Living in brave new world

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: My daughter, a doctor in her own right, has been home since a year and a half, waiting  for the postgraduate entrance exam results and selections. 

Many more like her are frustrated, angry, sad and anxious. Some have been working from home, some separated from family, children are missing school and hating online classes, and so many more are disillusioned, with dreams shattered, goals delayed and jobs lost. A lot has happened in these two years. So many broken hearts and depressed people approach me for help and solace. I often tell them, “We have survived and let’s talk about  how, to the world,”

Remember, we have journeyed and made it through really tough times, day on day, week by week, and month by month. We have survived probably the toughest period of our lives and must rejoice our resilience. 

Bone tired, financially wrung out, frantically cooking, dreaming of our comfort foods, watching loved ones and family pass on, experiencing survivors guilt — one may feel that they have lost out on a huge chunk of life, happiness and the freedom to live. But, I repeat, we survived this and have emerged with more resilience, fortitude and will. 

The act that we cried, suffered, felt vulnerable, lost out on love, romance, meeting people and felt desperate, still doesn’t take away from the fact that we have developed a stronger resolve to make things work, to innovate and to look for newer  avenues to survive the tricks nature seems to be playing on all of us.

As we gear up for yet another wave of illness and possible isolation, look back and pat yourself, for this is our brave new world and we will survive this too!

Be resilient 

• Everyone is resilient in their own way 
• and survival is a natural phenomenon. Here 
• are a few tips that can help build resilience 

Take stock of your life
 

• Make solid goals, cultivate a desire to achieve them
• Be compassionate, empathic and demonstrative. This helps maintain healthy relationships 
• Never think of yourself as a victim
• We can’t change the world, but do try and change whatever you can
• Pick up the courage to rebuild burnt bridges. Rekindle communication
• Be aware of your thoughts, feelings and ideologies. 
• Learn to love and appreciate what you have
• Failure is a lesson learned too. Inculcate a positive attitude towards failure and dreams that didn’t see the light of day
• Reframe your outlooks, change the way you think about negative outcomes
• Relive your life after trauma, find ways to move ahead

Be flexible 

Understand that even the best made plans can go awry. Practise patience, mindfulness and be happy for others who succeed

(The author is a mental health professional and psychotherapist at Dhrithi Wellness Clinic)