The expert panel was holding discussions at
the fourth edition of the series themed - ‘Mental Health and Wellness During
COVID-19’
· Panel
suggests allotting hours of the day to work, family, partner and solitude
· Establish
personal boundaries through solution oriented open conversations with family
· Experts
say, isolating oneself while facing a job loss can be disastrous for mental
health
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of
India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex trade associations of
Supported
by the hygiene brand SAVLON, the programme which promotes healthy living with
focus on wellness and preventive health through healthy habits, diet, exercise,
and holistic health saw the speakers actively engage on the best steps to
establish proactive boundaries and active living in a family.
Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, ASSOCHAM CSR Council, highlighting the effect of COVID-19 on mental
health said, “COVID-19 did not just affect the economic, social and individual
health of the people, but also mental health in a very extreme way. This has
led to an increase in anxiety, fear and impending sense of doom for a large
number of otherwise healthy people. With work from home being then new normal,
for many months, the whole family ecosystem has been disturbed and created new
challenges for people. The reality is a that man is a social animal and when
people are unable to engage socially, a mechanism to bring in a new ecosystem
to facilitate that communication is extremely important to ensure sound mental
health. People also need to rearrange themselves and balance work along with
keeping good mental and physical health.”
Speaking
on how establishing personal boundaries at home has become both challenging and
unavoidable, Dr Murali Rao, Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and
Behavorial Neurosciences, Loyola University Medical Centre, Chicago and Medical
Director, Mindful TMS Neurocare, said, “This situation has destroyed
boundaries. Previously, people used to get up, get dressed, take transportation
and go to their workplace. The travel to time used to give them the time needed
to shift from home mode to work mode. When they were coming back, it would give
them the time to plan and think about home and vice versa. There were clear
boundaries. Now with work from home, partners have different work timing, then
there are children, cooking and other activities. The timings are messed up,
those who organize well are performing well, but majority of people are not
organized. No wonder people are ready to go out and go back to organized living.”
He also added that they best way to bring an organization to life is by
following four thumb rules — adequate sleep, ample exercise, nutritious food
intake and stress management.
Dr. Prakriti Poddar, Managing Trustee of Poddar Foundation suggesting a probable breakup of the day for a
working individual said, “Account your day, the way you account your money. We
have to account the energy and time on our hand. Of course we have a certain
8-9 working hours but there also needs to be one hour with entire family,
sometime as a couple together and of course the me time of 30-35 minutes.”
She
reiterated how boundaries can be effectively established through open
conversations with family. She said, “Most people have never established their
personal boundaries in
COVID-19
saw large scale job losses across all sectors globally and nationally leading
to exponential rise in anxiety and depression owning to the uncertainty created
by unemployment. Dr. Shamsher Dwivedee, Chairman Neurosciences and
Director of Clinical Services, Vimhans Nayati Super Specialty Hospital highlighted
the importance of being in the company of trusted friends and family when faced
by a job loss. “When you are going through a phase where you have lost a job,
one step is to not stay and brood alone. Try to be in a company, be with
friends who you consider financially and otherwise wise. They will give you the
way to get about it. Staying alone when you have lost a job is a recipe for a
disaster as the mind will focus on all things negative whereas a wise friend
will pull you out of it,” he said.
The
session was moderated by Dr. Divakashi Sharma, Clinical Psychologist,
MindfulTNS Neurocare who raised pertinent questions before the
panellists to keep the conversation relevant and topical to the discussion. Dr.
Sharma also added to the vast professional knowledge shared by the panellists
by sharing anecdotes from her experiences as a practicing clinical psychologist.