Health & Wellness

2020 was not even close to how we imagined it!

Phew, what a mentally exhausting, physically annoying, and emotionally draining year it had been. And if I may, I'd like to speak on behalf of the world - We all need a fresh start, don’t we?

The ongoing pandemic has already claimed a million lives and counting, yet we are not even close to seeing its END. Even as the Covid vaccine arrives, the big question remains: Will it turn the situation around, altogether? From a mental health perspective, I believe many of us are still experiencing post-traumatic reactions to Covid-19.

While the vaccine will be better managing the physical risks, psyche experts weigh-in on the importance of dealing with psychological well-being. Expressing her views on the same, during an interview with CNN, Lisa Carlson, an executive administrator at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta said, "We don't have a vaccine for our mental health as we do for our physical health."

This year has probably broken the barriers of silence between strangers and issues as important as Mental Health. But the inability to face the invisible enemy: Corona Virus, was a major factor that shook our mental health.

Besides dealing with the fear of staying safe and surviving, people (adults) worldwide had to face multiple hardships that came unannounced: job loss, economic adversities, loneliness & isolation, death of loved ones, etc. For children, it was even worse, there was absolutely no explanation for why they were being held indoors and not allowed to step out and meet their friends. Even though everyone was literally at their home – with no work, no school!

On top of that, they literally had no option but to resort to virtual home-schooling that deprived their chance at social development, overall.

All of this contributed to people becoming tenser…leading to negative thoughts.

Falling back into the patterns of negative thinking is easy but moving forward… “taking care of ourselves and each other should be everybody's focus as we go into 2021,” said Carlon and added that people should be spending more time “on the basics to get sleep, to eat healthy meals, to move throughout the day, to spend time with pets and loved ones.”

And now that life is headed back to normalcy, for many it’s now have become even more mentally challenging.

Some people have lost their jobs, some have lost their health insurance, some are forced to commute via public transport and some don’t even have enough to pay for the roof over their head or have food on their table. All of this is an additional hit to mental stability.

But no more…we’ve got to come together, help each other and work together to overcome these challenges. That’s the only way out. The only good thing about the Year 2020 was that it united people all over the world. People have become more empathetic towards each other, animals, and mother nature. Perhaps a new year has paved way for new hope.

So instead of fixating on a problem that may or may not arrive, we ought to emphasize taking the baby steps: Sleep well, eat healthily, meditate often, offer help to those who reach out, and above all be KIND!

By: Shruti Shrivastava | Life within