Dealing with lockdown grievances

With the onset of lockdown in the country and the entire world, everything has changed or is in its changing phase. Many unexpected things happened this year, both positive and negative. Who knew a virus invisible to the naked eye would force the entire world to confine within four walls? Who knew a normal would come where teaching will occur via online methods, and everyday work will turn into work from home? Yes, this COVID has become a crisis, a global crisis that needs to be solved, but its impact on the world is not only negative. Mother nature seems to regain her real essence. There is a bloom in bio-diversity, everyone now knows how to wash dishes and clean the house, we got to know the importance of everything, starting from the tiniest things to people, our helping staffs, family members and everyone around us has a role to play, and without them, even the smallest task becomes a burden. Most importantly, it taught us that life is the most essential thing. Living it while we have time is the only mantra to celebrate each moment.

Yes, everything comes with its pros and cons. We did discuss the benefits of COVID, but the main topic of discussion is the cons/grievances of lockdown and how to come out of it.

Grievances of lockdown:

1. Anxiety, depression, loneliness

Commonly known as the feeling of unease or worry about a specific outcome, well, this does suit the situation here, since everyone irrespective of age, gender, caste, class, race, or colour is under the anxiety of when the world will be back to normal and are going through the thoughts of fear and unease regarding the pandemic. People are scared of the possibility of catching the virus and stay away from it. Though some people are still living naturally and must continue to do so.
Yes, we all must take precautions, and try to keep ourselves safe, but at the same time, we must not turn this into an obsession and stop living the life we have. After all, it is once in a lifetime opportunity.

2. Family conflict

Sibling conflict:

Now many might think that it is not something new as kids fight among each other. Not only kids but siblings when reaching their adulthood fight too. If the situation was like the old normal, then this would be something expected, but in this new normal, the situations can be tenser. Reasons like stress, anxiety, the pressure of studies, can affect not only children but adults too, which can result in building tension among siblings.

Parent-child conflict:

There is a sudden increase in the number of conflicts between parents and children, especially during the lockdown period. The reason for the same could be stress, work from home for parents and online classes for students. Parents who had their entire schedule planned from the moment they open their eyes till the moment they sleep, but in this lockdown, not only the routine got disturbed, but the responsibilities on the shoulder of parents have doubled. Earlier when children went to school, all the household chores would wind up on the time but with online classes, neither they can study fruitfully nor the household chores are done on time. The entire situation of work from home, online classes and stress have increased the tension between parents and children.

 Read | Home environment for online classes

Parent-parent conflict:

All must be acquainted that the workload and responsibility have increased on the part of parents. This has led to conflicts between them. We can say that after the lockdown ends, things would happen at an incredible intensity:

- The number of people visiting psychologists will increase.
- The rate of divorces not only in the country but worldwide will increase as well.

The reasons include living within the four walls of the house for much time due to unforeseen situation. It has increased the pressure on the mind of both, the working parents and home-makers. However, here let us focus on point two; that is, the number or the rate of divorces will increase. Locked in the houses, an increase in workload, pressure of being safe, and not catching the virus has increased to such an extent that it has boggled all the people, especially the parents. Everything is unpredictable, and within this entire situation, they have to look after the family, their children, protect the family and themselves from anything harmful, keep doing their work and household chores, all of this has created an unavoidable pressure, which tenses up the relationship between parents. The tensions could be both physical as well as vocal.

 Read | Guide to equal parenting

How to come out of it?

Well, all of it does sound negative, and its impact is all the more negative not only on us but our lives, children, and the overall development. In order to avoid such an impact, there are ways to come out of the lockdown's grief and tension as well as breakthrough the walls of misunderstanding and conflict between each other. Let us break the ice using the methods mentioned below.

1. Start conversations:

Starting or initiating a conversation will help in four ways:

- Knowing the child.
- Knowing the parent.
- Understanding the bond between them.
- Understanding the loopholes between the parent-child relationship.

A great way to find the reason for every problem is to start talking to the people who are developing this problem. It helps in delivering thoughts about the issue, and they understand the point of view of the other party.
Initiating a conversation itself is sometimes the solution to so many problems. It helps in broadening one's horizon of understanding things from various viewpoints. So, if one has an issue about a particular thing, talk about it. It will not only make one feel less-burdened but also help in reaching an outcome. It will also develop feelings of compassion and empathy for each other.

2. New means of entertainment:

The means of entertainment is something that binds the entire world together. An example of the same can be the millennial T.V show, FRIENDS. It has been more than 15 years that the show ended, but people watch it with the same excitement reminiscing its memories even today. In the same manner, means of entertainment, when watched with the family, helps create fresh memories, which in turn can help in making the bond stronger among the family members. It will be a gift of some moments of laughter and happiness for the whole family. Through these shows, one can also understand that life must go on no matter what the situation is. They have a lot to give in terms of entertainment, laughter, happiness, and lessons for all age groups or gender. In a nutshell, finding new means of entertainment can help strengthen the bond in families.

3. Learn a new skill or devote time for passion:

In daily lives, everyone cribs about not having much time to develop a new skill or devote time for their passion. Situations like these come only once in a lifetime when one can do whatever they could not, due to a heavily packed schedule. This time can fruitfully be used in developing the new skills that one needs in the future or develop any new hobby that not only helps in using the time judiciously but gives a lesson for life. One can try many new things, like coding, calligraphy, web development, app development, learning a new language, art, video editing, and a lot more. All one needs is the will to learn.

4. Exercise:

No matter what the problem is or what the situation is, exercising is something that remains evergreen. It not only keeps one fit but helps in rejuvenating the time available. Exercising releases enzymes in the human body that produces happy chemicals, which results in a boosted confidence, strong personality, fit body, and a stable brain. It is like a bar of chocolate that reduces weight. It does sound exciting and has all that one would want in their life—exercising is the ultimate mantra to keep the body, mind, and soul happy.

5. Meditate:

Ever wondered why the saints are always so unaffected and undisturbed in any situation that they face? It is because their mind is too healthy to push all the negativity out and focus on what is positive. It is achievable via meditation. Meditation is like a magic-potion for the brain to help it become more assertive and better in every sense, which would ultimately make the body more robust and better in all terms. It helps keep oneself positive, ignore negative energy around, filter what is best and what is not, and more. If one meditates, then the chances of conflicts in their family are likely to be low as meditation cools the person down, opens the mind, broadens the way of thinking, and creates an aura that makes it difficult to disturb their mental peace.

6. Increase knowledge:

The increase in knowledge means not only course-related or school-related knowledge but also the knowledge about the world we all live in. The knowledge of new words, new lives, new experiences, and the new world is also essential. It is encouraged to watch shows like National Geographic, History TV 18, Discovery, and many more. These will not only help the children to learn from the books but also learn something that is not in the books. It will help in learning lessons for life, like survival, self-sustenance, self-dependence, and a lot more. Once a person knows about the happening in the world, it will make it a lot easier for anyone to adapt as they will be well-versed with the situation at present.

One must also feel lucky to have such an environment where they have a roof over their head, have food to eat, and wear clothes. Most importantly, they have someone who can take care of them in difficult times. Many people in the world today do not have it, and they are suffering even if not from the virus but loneliness, so we must cherish and value what we have. Being lonely at such a crucial time is one of the worst things to happen to anyone. We should inculcate the values of empathy and compassion, not only in the upcoming generation but also in ourselves.