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The novel coronavirus has taken the world by storm. The pandemic has forced nations around the world to impose complete lockdowns and urge people to stay home to prevent the spread of the disease.
In fear of the invisible foe, everyone is seemingly placed under house arrest. A suffocating situation prevails all around.
The news of death of thousands of people around the world every day is adding to anxiety of people in confinement making them mentally more miserable. People in home quarantine is deprived of a normal life.
As no therapy for or vaccine against Covid-19 infection is invented yet, people are destined to be in quarantine at their homes. Nobody knows how long this situation of staying cut off from the society will prolong.
As sense of isolation from outside world for a long time doesn’t blend well with the human nature, so experts fear people may fall in despair. Isolated people go through a sense of socio-economic instability, spurting anxiety and making the health conditions complex, especially of those who are suffering from high blood pressure and other diseases.
Foreseeing a bleak future, they are growing ill-tempered and ill-mannered and their bad temper is affecting their family members, particularly the children. Therefore, experts are giving various suggestions as a way to get rid of this mental condition.
The Business Post talked to Professor Md Ridwanur Rahman, who had been head of medicine department at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for over a decade.
Prof Ridwan, who now heads the research centre at Universal Medical College in Dhaka, said, “Without imposing the lockdown, the situation would otherwise get worse. For being in lockdown, people are developing a variety of physical and mental illnesses. The situation is complicating the condition of diabetic patients because they can’t walk outside their small flats, gaining extra kilos and developing depression along with mental instability.”
“Excessive tension and apprehension are stoking up blood pressure and diabetes, and there is no medication for their treatment except counselling which can rid them of fear and anxiety,” said the doctor.
He advised people to take telemedicine and talk to specialists from home and lead their life according to the suggestions given by physicians.
Mentioning the increasing instability due to lack of work and sleep, Ridwanur Rahman said, “Due to ongoing coronavirus crisis, isolated people are getting irritated and bored. Often they pick up family feuds which sometimes end up in physical abuse of the weaker members of their families.”
This is an unusual situation, he said, noting that the situation was having a bad effect on children. The adults can accept it but the children fail to adapt to these psycho-physical abuses, he added.
Children are being forced to stay in a state of ‘nowhere to go’. They can neither go to school nor to the playground. That’s why, they can’t pay attention to anything, feel boxed in and end up in utter frustration.
Conscious parents are taking various steps to keep the children mentally healthy in this condition, cheering up their children in various ways. But the children, who are finding their homes boring, are getting emotionally upset in the houses of inconsiderate parents.
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About the treatment and management of such mental trauma, clinical psychologist of Faridpur Medical College Hospital Md Mahbubur Rahman Ridoy comes up with some suggestions:
Ensure playful environment for children
Children deserve a happy and playful environment at home. Parents should always try to make them happy, allowing them to play with instruments and toys. They should be given quality time that includes sinking against cushions to watch TV together and telling stories, he said. Those who have a rooftop open space, they should go there to play football or cricket as semi-indoor games. Otherwise, parents should play indoor games or resort to drawing or sketching in the cosy corner of their house.
No pressure on children for study
None should pressurise children for study. Rather they need to be given the opportunity to study the way they like.
Adapt to the situation
Everyone should know that we are going through a critical situation as all of us are scared and reeled in coronavirus shock, spiking the mental pressure which we can call ‘general anxiety disorder’. We must endure the unprecedented situation and the quicker we adapt to the time, the better we will live in such lockdown condition. We need to help ourselves as there is no alternative to enduring the crisis.
Be compassionate towards family members
We need to be compassionate to our family members rather being panicked. Most of the families are tensed about the elderly family members who feel suffocated staying back at home, often slipping out of the house to go to places of worships. Keeping personal distance over phone contacts can be increased to ward off boredom, sense of solitariness and monotony. Gossip, fun, storytelling with the family members can soften the impact of coronavirus scare.
Keep in touch with relatives
We can reconnect with the relatives and friends in this uncannily relax days as busyness of normal city life of pre-coronavirus days has temporarily disappeared. It can make you mentally strong.
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Get busy
You can enrol for an online course, do freelancing or improve your skill by studying some books in this situation.
Love your partner
Love your partner if you are married. Being at home all day might be monotonous making you bored and thus picking up quarrel. To avoid quarrels, you have to love your partner. You have to give her or him time.
Do exercise
Exercise regularly to stay fit. To prevent the coronavirus, you need to increase your body's resistance and keep your mind healthy. At the same time, eating nutritious food and fruits rich in citrus will help keep the body healthy.
Dial helpline, if needed
To cushion the psychological impact of the coronavirus scare, a helpline was set up and anyone can take help of that.
The coronavirus, which spread in the form of pandemic, was first identified in late December last year in China's Wuhan province. As of Wednesday, 7,103 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported across the country. Of the infected, 163 died. To control the virus from spreading, the government in different phases imposed lockdown, forcing the people to stay at home.
