The Covid-19 pandemic is the global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced since a very long time, precisely since the Second World War. More than a health crisis it has emerged as leaving deep scars having devastating effects on the economic, social and political scenario.
I would like to share my experience in the lockdown, how the news has impacted me and how have we as a family coped with it. We heard about the Corona Virus in January and as February came in we still didn’t take it seriously as it seemed to be in a distant land. As we entered March 2020, we realized that it was something serious, impacting many countries. When the news of the virus appeared in our local news in mid-March, it triggered a sense of fear and uncertainty. With both my boys at a crucial juncture of their career, we were worried about how it would impact their future. My younger son had made plans of spending his holidays after his 12th board exams. Same with my elder son who was preparing for his Final year graduation exams. The lockdown was anticipated however, when it was officially announced they had emotional outbursts which took a while for me to help them regulate their emotions. My husband is overseas and he was also under lockdown. Hence, regular calls to check the safety of each other and our loved ones was what the initial few days were all about. After a few days, we settled down and started analyzing the situation on how would this impact us and what best can be done in the current situation. We spent time doing the household chores (my washing machine gave up during the lockdown period and we had to resort to manual washing, in addition to the other tasks), playing games and working on our respective tasks. I had my goal of launching my online courses during the months of March/April which was planned well in advance. My kids also started working towards their career goals. We decided on watching less of news and get updated on what’s going on just once a day. This made a huge impact on our emotional well-being as we were in a situation that was beyond our control. All we could do was follow the government orders, the safety guidelines that were laid down and stay indoors. We had regular video calls with our near and dear ones to help all of us cope with the situation and stay connected.
The apartment complex where I reside has many senior citizens. I have always had this community service instinct in me. Hence, I took on the responsibility of ensuring that they have the daily essentials supplied to them within the society premises rather than going out and putting themselves at risk. My children also joined me in this endeavor and we took this as an opportunity to look beyond ourselves and noticed how much joy this gave us.
Now, as I pen down my thoughts I realized how we as a family initially were in the Stage of Fear and gradually moved on to the next Stage of Learning. We further moved on to the Stage of Growth that has given us the highest satisfaction as we shifted our focus on helping others and on our goals.
I noticed the more time we spend in the 1st stage of fear, the more anxious we feel and we tend to spread the panic to others around us as well. It would help that we move on to the 2nd Stage of Learning at the earliest, which is a stage of awareness and helps us process our emotions and manage ourselves better. The next is the Stage of Growth, where we cultivate a positive outlook and are compassionate, empathetic as well as appreciative about the people we care about. We focus on helping others as we live in the present moment.
Where are you with this NOW? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
