Touching your face is not as safe as it used to be with the threat of catching COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Experts advice that washing your hands can make a lot of difference.
By reflex, most of touch our faces, but training yourself to avoid doing that is not as easy as it seems.
In a study conducted in 2015, many subjects touched their faces on the average of 23 times in an hour, this includes the mouth, eyes, and nose.
Part of the face, like the mucus membranes is easy for viruses and bacteria to make anyone sick, which may become a spreader for diseases like COVID-19.
Sanam Hafeez, a psychologist in New York said that it causes acne, so she advised to break the habit for beauty. She also said that someone touching their face incessantly "appears less confident, attentive, and present than someone who is not."
The HuffPost interviewed Hafeez and other experts to help teach methods in managing not to touch the face which is not so easy for most of us to manage.
Also read: Coronavirus Effects: How it Harms Human Body Organs
Know your habits
Knowing why you do something reflexively or by habit is a good start. Recognize the triggers to help you analyze your habit.
Paul Hokemeyer, a New York-based psychotherapist said that most will touch their faces without thinking. Although it looks harmless, this is not safe now for everyone, which may even be deadlier.
Develop a sense of hyperawareness of all habits and what will prompt you from doing it. Practice how to stop and discriminate between motivation and action.
Paul DePompo, a clinical psychologist in Southern California, said that it happens without consciousness so better note when it does happen to keep track of it.
Touch something but the face
Hafeez suggests that to keep our hands from our faces, reach out and touch something else when doing activities.
Denise Cummins suggests that breaking a habit is achieved with "something incompatible" which affects thinking and decision making.
Other ways to do it is getting anything that keeps your hands busy, like a plush toy or fidget spinner, and do not forget to disinfect these objects.
Prevent touching face by discomfort
Use any gloves that have an unpleasant and gross texture on your face that can irritate you a lot. But be sure to keep the glove sanitized all the time.
Other means is wearing glasses, wear makeup, or use nail polish which will help women most.
Put a post on your computer monitor that says, "do not touch your face."
Be more mindful
The hands-on face is all about anxiety, so avoid anxiousness, as a rule to get it done.
Practice intentional breathing and do meditation to have less anxiety all the time.
These methods will make triggers less likely to cause the action.
Rewards or punishment
If you still do not stop touching your face, do the finger stretch for two minutes to remind you. Bear in mind that avoiding contact between your fingers and face keeps the COVID-19 at bay.
