Mental Health And A Global Pandemic

It is been a long time since I have posted on this blog. My mental health took a drop in the last couple of months and now that I am in a position to talk about it, I wanted to share my experience. I started working from home in March 2020. It was really exciting initially because I could spend time with my family for an extended period. But as time went on, the lines between personal and professional aspects of my life got blurred. There were days in which I used to work for 14 hours straight. It had a serious impact on my sleep and eating habits. I knew I was in a stressful situation but kept on going without a break.

There’s a concept called spoon theory regarding your mental health. We have 3 pieces of cutlery – spoons, forks, and knives. Spoons represent the energy you can expend today, forks represent the stressors or things that take up your energy and knives represent the energy you have saved up for tomorrow. As the days went on, the number of spoons I had kept on decreasing. When you do not have enough spoons, you start using your knives. One fine day, I was out of spoons and knives and I had my first anxiety attack. The feeling of helplessness and inability to breathe was one of the worst things I have experienced in my life. I knew I could not do it on my own anymore and I reached out for help. I started seeing a therapist.

Stress

I remember a sentence that was shared by a professor, a few years back. He used to tell us interesting facts and historical stories every day for at least 10 minutes.

“I never said she stole my money”.

Now, try reading this statement stressing one word at a time.

➟ I never said she stole my money – Someone else could have said it.

➟ I never said she stole my money – I didn’t say that she stole.

➟ I never said she stole my money – I only implied it or witnessed it.

Floaters

We’ve all had that childhood sisters/brothers who used to terrify us by saying dreadful stories or something that doesn’t even exist. I must have been in my 1st or 2nd grade when I was introduced to the concept of ‘glassics’. Let me tell you what glassics are.

On a sunny day, when you stand out for a long time, you get to see that arrow/worm-like thing floating in the air, in your field of vision. You might even have experienced it while glancing at similar uniformly bright objects, say, a blank computer screen or even snow.

My then neighbour and senior at school used to spin stories around that, telling me that these are worms flying around in air causing infection to people. The highlight is that I believed all these for a few years until I knew that particles or organisms in the air cannot be seen with naked eyes.

Invisible Foe

Disclaimer:
The post is lengthy, around 2000 words, and is not a substitute for any kind of professional medical advice.

For those who’ve made guesses on the title, the invisible enemy is depression and not COVID. The pandemic may end sooner or later but the air of despondency never seems to leave.

I’m deeply affected by the news of Mr. Sushant Singh Rajput’s sudden demise. I’ve adored his movies as well the heights he has reached, and this was out of nowhere. I also got to read his interest in astrophysics, appeal towards tennis, his astonishing bucket list, and talks on his constant learning behaviour. In short, these indicate that he was someone who could pull off many things together and was such an ambitious soul.

“Nobody is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.“
– Terry Pratchett

Just like how this tragedy popped up discussions on mental health all over the internet, it also triggered me to write this post. However, I don’t want my words to sound like sympathetic music.

World Bicycle Day

Today, 3rd June, is World Bicycle Day.

It’s the first machine we master as children and the one we abandon when the seductions of the automobile take over.

– Colman McCarthy

On this day, let’s dust our memories and make bicycles part of our life.

Cheers!

Confrontation

Having seen so many distressing experiences of many, also here in the blogging world, I felt compelled to write this post. The timing seems right too – the lock-down and the month of May, which is observed as the Mental Health Awareness Month in the US.

Disclaimer:
The post is lengthy, around 1000 words, and is not a substitute for any kind of medical advice.

What is confrontation?

Confrontation implies hostility. Considering it only on the personal front, it is, in general, disagreement expressed in words between two groups of people.

It need not always be angry or aggressive conflicts. It is something that needs to be addressed urgently in a direct and proactive manner.

When can such situations arise?

The need for confrontation on interpersonal relationships arises mostly as an outcome of intense depression. A major depressive episode may occur once, very rarely with long intervals, or may return repeatedly when any simple incident triggers your worst memories.

The troubles could be based on a relationship issue – mutual misunderstanding, infidelity, disagreements – or even childhood fears.

Is it okay to confront someone who’s close to you?

Many of us fear confrontations, or go to an extreme extent to avoid them completely. This stage could even be an upshot of your own insecurities with the person concerned or the fear of losing them.

The person to be confronted could be to parents, siblings, better-half, friends or even colleagues.

By confronting, you’re not going to kill each other. You know that the people concerned are important ones in your journey. So, consider it as an opportunity to mend broken ties and strengthen your linkages.

“When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So, it’s better to speak”.
– Audre Lorde

Often a simple exchange of words mends hearts than prolonged silence. Don’t ever hesitate to be the one to break the silence.

Should you really confront?

Confrontation is the last step to clear your depressed mind.

Confrontation demands courage. You’ve to break all your self-doubts. There’s nothing wrong in

Is it okay to be happy during a crisis?

Most of us, who aren’t currently handling public responsibilities, enjoy the quarantine though might be unwilling to admit the same.

In India, it’s been exactly a month today since the lockdown began. At a time when the entire human family is under a crisis, here are my observations on the lockdown being a welcome development in societal behaviour.

➼ Self-analysis and lone time have made a few realise their true interpersonal behaviour. Few introverts have concluded that they aren’t so really, and look for the time when they can get out and socialize. Few extroverts feel their me-time totally impressive, and plan to get back more often.