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Monday Musings: Our best option is to stay safe, stay positive
The guidance from health experts on the safety measures against Covid-19, and the guidance from mental health experts on effectively dealing with this crisis as a family, are the only two pieces of advice that we need at the moment
A 12-year-old child I know has happily taken to doing the dishes with her dad after he showed her how it is done “the American way.” It’s far more efficient and effortless as compared to the Indian way and it’s become quite a fun thing to do.
Since the domestic help is on a paid leave during the period of the national lockdown, she also helps with mopping the floor, operates the washing machine, and is learning to cook with her aunt and writing down those recipes.
Life under the lockdown is boring without being able to go down to play with her friends; but on the brighter side, there are many fun things to do: do her favourite activities such as painting and sketching, continue with her Djembe classes over the Zoom app, watch movies and read books. She detests the television because of the dark clouds of Covid-19 over the entire world.
The only option before us is to stay safe and stay positive, locked-up as we are in our homes during the lockdown. By now, almost everyone- upwards from the milkman and the newspaper vendor- is following safety precautions: masks are being used, hands are being washed with soap, physical distance is being maintained and we are largely staying indoors to contain the virus.
Dealing with our mental state, especially with children and the elderly in the family is also a big challenge that needs to be addressed effectively. Two mental health experts from Maharashtra have made valuable suggestions: Dr Bhooshan Shukla advised in a tweet against TV watching to deal with the anxiety, alarm and sensation that is created by the news channels.
Another mental health expert, Dr Anand Nadkarni, spoke at length in an interaction on the Marathi news channel, ABP Mazha on how families can stay mentally fit and positive during this lockdown.
Learn to do new things, become creative and participate joyously in household chores such as washing vessels and cutting vegetables; let children do things on their own; give them the freedom to make a mess with their clay, paints or toys, and join them to clear the mess, he suggested.
Since family members are spending the entire day in each other’s company, it’s a good time to become nostalgic about the past, he advised. This is particularly emotionally satisfying for our elderly parents and grandparents, he advised.
Be flexible and accommodative with one another and let there be a sense of humour in our interactions. Let us be more accepting of ourselves and others.
We can deal with our fears and anxiety by focusing on doing what is in our control, he advised. Finally, our objective should be to learn from this experience and come out as emotionally stronger human beings.
The guidance from health experts on the safety measures against Covid-19, and the guidance from mental health experts on effectively dealing with this crisis as a family, are the only two pieces of advice that we need at the moment, I think.
