This is an unusual situation for the entire world, and everyone is adapting in their own way. Thankfully, technology has really helped us bridge this gap. In spite of not being able to experience physical proximity, we have the tools to be able to keep ourselves emotionally connected. Yes, a video call isn’t the same thing as being present in front of your close ones, yet it is extremely important to make an effort to communicate with those special ones to keep one’s spirits up.
It is in these times that caring for the vulnerable (children, elderly and those with compromised immunity due to health issues) becomes paramount. Caring for the self too is of prime importance.
Keeping children motivated
Kids are generally engaged in umpteen number of academic and non-academic activities during non-lockdown times. Currently, they don’t know how it is or what it feels like to “do nothing” or not having any activities to perform. This could be a blessing in disguise that can help them to come up with their own creative way of keeping themselves occupied. In fact, with a little aid and encouragement from parents there is an extremely high chance that the kids will express their affinity towards a particular art form or maybe even a musical instrument.
For the elderly fending for themselves
Logically, one can understand the need or reason for the elderly living on their own. However, emotionally one can feel all the negative emotions such as loneliness or sadness. A few things that can help are to know and appreciate the following:
- That this will end.
- The physical distance does not mean that your children are emotionally distant too.
- Uncontrollable circumstances are not related to how you feel towards your children and especially how they feel about you.
Once you understand the above, you will be easily able to focus on ‘the bond’ that you have with them irrespective of the physical distance.
How to be more focussed as you work from home
There are a couple of methods out there, a lot of good scripted processes are available online which induce a relaxed state and place the suggestion for increased focus in the individual. The use of breathwork to heighten attention is something that has great results as well. Yoga and meditation are age-old and effective modalities. Personally, I do Yoga coupled with either meditation or self-hypnosis on a regular basis.
Feelings of disconnect between the inner self and what you are experiencing is common. We create these parts of ourselves, just like the pieces in a puzzle. We do that to cope, to survive. Disconnecting our inner self from our real feeling or from the authentic self is the way we have chosen to live maybe because of some incidents or experiences. We need to ask ourselves these key questions:
- Do I need to continue living like this?
- What is the benefit in choosing to live with this disconnect?
- Does it help me in reaching the goal that I want to accomplish?
Keeping the answers in mind to these questions, one can choose to act systematically that might help them in coming close to living in a way which is more authentic. Speaking to a domain expert like a mental health professional can make the process easier for sure.
Succour for mental health in homeopathy
Homeopathic remedies are based on the individual constitution of a person. Remedies that are given, carefully consider and cover the mental state, thoughts, reaction, emotions which in fact are unique to a person. Homoeopathy works holistically to optimise the mind and body to function at their best. Hence, the constitutional remedy prescribed helps the individual deal with the situation better, increasing their emotional well-being.
For those at the frontlines
When all this is over, the adrenaline rush will die and at that point it would be important to take care of yourself. The mental and physical strength you had and will continue to have to fight on the frontline needs to be preserved. Sometimes we all need help. Ergo, you must not shy away from reaching out for the services and skills of mental health specialists.
How should we behave post-pandemic
Living the way we did before has led us to be where we are today to a certain extent. However, as I understand there are two parts to this: –
- The way of living that we have currently adopted because it is the need of the hour. For example, social distancing and may be taking the vaccine when it is made available.
- The way of living which is good for us—eating healthy, improving our lifestyle, our habits, our relationships, our system of working and more.
Don’t go back to an unhealthy lifestyle if you had one and once you recognise what you have control over and what you don’t, things will fall in place.
My Thriving secrets
For my physical well-being, I perform Yoga regularly. For mental health, I like solving puzzles, building blocks, and reading often. I also meditate 10 minutes a day with music such as Sound Therapy Healing.