One of the valuable tips that experts give these days to protect us from the coronavirus, is to avoid touching our face, since this is how we transmit germs. Of course, this is an unconscious habit that almost everyone has. And for the sake of truth, it is estimated that on average we touch our face at least 25 times an hour.
However, there are some tips that can help to avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth or ears so often.
See below what they are:
Choose a "competitive" habit
Gail Saltz, MD, a professor of psychiatry in the United States, explains that psychiatrists often help patients focus on acceptable opposite behaviors when they need to break a bad habit. And this can be true in this case as well.
If you touch your face unconsciously throughout the day (or hour), think of another part of your body that you can touch, without increasing the risk of exposure to bacteria. "When you feel the urge to touch your face, touch your arm instead of your hand," says Gail Saltz.
Do not ignore the desire
Many try to stop this habit by repeating "I do not touch my face". But he, as Dr. Gail Saltz does not help the situation so much.
In fact, he explains, it can have the opposite effect. What do you do in this case? You listen to your desire and try to implement the "reverse behavior", while consciously trying to reduce the times you touch your face.
Keep your hands busy
Also, check when you touch the face with your hands. When do you want to think of something? When you talk on the phone, when you watch TV? Once you see when you do it, then make sure you keep your hands busy with something else. For example, you can watch TV holding an anxiolytic ball or other object. If you are talking on the phone, you can have a piece of paper and a pen next to you and make various sketches or writing.