Article #3: Covid-19 Pandemic - A Silver Lining
If you, like me, have been wondering what good could possibly come out of this whole Covid-19 pandemic, then you might be relieved to find out that there are some positive outcomes to look forward to.
As I was reading, quite randomly I must say, I came across this article – ‘Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in Malaysia: A Single Thread of Hope’, the link to which is at the bottom of this post. Two things piqued my interest: firstly, it was published very recently right here in Malaysia; and secondly, it offered ‘a thread of hope’. That made me read the article till the end, and I’d like to share with you some takeaways from it.
Most recent pandemic related articles that I’ve come across have mainly focussed on the physical impacts and less on the mental impacts. Those that do highlight the mental impacts however tend to paint a rather bleak picture. It is only natural since the call for social distancing goes against our very basic need for human connection. The sudden disruption to our social rhythm can only lead to fear, anxiety and depression sooner or later. I daresay that every one of us must have felt such negative feelings at some point since the start of the pandemic.
However, the authors go on to illustrate how the movement restrictions outside the house directly translate to better family supervision within the home. There is greater opportunity for family bonding which in turn can build stronger family support. In fact, a combination of movement restrictions, tighter (police) security and stronger familial support help address a larger social problem which is substance abuse. They argue that the need to turn to substances as a form of coping mechanism has greatly diminished. This seems promising even if it has only triggered a temporary pause button.
For individuals at home, the movement control has inevitably slowed down the pace of life. We do/can not travel much, and we eat more homecooked food. This should translate to a healthier lifestyle, which can be adopted to produce long term benefits. This slowing down of our pace of life could also mean that we have gained more time for rest and quiet contemplation. We now have the opportunity to stop, take stock and explore the meaning of life. We have the chance to learn to appreciate some aspects of our lives that we had previously overlooked. We can find ways to do things differently and attain a better balance between work/study and life.
The message here seems too simple, but perhaps we shouldn’t complicate things. Learn to embrace the change. Learn to do things differently. Learn to connect virtually. Learn to remember and appreciate the forgotten pleasures in life.
Having said that, if the circumstances surrounding the pandemic has caused you to feel an overwhelming sense of fear, anxiety or depression, do know that we are here to lend an ear, at the very least. You can reach out to your personal tutors or the Wellbeing staff. Remember, you are not alone. We are in this together!
*Reference: Shanmugam, H., Juhari, J. A., Nair, P., Chow, S. K. and Ng, C. G. (2020).
Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in Malaysia: A Single Thread of Hope.
Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, 29(1),
Contributed bySalomy Krishna