By Ginia Carissa Langstieh, Psychologist
Under the strangulating grip of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, with parallel effects of mental health and global economies, the world has been spinning out of balance. These are perilous, gyrating times, where anarchy reigns, and disasters are exploding around us!
Nations are at loggerheads with one another, economies are collapsing, and nature is unleashing her fury on humankind. We are
stuck in the rut of unprecedented times.
This eruptive cataclysm diverted us from our previously normal lives. We are guilty of an oversight, in having overlooked another battle taking place behind closed doors: the battleground is the mind. The combatants are a plethora of cognitive and psychological issues at play: twisting, turning, churning frenziedly, disrupting human sensations and sensibilities, perceptions, and modes and manners of behaviour. The paranoia this cascade of pandemic-lockdown-social restrictions unleashed was ravaging and razing our composure.
The Pandemic-driven pandemonium, coupled with global unrest, has gripped people with fear; insecurities and uncertainties were crippling the mental health of many. The World Health Organisation’s latest report mentioned a serious spike in global mental health issues amid the covid-19 pandemic and thereafter. Anxiety, stress, separation, isolation, phobias are just the tip of the iceberg, with predominance accorded to ‘DEPRESSION’ ¾ a psychological disorder, otherwise known as Major Depressive Disorder. The symptoms comprised prolonged sadness, a sense of emptiness, irritable moods, diminished interest in many activities, changes in sleep patterns, feelings of worthlessness and intrusive thoughts of death and dying; these maladies were accompanied by physical and cognitive changes that can affect an individual’s capacity to function effectively.
Depression and other psychological issues compel one to question Why? How? There can be numerous reasons leading to this malignant mindstate: the loss of loved ones, guilt, fear, a break-up, job loss, a financial crunch, loneliness, abuse, rejection, worry, anxiety, genetic disturbances, bio-chemical infections, and more. Hold on!! Are they the cause or just triggering factors?
Depression, like any other psychological affliction, can be traced back to time immemorial: it has been identified since 3000 BCE to the present era. But the intensity and impact on the human psyche is seen to be impinging now, more than ever before. This trajectory to the 21st century has witnessed a gigantic transformation, in science, technology, medical sciences, politics, economics, education, space technology, human behaviour and the human mind. We are treading in the rapids of a highly competitive world, featuring super-intelligence, super-knowledge, highly skilled competencies, the lust for media popularity, material wealth, power, authority, control, all having become the new touchstones of success.
This quest for such a distorted, unrealistic, exaggerated understanding of success creates a constant pressure on our psyche. Failing to adhere to such standards can stigmatise one as a loser, sub-standard, unworthy—these factors comprise a recipe for depression. We are so caught up in this rat-race that we sometimes digress from focusing and paying attention to the deeper aspect of the self: the emotions, spirituality, and human psychology, which are the building blocks of ‘The Self’, without which mental health is compromised, and so too, our wellbeing .
There are presently more than 270 million people suffering from depression worldwide and around 800,000 die through suicide every year. Horrifying!! This alarming figure calls for a speedy intervention of the threat mushrooming out of control, before another pandemic of immeasurable psychological destruction sweeps across our lives, with victims galore, threatening the mental stability of nations.
The world needs psychologically robust citizens to help contribute towards peace, harmony, stability, and security. Any crucial prescription must comprise us to pay heed to the need for a spirit of diversity, inclusion, equity, and belongingness.
‘Well begun is half done’; thus, mental well-being is achievable if self-care regimes are started early. Learning to spot the symptoms in advance of them becoming serious, and seeking professional help from specialists is a wise decision to make. In the tenuous context that we currently find ourselves, easy accessibility and availability of mental health professionals can be challenging, due to restrictions that that are instituted in times of crises. The ‘Best Help’ one can avail of is from oneself and from significant others. Sharing is Healing. Learning to share our feelings, thoughts, doubts, fears and anxieties with loved ones can help in unburdening our mental and psychological load. The crux of the matter is not just to heal the symptoms of depression but to uproot it completely, by not remaining completely dependent on the mental health professionals, but to be our own counsellors. By building a Resilient Self: remaining unflappable in the midst of storms. By engaging in self-discovery and self-exploration through a continuous process of learning from life experiences; good or bad, it shapes our identity and character. Having self-love and self-care is crucial. The little things that make you happy…happiness is self-created and our responsibility to take care of oneself. It is only when we love and respect ourselves that we can love others … it brings fulfilment. Patience is a virtue: there are no instant solutions to problems. Time heals. Give yourself time to grow out of any issue you are struggling with. Meditate and stay in the present, the future will take its own course … allow it to shape itself. Letting go of guilt is the start of a new you. Spirituality helps: fill your soul with a greater purpose and meaning. Being a blessing to others helps combat the loneliness and emptiness we go through. Emotions, negative and positive, are a lifeline for us; identifying and managing them is a key to a centred life. Rome was not built in a day. Combating depression also takes time; stay resilient, there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
We are all vulnerable to depression, potential victims to varying degrees. We are ready to seek medical help at the onset of flu, yet lack the same spirit of readiness to seek psychological help without fear, embarrassment or shame. Let us not make it a social taboo, but acknowledge that to be fit overall, buoyant, and ready to confront the challenges of life, we need to strike a balance between our Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual aspects of health. Then only can we be purposeful, fulfilled and happy individuals, in quest of creating a healthy society.
