PANDEMIC: A REASON FOR FRAIL AND ROBUST MINDS

For the last two years, Covid-19 has us all under its powerful clutch of fear
and death. Each one of us has experienced loss in one way or the other. Some of
us have lost loved ones, job, career, education and the list continue. Disruption
of regular school routine and social distancing have left the adolescents with
both positive and negative aspects. As for the negative ones, students are the
ones who are most affected due to the online
training as the social interaction is very important
in personality development. Pandemic have led us
with no other choice but to promote everyone
easily in the academics leading to an anxious
future. Children and teenagers are missing out on
the physical activities and spending their entire
time in front of screen causing health issues. The
pressure of online classes is immense in these
times with a lot of due dates with no practical knowledge and with the absence
of significant life events that affects the personal and social life. Now due to
pandemic, students have lost the safety that teachers provided them as their
emotional support against abuse, mental health related issues, studies and other
concerns. Financial instability in families forced students to enroll out of the
schools and poor students were not able to afford laptops and smartphones
causing them fall behind in the classes triggering depression. As for the positive
side, students can take up various online courses to improve their technical
skills and knowledge and have ample time to nurture their creative skills as
well.
Lockdown has compelled working people to shift from offline to work from
home mode, as result of which many lost their jobs. Financial
condition of many families is worse making it difficult to
survive in this pandemic where the expense is only
increasing. The work load has increased with no time to enjoy
personal life. All of this leads to pent up anger and stress
which forces an individual to take up wrong decision about
life. Thus, this pandemic has fueled many negative emotions
such as fear, stress, frustration, depression, loneliness in
majority of the population.
 To cope up with all these negative emotions one must have a resilient mind
and control over their emotions, which is possible with emotional intelligence.
Emotionally intelligent person can assess the state of their mind thus keeping a
check on their emotions and try to remain under self-control in any dread or
stranded situation. To keep a positive mindset during
pandemic situation, stick to routine of self-care and be
grateful to every prospect of happiness in life. Start
the day with some exercise or meditation, stay
connected with your family and friends virtually, talk
to them, ask them for help if needed and do the same
for them as well. Develop new hobbies and remain
motivated to your work or ambition. Many people
started up small scale online startups and are making a
living out of it. Remain aware about surroundings and one’s mind and mental
health, self-awareness is important to reduce the mental and physical fatigue
maintain hope and optimism. Channelize negative emotions into positive
sentiments and self-regulate one’s mind into understanding the importance and
the need for the social distancing to keep the family safe. Pandemic has
provided us with a reason and chance by giving us plenty of me-time to look
into our mind, find ourselves and to fall in love with ourself which is a
significant development during these hard times. Everyone is going through the
tough phase during this pandemic, so be kind to other’s emotion and help them,
remain empathic. Tough times will always arise, it’s on us to decide whether to
sit and whine or to make lemonade out of it. Be positive! Be safe!

* Images are reserved from Pinterest

- 9341_MUNDAPPILLIYEL ANU.