- Make no mistake, it would amount to an understatement whilst mentioning that the hardships faced by humankind in the face of the pandemic have been done to death. Several countries, irrespective of their standing in the global pecking order, were left reeling by the debilitating effects on their respective country’s economy under the stringent lockdown measures to stem the spread of the dreaded virus. Of late, humanity is slowly picking up threads to revert to normalcy after undergoing challenging times faced with uncertainty ruling the roost everywhere. Indians too have had harrowing times and more specifically, children as well.
PC: Philippe Poullaouec
- Anticipated challenges are still not beyond us as wave after wave of the virus is stalling concerted efforts at recouping our well-being. The timely invention of vaccines is a definite boon in times of distress helping in mitigating the difficulties to a great extent. Realization is slowly dawning on the populace about the necessity to get inoculated as and when the elixir of life is made available by the respective governments to present a formidable fight against the menace. However, while the physical and economic toll of the pandemic can be easily quantified in various ways, it is proving to be harder with the psychological consequences perpetrated on us.
- The scarring on the psychological front hardly gets deserving attention though the burden of stress, anxiety, depression, and mental health disorders has seen a dramatic increase over the past year. Unlike physical and economical hardships which can be easily quantified, the severity of debilitating effects on the mental health front cannot be accurately pinpointed since there are no readily available solutions to address these issues except showing more openness, empathy in conversations, better understanding, and good support infrastructure that can make a tangible difference to the affected lot.
PC: Ann Kiernan
- One of the hardest hits but not paid commensurate consideration is the plight of children whose education graphs, home staying, and playing around have taken tremendous beating where the impact has been monumental, to say the least. Of course, children – mostly below the category of teenagers and adolescents – are assumed to be more resilient in comparison and expected to have withstood the travails of pandemic well on the back proper material provisioned and emotional support from the parents as well as available resources. However, the same may not be true of those on the cusp of transforming into adults who have had to face varied challenges.
- Increasingly monotonous online learning has lost whatever novelty factor associated with the medium-long back. Longing to come back to the conventional mode of learning, though allowed after a long gap of almost a year, is slowly turning out to be short-lived as the second wave of the virus is already showing signs of sweeping across the country. Many students of higher learning are indeed battling it out and scores have lost their precious lives by resorting to committing suicide unable to bear the mounting pressure vis-à-vis uncertain future and unfulfilled educational commitments. The authorities and respective parents should address mental health issues with sensitivity, compassion, and trained counseling to thwart potential misadventures.
