social distancing

COVID-19

panic attacks

Sandwich Generation

National Institute of Mental Health

catastrophise

ByWe are all in this together. Taking one day at a time, while following.’These are words that I have personally held on to for the last 10 days. There is a certain healing that comes from knowing that there is a universality to what each of us is struggling with. While we maybe miles apart, what the pandemic has done is it has helped us realise how we all share the same fears and even vulnerabilities.Social distancing has become a necessity, one of the only ways whereby we can flatten the curve. As a result, I made a choice to pause face-to-face sessions from March 15 in light of. All sessions were moved to video calling for clients who had the privacy to talk from home and were comfortable with a virtual counselling setup. Over the last week as I spoke of clients and friends, I realised our world narratives had already begun to change. What emerged was that the pandemic has become our ‘collective trauma’.Collective trauma experiences and pandemics often find a way to get stuck in our bodies. A lot of people who I have been talking to are experiencing psychosomatic stress in the form of fatigue, exhaustion, stiffness and pain in the back, neck, shoulders, headaches and an inability to sleep or oversleeping for some. This anxiety has begun to take the form of, emotional binge eating, a need to numb oneself from what’s happening. Remember that numbness is a reaction we show in moments where we are feeling too much. If you are struggling with panic attacks, insomnia, debilitating anxiety please reach out to mental help professionals or helplines.Those belonging to theare worried about their children’s health and also those of their parents. Last week, so many of my clients in the age group of 20 to 50 years reported how irritated and frustrated they have been towards their parents. They feel that their parents are underestimating the risks and not taking necessary precautions. If you are experiencing this too with your parents, choose to be compassionate towards them, yet provide them with verified information, statistics about social distancing. The idea is not to scare them, but for them to be aware, stay indoors and exercise social distancing.Joshua Gordon, the director ofin the US, in a statement about coping with coronaVirus said, “It is important to realise that social distancing does not have to mean social isolation, especially with modern technologies available to many of us.”I feel this is very true for all of us. We may be physically disconnected, but emotionally we are still connected if we make an attempt to reach out.A 26-year-old male client told me how he was going to have a ‘Facetime date night’ with someone he had matched on a dating app. He had gone on a date with the person two weeks back, but now keeping in mind the social distancing, they were connecting only virtually.Another 68-year-old client of mine said: “I have stopped going for walks with my group of friends, but every evening we meditate at the same time and then call each other.” She also has learnt to send voice notes to her friends and even confirmed our Skype appointment with a voice note.Call your loved ones, family instead of texting them. Choosing to be socially engaged helps manage our anxiety. As I mentioned in the last article, from a self-care narrative have scheduled timings when you check for news updates. Choose to exercise at home and have a routine that you stick to. Also choose to notand think of worst-case scenarios. With awareness and practice, you can learn to decatastrophise.We all are used to living a fast-paced life and drowning ourselves in work. This forced pause may be a good opportunity to explore how comfortable we feel in our own company.In times of uncertainty, we need mindfulness more than ever – our ability to stay in the present moment and also find hope in the fact that we are healthy now. At the same time take preventive measures like washing hands and not touching your face, staying indoors.What collective trauma requires is collective action and social distancing is the best gift you can give to anyone - it’s an act of meditation and thoughtfulness in the times we live in.The next column would explore how social distancing is impacting our relationships.This is the second article in the series.