Last updated on August 21, 2024 by Dr. Subashri Thanigaivel
Introduction
Mental wellness
Something we all overlook and treat with no importance. People relate mental health to purging out negative emotions like anger, sadness, depression, tears and anxiety. I do not consider all the happy emotions as good or the sad emotions as bad.
When your emotions require you to shed tears, but you are forcefully smiling. It doesn’t prove that you are mentally strong. It shows your immaturity to not accept the sadness. This can do chronic damages to your mental well-being. You should accept and analyse the emotion before planning for a progressive change of action in your thought process.
Here is an example of the current situation that supports the above theory. Coronavirus was first identified by Dr. Li, the opthamologist at Wuhan Central Hospital. He raised a red flag with anxiety. The hospital and local citizens around the hospital were afraid of the news and left it down the lane by warning the doctor for false accusations. If things were different, it would have prevented the outbreak.
This shows that overlooking an emotion can cause damages in the long run. Coronavirus has also been doing the same around the world, irrespective of positive or negative reports.
Mental health is not a destination. It is a process which needs solid efforts throughout the journey. You may not gain strength unless you confront the fear. Here are 4 “pandemic mental conditions” because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and how to deal with them.
- Acceptance is the key
- Exaggeration is Evil
- Chill & Work from Home
- Be Casual not Careless
RELATED : AYURVEDA TREATMENT FOR CORONAVIRUS INFECTION
Acceptance is the key
We don’t have control over situations but we have control over how we respond (not react). You cannot control your reaction but respond like a pro. During a stressful condition like coronavirus infection, mental wellness begins by accepting the outbreak deadliness.
Staying inside the home, locking up yourself in a room or avoiding people will do no good other than bottling you up with a flood of emotions. Allow yourself to feel the fear about the virus, panic a little when you hear some news or feel sad if you hear your loved one is affected by the infection.
This will help you to stay in touch with reality and look for solutions. When you don’t accept, you cannot build the mental strength to combat the COVID-19 infection. At times like this remember the pandemic conditions like Cholera have occurred during the 18th century and even before that while medical facilities were none or poor. Yet here the earth survived with still 753 crores people.
DOWNLOAD : WHO Mental Health Considerations – COVID-19
Exaggeration is Evil
As a human being on the planet earth, we are responsible to help every other fellow human, even if they don’t share your DNA or blood. Responsibility begins with honesty. When you hear a news, verify the same with a trusted source like WHO, Ministry of Health India website and then share with people.
Stop spicing up the potatoes.
Convey only what is what. Do not overcook your broth with spices and herbs to make it taste yummy. Your truthful words about the coronavirus news will help people to hold positivism in their life.
While a group of my coworkers were panicking about the news of coronavirus in India, few were sharing false information. This created a stressful situation, and it affected all areas of their life.
So avoid spreading the rumors and myths about the cornoavirus infection because it kills more than the infection itself.
Chill & Work from Home
I know you wished it felt chilled as it sounded. It is all right guys, work from home is not that bad during the coronavirus infection. You have to “accept it” before feeling “chilled”
On March 12, about 65-70 cases were reported and India declared that it will shut down to the rest of the world. The same day, at Hyderabad, a famous MNC company sent a memo to its employees to work-from-home.
I love the proactive approach of the management but these steps are making people towards the “intense self-isolate”. The pressure about the infection severity is creating a panic mindset into the employees mind and they give into the unproductivity.
When your company requests you or your entire office to work from home, don’t overthink it. Being at home doesn’t mean you have to refrain from your social behavior activities. You could still call a friend and talk, do some social media time and talk over to someone. This is how you can refrain isolation but still be isolated from the infection spread.
After all, a coffee mug(avoid drinking coffee, it is not good for health) in one hand and a laptop on the table and showing off like you are busy to your family is the best feeling ever.
Be Casual not Careless
Calm, casual mindset is good, but a careless attitude shows your lethargic behavior. The fine line between mental confidence and overconfidence is your “carelessness”. Remain cautious but not carefree.
You can follow personal hygiene and remain cool as a cucumber. Eat healthy and be the “pizza dude”. Embrace the emotional support of people around you and be the “casual chic”.
Go out, but take precautions. If you have to use a metro or a bus, use sanitizers and avoid sneezing on your bare hands. This can prevent germs spreading in the public objects like handrails, doors and window glasses.
Take a bath after coming out, encourage your kids to do the same every time they come from playing. Avoid close contact with people who are having trouble breathing, coughing and fever. The primary motive of restricting you from them is to help them fight the corona virus infection. The total number of people who recovered from coronavirus infection is over 66,000 people. Your hygiene practices can help the infected people to recover.
Conclusion
Calm
Just be calm. Don’t complicate things. We are living in INDIA, the greatest country in the world that has taught medicine to many people across the world. Ayurveda is found in our country. We need not worry about a virus.
Don’t panic, if you are sneezing or if somebody sneezes. With a calm mindset, you can have a safe approach to deal with this viral outbreak.
Stop spreading news, which you are not sure about. Rumors can kill more lives than the virus itself.
Don’t become google doctor. It leads to overthinking and you end up doubting yourself with the infection or become burdened.
In case of experiencing fever or common cold, restrict yourself from going to the office or crowd place. You may get a higher infection from others rather than spreading it to others.
Talk to a health expert or a counsellor if you are having a cough, cold or fever. The seasonal change is in the transition process, so you might experience common cold symptoms because of low immunity too.
Prevention is the cure.
