PANDEMIC - THIS IS JUST A BEND NOT AN END
Mental Health Action Plan: Promoting Care and Treatment
The lockdown and the current affairs have left a lot of people struggling for contact with their loved ones, affecting them in more ways than imaginable. One such impact was a change in the person's mental health, there is a lot of confusion as to what may be a sign of depression or just feeling down for the day, here is all that you need to know to take care of yourself and your family.
What are the mental illnesses/disorders that can affect you?
Mental disorders that can be developed over a few months include some of the most common disorders like anxiety disorder, mood disorder, eating disorder, etc., unless left untreated, minor cases that are the ones that usually don't require professional assistance are quite common. Other than these there are similar cases of just feeling inactive for some time, the critical is to notice when the disorder seems to go out of hand. Identifying a rid oneself is a difficult job and therefore should be pointed out by others, only then can they remain mentally stable.
Identifying the disorders
Some symptoms indicate a mental disorder that is common to most disorders, like
Feeling sad or down
Reduced ability to think (reduced cognitive ability)
Excessive fear
Anxiety
Inability to sleep
Constant tiredness
These are the symptoms indicating that you require professional help, however, it should be
known that these should be persistent for a considerable amount of time and are affecting
your life.
Precautions
To prevent your loved ones and yourself from being affected, here are some things you can
do, but it should be noted that each person requires a different form of care and approach so just calling might be enough for some people to remain healthy and active whereas others may require much more time spent on them.
Call your relatives once in a while to see how they are holding up during the pandemic.
Talk to your friends frequently, video calls, playing games together, etc. are a great way of ensuring that neither of you is lonely, or sad as talking about things lets you vent out your problems
Be an active member of your local family, be involved in some household chores, take up some responsibility within the house
Make sure that you are never too bored, it is true that ‘an empty mind is a devil's workshop’ constantly be involved in something.
Try to learn a new skill, remember the point is not to learn but to ensure that your mind is involved in something.
Have a positive outlook on life, reassure yourself that everything will be fine, few medicines can work better than hope.
Taking all these steps allows us to ensure that neither are we going to be affected and nor are others, so it’s beneficial either way. Staying around people that you are comfortable with is a crucial element of all these precautions, as the feeling of alienation may lead to some
problems.
Summing it up: should I be worried?
NO! Mental disorders are quite common and almost all people would have experienced a
minor mental disorder at some point in their life. Unlike infectious diseases, all of these
disorders have a cure and a person who specializes in looking into them.
Staying active with a positive outlook on life is the ultimate cure to all these disorders, if you believe that yourself or someone you know is suffering from such a disorder you're already very close to curing it! Most people don’t realize that they are undergoing a disorder, so quick identification is always desirable.
If you feel someone you know is suffering try to spend some time with them, allow them to vent it out ensuring their stability. Expressing your emotions will allow you to maintain a safe distance from such disorders, never lose hope.
Stay safe, stay home and stay happy.