi did not have moderate or severe symptoms, but was warned by her doctor that she was at-risk of developing a cytokine storm a week into testing positive for COVID.

“What happens is that after the 7th day, you can show signs of a cytokine storm where your organs suddenly start giving up because you are fighting against your own body cells. I was very anxious about it.”

Fighting COVID with underlying conditions and anxiety about infecting those near and dear to her at a time when Delhi was reporting the highest number of cases and deaths across the country, brought Surbhi to proactively create a routine that would keep her focus on recovery.

Surbhi had been practicing yoga and meditation all her life, and she decided to bring together people, who had also been diagnosed with COVID to come together and practice breathing, yoga and meditation through remote sessions.

What started off as a small WhatsApp group of close friends and relatives who had tested positive, eventually expanded to acquaintances and outer circles. The group gathered at 8:15 AM every day, and were guided through breathing exercises and meditation by a certified instructor.

Describing the group, Surbhi said, “When we tested positive, a lot of my friends and relatives also tested positive. I have practiced yoga and meditation all my life, and I thought it would help us all if we did it together on zoom every morning. To my surprise, everybody agreed. We gathered online at 8:15 every morning. We would check in on each other, and then begin a 20-minute breathing routine followed by 15 minutes of guided meditation.”

Be it cancer, physical disabilities or mental health, communities and support groups have always been central to recovery. By creating a platform for patients to meet others fighting the same illness, recovery groups can help patients relieve loneliness, share resources and create an atmosphere of community and support that can only come from others who have been through the same journey.

“I was very anxious and it calmed me down. Deep breathing really helped me calm down. I could feel my lungs expand and my breath getting deeper. It also helped us create a routine and allowed me to talk to other people going through the same anxieties”, Surbhi said.

In her case, the community she had created not only anchored her through her recovery, but also others in the group who had been diagnosed with a more severe viral load.

She added, “Some of them in the group had more heavy viral loads. Sometimes, they were too tired to do any of the practices, but they still came and sat in the session. We called our group COVID Fighters, and we never missed a session. Even seeing others and laughing or sharing a light moment makes you feel much better when you are in isolation for so many days. We collectively made an effort to keep negative thinking away.”

“When you are worried and anxious, your body’s ability to fight goes down. When you are calm, your body recovers better”.

Today, Surbhi and her husband have both recovered from COVID-19, and continue to organize classes for the community.