Surviving the second wave!

The cause & distress:

Last year Covid-19 first wave did not teach us anything at all. The government and citizens as a whole have failed the nation. Be it the government not taking enough drastic control measures or improving health infrastructure, continuing political rallies, or some careless citizens showing brazen complacent, disregarding covid guidelines, we are all responsible. The first wave has seen fierce competition for masks and sanitisers while this second wave is a helpless fight for medical resources. Every time one opens up social media, there is nothing but depressing news or someone requesting help for their critically ill kin.

The facts about the deadly virus which we had only heard in the news, causing barbaric chaos are slowly becoming our reality. The more horrible fact is that this contagious disease hinders family members from even bidding a final goodbye to their loved ones who are left to die a non-contact lonely death.

The Effect:

The frontline warriors, the doctors, nurses, health workers, police force, surely are doing a commendable job keeping their precious life at risk. Spending hours attending the patients wearing those airtight suffocating costumes while taking a longer time de-sanitizing themselves; these heroes’ contributions are incomparable to any professional out there. But all said and done, you can’t change your long-term career, especially in this pandemic, which demands extra time and effort. The unending lockdowns and the yet rising Corona cases have again greatly disrupted the normal lives apart from these health and security officials. The recovering economy is also likely to be hit. This second wave scenario has cast a spell of uncertainty on the availability of medical facilities for the uncontrolled rising cases daily. Everyone keeps on trying their own hit and trial methods for curbing the disease’s impact.

The inmates’ plight:

It’s not just a war outside our homes or only at hospitals. The inmates of any Indian home might not face the physical impacts of this pandemic but still suffer from the intangible mental scenarios and the case worsens especially for the home isolated covid patients. Be it professionals spending hours working from home, laid-off workers having a pause on their jobs, or college students back to having online classes, all are fighting this pandemic at their own mental pace. The fear of going out for even basic needs or some casual stride is gripping but the fact of being locked up for long with a constant urge of roaming freely is also disturbing.

This abrupt lifestyle change has well suited some people who have perfectly adjusted and thus modified their daily routines to fit their mental state. There has been a boom in social media ads and programs promoting home work-out routines for keeping physical and mental health in check. However, not all beings are reacting to this scenario equally and they struggle to survive each passing day satisfactorily. Even though some of us have come to terms that this new normal is going to stay for a long time, and have changed our ways of entertaining ourselves, or being at peace, this battle still remains unfought.

The coping mechanism:

So, the 2nd wave might seem to eat up our country but the good news is we can still stay sane. Just a one-time realization of this discomforting truth does not help in fighting this anxiety, rather coming in terms to it every single day is necessary. Not by avoiding the worrisome thoughts and experiencing the trauma but talking it out to any like-minded fellow human being and replaying some motivational stuff surely can help. Just like our body needs food, our soul also needs good energy. Our mental health requires daily hygiene routines as our physique does. Not just refreshing the mind by sleeping but by charging it with conscious positive thoughts acts as a cleansing mechanism. The battle within ourselves can only be fought by a daily dose of encouragement and by facing that fear of uncertainty. Be it the pain caused by suffering from a virus or the distress caused by fighting it or the mental anxiety caused by fear and irritation of sucking reality, every scenario bestows an equal effect on humans. Pain stands universal irrespective of its cause as our brain doesn’t possess the ability to distinguish between real and imaginary scenes.

Rather than obliterating the real situations to find accord and later feeling depressed, we can try to accept this disheartening situation each day and prevent it from affecting us. Spending time doing things one love, reducing on-screen news or social media time goes a long way in having good mental health. Even as basic as keeping oneself busy in doing household chores or just enjoying one's favourite TV series can also aid this survival. This Covid-19 war seems long that is yet to be finished or perhaps unending but we can surely conquer the battle of a closed environment and mental issues. As sometimes not conquering the entire war but gaining small victories is what brings us peace.