The soldiers are fighting by staying outdoors at the boundaries and protecting us all, and the citizens are fighting the coronavirus by staying inside their houses. The world today is facing a pandemic in the form of a virus termed as Coronavirus or COVID-19. All of us are aware of a lot of problems it has caused, but in this article, I would take the opportunity to highlight a problem that may not be significant now but is expected to have serious consequences soon.
The major outburst of coronavirus was in China in a city named Wuhan through “wet markets.” Such markets sell both dead and live animals including fish and birds. They pose a great risk of virus transferring from animals to humans because of hygiene factors. Being a communicable disease, controlling its spread was a major task for the authorities.
Considering the safety of its citizens all possible measures were taken to keep the situation under control. Flights, trains, buses were put to a halt both nationally and internationally. Further, to reduce contact of people within the national and state boundaries lockdown was implemented.
The world stands still because of the lockdown. There is nothing much we can do. As much as we miss going out and our social life we need to calm our emotions and stay inside. In these hard times also, people have adopted a broader perspective and are trying to make the best use of their time. From youngsters coming out of their virtual world of social media to spending time with their parents and grandparents, talking with them, playing games, the lockdown has in a way helped to bring the families together, also enabling some people to pursue their hobbies which they weren’t able to because of their busy lives. A coin always has two sides; it may look all gold and glitter from the outside, but a very saddening truth lies hidden.
The lockdown has severely impacted both the mental and physical health of people from all age groups and all walks of life. It’s difficult to say which group is worst hit because the way lockdown has impacted different people; it cannot be compared on a single ground. The elderly, for instance, who are generally prescribed to be socially interactive for better emotional wellbeing, are now forced to practice social distancing. They experience a sense of belongingness when they’re around their grandchildren, but the lockdown has made that impossible, thus snatching from them their major source of happiness and negatively impacting their mental health.
Things aren’t that great for the working class as well. As companies have adopted work from home method, the stress level has considerably risen as now the balance between the work life and family life is gone. Home is more like an office now, with the father working in one room and the mother in another, while the children being completely clueless about what to do. The working hours are seldom fixed, and the work-related tension which was earlier left in the office while coming back home, now surrounds the entire house. Anxiety has evolved as another problem because of the constant fear of losing their jobs or pay cuts.
The youth always cribbed about the fact that with all the college assignments, exams, and internships going on, they never got enough time for “Netflix and chill”, well the lockdown seems to have solved this problem, but it appears that the tables have turned as well. While we had the freedom to go out and socialise, we never really understood its importance. It is in the times of despair that we realize what we have lost and to what extent it is affecting our health. Be it an elderly person or a student, a daily routine is very crucial. Now that our routine of going out, working, hitting the gym is disturbed, it is making us even more angry and anxious. The grown-ups are well aware of the present circumstance, but what about the kids who love to play their favourite game outside in the evening. This is having two-fold effects, one the habit of playing outdoors will become more difficult to inculcate in future, and presently they are engrossed with gadgets they shouldn’t be exposed to at this early age.
Google trends show that searches related to stress and suicides have increased post lockdown. Also, employment-related searches have experienced a boom post lockdown as more and more people are worried about joblessness. Thus, the mental health of people is going to be one of the major concerns once the virus is tackled.
-BY KRATI BHANSALI
Image sources:
Photo by Polina Zimmerman from Pexels
Emotional stages of lockdown (daily mail)
Edexlive
the drum