Teentalk

The updates on the novel coronavirus are everywhere in the news and social media nowadays. It’s ubiquitous. The entire world is battling with COVID-19. But there are people, who have had enough of it and get anxious if they hear anything about coronavirus. There are also those, who are handling this situation mindfully without panicking. There are few groups of individuals related to NGOs, or other institutions, which are trying to assist the needy people by collecting funds and distributing the required things. So, we can actually divide them into three broad categories - 

1. Anxiety Zone

-Searching and sharing anything they can find about COVID-19.

-Getting irritated easily due to anxiousness.

-Panic buying.

-Acting like victims and looking for someone to blame.

-Hoarding food, medicines that they don’t need immediately.

2. Productive Zone

-Not getting anxious about what they can’t control.

-Not consuming things that could be harmful.

-Trying to boost the immunity system.

-Making use of time productively.

-Looking for opportunities to be mentally and physically fit.

3. Helping Zone

-Thinking about others and trying to find ways to help them.

-Living in the PRESENT.

-Motivating others to not to panic

-Being appreciative, grateful and inspirational towards everyone.

So now it’s time for you to make a decision about how you would want to wade through this crisis situation.

The work from home culture wasn’t so common in India till now. But due to the COVID-19, employees are left with little option than working from home. Such individuals are facing challenges which are affecting their mental and physical health. There are researches and studies suggesting that employees are suffering from isolation, loneliness, mental stress, burn-out, unhealthy eating habits, and body aches.

According to the American Psychology Association (APA), “Social isolation can cause depression, sleep disturbance, a poor heart condition, and cognitive decline”

Let’s spare a glance at them one by one-

Poor work-life balance–

As most of the people are working from home in the current situation, they are facing many mental health issues. Those who have a family are struggling to strike a balance between home and work responsibilities. People who are staying alone are experiencing loneliness as they can’t leave their homes. There are professionals who work more productively once they interact with their co-workers and managers. But the present situation isn’t only affecting their performance but also their emotional and mental well-being. For nearly everyone, the line between the personal and professional life has been blurred and they are puzzled.

Sleep deprivation –

As the work-life balance gets disturbed, stress comes to the fore. Some companies still expect a lot of work from their employees and this is wearing them out. The sleeping schedule has changed. A lot of people are complaining about lack of sleep even if they are mentally tired.

Less physical activity, more unhealthy eating –

People are used to taking coffee breaks in between work, they used to go for a stroll, which is a sort of workout for few people and now when all those things have suddenly stopped, it’s very difficult for them to work productively.

Since stress is additionally related to increasing hunger hormones, people now tend to eat more unhealthy food, whatever is easily available, and this is again contributing to an unhealthy lifestyle and stress.

How to stay fit while working from home?

• Separate your workspace and don’t let it interrupt in your personal life.
• Set a routine and stick with it.
• Use time tracking apps and follow them in your working hours.
• Eat healthy food, keep some dry fruits handy so that you can munch and keep drinking water.
• Take a 3 minutes break and do some stretches after every hour.
• Try to finish your work on time and turn-off your laptop until the subsequent day.
• Interact with your colleagues on a daily basis.
• Exercise, meditate and keep doing self-care practices.
• Take care of digital distancing after working hours and just try to relax.