CATASTROPHE - JOURNEY FROM HOUSE TO HOLDING CELL

Once Arjun asked Lord Krishna to write something on the Wall …. Which will make him happy when he’s sad and make him sad when he’s happy… Krishna wrote… “Yeh waqt bhi guzar jayega”

I have no idea why this phrase gives me more strength to fight with this hard times when we all are literally exasperate, this pandemic has taught us the value of time, people and most importantly the uncertainness of life.

The largest COVID-19 national lockdown in the world has been extended to and still going on. Till date India has reported 29,823,546 cases and 385167 deaths cases mostly focusing 28,678,390 recovered cases from COVID-19, in 31 states and union territories since 2019. India was quick to close its international borders and enforce an immediate lockdown, which WHO praised as “tough and timely”. The lockdown has also given the government time to prepare for a possible surge in cases when the pandemic is forecasted to peak in the coming weeks.

Preparedness and response to COVID-19 have differed at the state level. Odisha's exposure to previous natural disasters meant crisis precautions were already in place and have been repurposed. Kerala has drawn on its experience with the Nipah virus in 2018 to use extensive testing, contact tracing, and community mobilisation to contain the virus and maintain a very low mortality rate. It has also set up thousands of temporary shelters for migrant workers. Maharashtra has used drones to monitor physical distancing during lockdown and applied a cluster containment strategy. The premise relies on there not being community transmission, and there is danger of stigmatisation and coercion. But states deserve much of the credit for India's COVID-19 response only if its citizens implement those as orders.

This lockdown not only effect a particular group rather there are more than 2.2 billion children in the world who constitute approximately 28% of the world's population. Those aged between 10 to 19 years make up 16 % of the world's population.

COVID-19 has impacted the lives of people around the world including children and adolescents in an unprecedented manner. Throughout the world, an essential modus of prevention from COVID- 19 infection has been isolation, social distancing, and sanitization strategies to protect from the risk of infection. These inexorable circumstances which are beyond normal experience, lead to stress, anxiety and a feeling of helplessness in all

As it’s said …Hard times itself comes to break us but we are ought not to break, rather strengthen by the adverse circumstances and allow ourselves to gain from the experience we are in.

Isn’t it strange that you are locked in your own homes, with a feeling, of being in prison even when you haven’t committed a crime, so do I, but no option left over, this is the need for the time,

Many cross-sectional studies have been conducted to analyze the impact of COVID-19 and lock down on children and youth. The results of these studies show that the nature and extent of this impact depend on several vulnerability factors such as the developmental age, educational status, pre-existing mental health condition, being economically underprivileged or being quarantined due to infection /fear of infection. Studies show that young children show more clinginess, disturbed sleep, nightmares, poor appetite, inattentiveness, and significant separation problems. The containment measures like school and activity centers closures for long periods together expose the children and youth to the debilitating effects on educational, psychological, and developmental attainment as they experience loneliness, anxiety, and uncertainty. Compulsive use of internet gaming and social media puts them at higher risk. Children and adolescents with mental health conditions are not used to variation in the environment. Hence there could be an exacerbation in symptoms and behavioral problems.

Cleanliness is one key protective measure against the spread of COVID-19. According to United Nations’ policy guidelines to fight the infection one has to be careful about washing their hands six times a day, and whenever they touch anything. The lockdown, which has made the healthy population distressed about possessing enough food and prevention related resources like masks and sanitizers, has made it worse for people with Hoarding disorder.

There is a need to ameliorate children and adolescent's access to mental health services by using both face to face as well as digital platforms. For this collaborative network of parents, psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, community volunteers, and NGOs are required. There is a need for ‘tele mental health compatibility’ and be accessible to the public at large. This would be crucial to prevent during and post-pandemic mental challenges in the most vulnerable and underprivileged section of the society.

Hope is very important for us because it can make our present moment less difficult to handle and bear. If we believe that our tomorrow will be better than our present than we need to bear the hardships of today.

Sometimes things are out of our hands, what we need to do is remain calm and move with the flow, having faith for a better tomorrow.

Till then stay at home, be safe, wash hands, and get vaccinated,As the only way to get through this holding cell is GETTING INJECTED WITH VACCINE WHEN YOUR TURN COMES.