Mental wellbeing has been overlooked throughout history in Indian society. Over the past two years, the situations caused by the pandemic have intensified pre-existing issues such as anxiety, depression, OCD, and stress in people. As a mental health organization, Dharma Life Sciences has seen an increase in the number of people who come with pandemic-related life events that have aggravated their existing condition of anxiety or depression.
A study published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry found that about half of the population faced psychological impacts such as poor sleep quality, stress, and psychological distress. The report also mentions another online Indian survey which found that about 40.5% of the participants reported anxiety or depressive symptoms.
The ability to adapt is an incredible feature of any disruption. Some human beings can adapt not just physically but also mentally, according to a study by the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto. The emotional health program by Dharma Life Sciences, which is based on the concept of neuroplasticity helps an individual in a similar way through the concept of ‘rewiring the mind’.
Six things that got worse for us Indians during the pandemic
1. Major life events
2. Reduced ‘love hormone'
Humans crave social bonding to feel secure and protected as a group. Our mind and body is designed to feel better when we are socially connected. Many of us haven’t greeted an old friend with a warm hug or shared a cup of coffee with a colleague while discussing our woes at work. This lack of physical touch and real conversations results in lower than usual levels of the hormone ‘oxytocin’.
Scientist Paul J. Zak in his research measured oxytocin changes in blood before and after using different types of social media. In-person interactions had the biggest effect, but Zak says video conferencing is about 80% as effective in producing oxytocin while audio and text are less effective. Our body produces oxytocin when we make eye contact. When you meet someone with whom you are emotionally connected, your body is expecting to feel warm and fuzzy but it is now replaced with a sense of mistrust and the constant fear of getting infected.
3. Video call fatigue
Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL), examined the psychological consequences of spending hours per day on video calls. We work harder on video calls to recognize and process non-verbals and body language. Constantly looking at your own face during a call is unnatural. “In the real world, if somebody was following you around with a mirror constantly – so that while you were talking to people, making decisions, giving feedback, getting feedback – you were seeing yourself in a mirror, that would just be crazy. No one would ever consider that,” he explains. "Gestures could also mean different things in a video meeting context. A sidelong glance to someone during an in-person meeting means something very different than a person on a video chat grid looking off-screen to their child who just walked into their home office."
4. Lower self-esteem and disconnect
Too much Social media usage can lead to an increased feeling of loneliness and disconnectivity. The comparison trap and fear of missing out can leave even the most secure of us feeling unhappy.
Read our tips on how to use social media to feel more connected - https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ8kcEEs_fM/
5. The anxiety of losing one’s job
The unemployment rate in India peaked at 25% and 15% during the first and second waves respectively, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. While business owners struggle with loss, several qualified and experienced professionals can be seen sharing posts on Linked In about their unemployed situation.
6. Relationship with co-workers
Working from home has led to less effective communication while collaborating. Data from a survey of 1,000 currently employed US professionals conducted by Grammarly.com, concluded that 46% of workers agreed that it is more challenging to connect with others without face-to-face interaction.
Although there have been studies that report increased productivity and flexibility in the remote work setting, it's not the same for new hires. Virtual onboarding of new employees gives very little opportunity for team bonding and personal connection between colleagues. For example, Weworkremotely states in an article “A solid onboarding process helps new employees feel welcome and like they’re already part of the team. On the flip-side, a poor onboarding experience creates stress and confusion early on, which may leave new employees wondering if they made the wrong choice.”
One way forward: To not just cope but to change
Personal growth and the need to change- Most participants in the study conducted at the University of Toronto experienced a decline in well-being due to loneliness, negative emotions, and alienation, some individuals experienced higher levels of self-transcendent wisdom. “To use an analogy, the relationship between adaptive coping and self-transcendent wisdom may be compared to boiling water. As one heats a pot of water, at some point, when the liquid water has no more capacity to disperse energy, it turns to steam. People with existing adaptive coping strategies are analogous to a larger pot of water, which takes more heat and longer exposure to boil. Those without such strategies, however, are analogous to smaller pots; the heat represented by the current disruption to daily life is enough to require them not just to cope, but to change.”, the authors of the study explain.
Madhumita Srinivaasa, Marketing Manager
for Dharma Life Sciences (India)
References:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/pandemic-work-communication-trends/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648060/full
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