Since then, the world news has been dominated by the rapid spread and far-reaching impacts of COVID-19. However, the pandemic is much more than a global health crisis. The novel Coronavirus has the potential to create crippling and devastating social, economic and political effects on each of the country it touches and leave deep and long-enduring scars. 

MULTIFACETED CHALLENGES IMPOSED BY COVID-19

Creating a monumental challenge on the public healthcare system, the pandemic brought turmoil on the global market, livelihood, trade, economies, different institutions and the like and integrating all, affecting human life. 

The lockdowns confined millions of citizens to their houses shut down, businesses left large groups of migrant workers jobless and homeless and ceased almost all economic activities. Consequently, the recent days witnessed the sharpest economic pullback and a huge spike in unemployment all across the globe. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global economy is expected to shrink by over 3 per cent in 2020 – the steepest slowdown since the Great Depression of the 1930s. This global economic downturn, coupled with the financial crisis, is bound to have a negative impact on the behavioural and mental health of the society. 

Quite a few start-ups came to a temporary or permanent halt and the organisations that could operate had to identify and overcome several challenges for ensuring business continuity. One such challenge was quickly adapting to the work culture change and instigating remote working practices that reflected this new environment in order to maintain business continuity. With this shift in working cultures, people not only lost a routine and structured daily schedule, but also social interactions with the wide variety of supportive, friendly, casual relationships at work and in public that make for a rich social texture. Moreover, middle-aged working individuals experienced greater levels of stress due to overlapping family and work responsibilities. These factors compounded with the responsibilities they have towards their children and/or ageing parents as caregivers might have triggered feelings of despair, frustration and loneliness. 

With the shutting down of schools and playgrounds, lack of outdoor activity, aberrant eating and sleeping habits, children have also been exposed to great psychological sufferings because of COVID-19. Although children have been largely spared from the direct health effects of COVID-19, the crisis is having a profound effect on their mental well-being, their social development, their safety, their privacy, their economic security, and most importantly, their education. This disruption of lifestyle has given rise to feelings of distress, monotony, impatience, annoyance and various other neuropsychological manifestations. There is an even greater threat of domestic violence and child abuse now. The children from marginalized communities are particularly susceptible to the infection and may suffer from extended ill-consequences of this pandemic, such as child labour, child trafficking, child marriage, sexual exploitation and death.

Campus closings and the overall response to the Coronavirus fundamentally brought a shift in how college students think about their sense of belonging. In addition to depression and loneliness, college students were also likely to face increased rates of anxiety, fuelled by the uncertainties surrounding the virus. 

The elderly, however, face special challenges because of this pandemic and constitute an especially vulnerable group. Firstly, their age is a predisposing factor to mental and physical health issues and the presence of comorbid conditions make them even more susceptible to infections and accompanying mental distress. The elderly are always advised for maintaining social interactions for their mental and emotional wellbeing, but this has seen a drastic disruption because of the current situational demands of social distancing. Nowadays, not visiting ageing relatives, with the intention of not exposing them to the virus, has become a symbol of love. Thus, the lack of social interactions can precipitate and worsen anxiety, loneliness, feelings of being a burden on their children and various other psychological issues. Thirdly, the lockdowns have aggravated the issues of access to basic medications and healthcare facilities which the elderly face owing to their physical health problems. If they are unable to obtain a sustained supply of medication, they are bound to experience deterioration in their mental state. The constant streaming of news related to the pandemic may become a source of their stress and anxiety because most news outlets highlight the increased mortality rates of COVID-19 in older people. Thus, the regular exposure to such disturbing information can trigger episodes of anxiety, depressive moods and eating and sleeping disturbances. This, in turn, can have a detrimental effect on their quality of life.

Besides these age-related problems, the collateral damage of COVID-19 has been suffered by relationships. These times have witnessed a tsunami of divorces, the dating scene is on its knees and thousands of couples have consulted therapists after months of staying indoors together during the lockdown. All of this has triggered feelings of isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression. 

Thus, with the spread of COVID-19, the world has been witnessing and experiencing the parallel spread of anxiety, worry, stress and frustration because of the instability and ambiguity of the current situation. Having little idea about what the post COVID scenario looks like and experiencing a lack of control has been a major stressor in recent times. Indeed, in a crisis like this, our mental state seems to deteriorate and it becomes very essential for each one of us to learn ways of staying mentally healthy and be able to cope with the surrounding negativity and stress. 

RESILIENCE: THE KEY TO OVERCOME HARDSHIPS

Remaining calm at a time when we are all in high alert due to COVID-19 can be a challenging task and people exhibit varied responses to the outbreak.  However, during these challenging times, building psychological resilience is vital for the ability to cope effectively with hardship, uncertainty, and change. The ability to withstand setbacks, adapt positively, and bounce back from adversity is described as “resilience” (Luthar and Cicchetti, 2001). Very simply explained, mental resilience means managing our minds in a way that increases our ability to face the situation and prevent psychological distress from affecting our daily functioning. Resilience is the skill which starts with noticing our own thoughts, then unhooking them from the non-constructive ones, and rebalancing quickly. This is a skill that can be built internally, nurtured and trained. 

In research by Marin Seligman, the former president of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the father of the positive psychology movement, seven habits of the happiest people had been identified – 

1. Relationships— Consistent with all the other happiness research, relationships are absolutely vital to a sense of joy and meaning in life. This is why regularly investing in, and carefully working on close relationships is very important, especially during such uncertain times. Connecting with close ones over a phone call or social media can help reduce stress and depressive moods. 

The present climate of fear can also create stigmas and judgments about who is to be avoided or who is to be kept at a distance. Thus, forming and maintaining compassionate, meaningful bonds and relationships has become even more important. 

2. Kindness— Seligman found that people, who volunteer or regularly care for others, are happier and less depressed than other people. Not surprisingly, research shows that giving and receiving kindness can protect one from disease, and may even help the person live longer. 

In the COVID times, where people are translating social distancing into physical distancing and mistreating people affected by the virus, little acts of kindness can not only help others but the society overall. 

3. Physical Exercise— Exercise and a good diet are primary factors for lifting depression. Keeping the body healthy by moving every day is a basic building block of happiness and can also act as a form of healthy engagement during these times. 

4. Purpose, meaning, and spirituality— Studies demonstrate a close link between spiritual practices and happiness. Spiritual thinking can also help people cultivate hope, compassion, and self-reflection. Spiritual engagement can also keep one’s mind off the surrounding negativity and help the person stay calm and relaxed. 

5. Identify and use greatest strengths— People who identify what they are great at and try to do more of it every day—are much happier. Developing strengths and concentrating on positive qualities can also boost mental wellbeing. 

6. Gratitude, mindfulness and hope— Happy people focus on what they have, not on what they don’t have and live in the present as much as possible. Hope has been linked to a better immune system and less chronic disease. How we explain bad events to ourselves also plays a large role in how we move forward. These attributes are deeply linked to happiness, and they are skills that can be learnt, practised and deliberately cultivated. 

7. Flow States— A fascinating work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, “flow” activities are those in which people become so engrossed and absorbed in that space and time seem to not exist. Research shows that people are happier when they regularly engage in “flow” activities. These are activities that people simply enjoy doing voluntarily. They are moderately challenging, but not so challenging that they produce stress. 

With the gift of time, we have received due to COVID-19, we can rediscover our long-lost talents and spend productive time behind cultivating them.

This calm and present state is crucial. It helps keep the mind from wandering and getting hooked, and it prevents us from being susceptible to stress and worry. Moreover, taking some time off from work and family commitments and engaging in self-care and introspection can help us think clearly. More importantly, the continued practice of calming our minds builds a muscle of resilience. When we practice bringing ourselves back to the present moment, we deepen our capacity to cope and weather all sorts of crises, whether global or personal. 

Resonating well with Seligman’s research, a recent study by Killgore, W. D. S., Taylor, E. C., Cloonan, S. A., and Dailey, N. S. (2020) on Psychological resilience during the COVID-19 lockdown proved that social support from family, friends, and a special caring loved one were each independently associated with greater resilience and during periods of shelter-in-place orders, it is important to foster these relationships and to find creative ways to stay emotionally connected with those we care about. Their research also highlighted the importance of daily activities. Exposure to the outdoors and sunlight for a few minutes each day and getting a bit more exercise were both also associated with greater resilience. Finally, spiritual health was another facet of well-being to consider, as more frequent prayer was independently associated with greater resilience. It was thus found that those who actively engaged in these vital activities and nurtured their relationships tended to be the most resilient to the challenges to mental health imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In addition to these, World Health Organization (WHO) also published a document on “mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak” which addressed age-specific concerns and highlighted similar points related to building resilience. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also highlighted the significance of enhancing community resilience to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

Thus, individuals building internal reliance can definitely contribute to the building of community resilience and create a better situation for all, because the overall resilience of a community rests on the extent to which community members practice healthy lifestyles and are aware of the community’s health-related functional needs. 

CONCLUSION

Looking through the lens of positivity and optimism, one can see a silver lining on the dark COVID cloud. Despite all the obvious hardships, most of the people are learning to adapt well to these challenging circumstances and deal with all the ordeals. We’ve started engaging in healthy habits, connected with long lost friends, rediscovered old talents and understood the value of time. We’ve become more aware of our emotional needs, we’re understanding people better and we’re bonding with each other like never before. It’s true that the current times are uncertain and we have a very hazy idea about what the future looks like, but in spite of all this, humans are known to be resilient beings and this innate human capacity of resilience has always helped us overcome the hard times. After all, when life gives us lemons, we’ve got to make good lemonade and enjoy the drink! 

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