Mental Wellness Gen Z: We Are The Future X Evolvere
The Coronavirus is reported to have begun on New Year’s Eve of 2019, spreading around the world in the span of a few short months and eventually forcing even the busiest of cities to go into a national lockdown. It has been a tumultuous time for everyone. Our lives were uprooted, disrupted, and transferred to different mediums. Needless to say, it took a toll on the best of us. When the pandemic first began, to me, it seemed to be a relief. But as realization set in and the severity of the virus was informed to all, it began to form fissures in the perfect visage of society. Slowly, the damage it had on all of us started to become evident. In the beginning, the worries were related to the disease or the change in routine. Months into the pandemic, the isolation, and the world-spread panic began to take a toll on everyone’s well-being aside from the other drastic changes. Now, in the month of March 2021, approximately 30 countries await the first batches of the COVID vaccine. As we adjust to this limbo between normal and careful, it’s time we look back on what has been, perhaps, the hardest times of our lives.
According to a KFF analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S.A have reported symptoms of depressive disorder or anxiety. These numbers have skyrocketed during the global pandemic. Different narratives from individuals who are struggling with mental health have also come forward. And during this extended lockdown, mental health has been destigmatized in comparison to previous years. All the side-effects of these unprecedented times can be attributed to the severe changes implemented to curb the spreading virus. Economic difficulties, job loss, change in routine, closure of educational institutes are some of the prominent factors contributing to this instability. Aside from these factors, one doesn’t need a clear-cut reason to feel negatively impacted. Unprecedented and turbulent times are also scientifically linked to putting our body in a state known as ‘fight or flight’. The fight or flight response is an automatic physiological reaction to an event that is perceived as stressful, frightening, or new to us. Stressful times like the 2020 pandemic check all of those boxes. Our body is in a nerve-wracking phase and this directly affects our state of mind. We’re all living in survival mode, having our routines changed and for some, lives uprooted, with no foreseeable end. Needless to say, this is a time where our mental well-being should be one of our primary concerns and it needs to be cared for.
Self-care means implementing little steps in our routine that can help preserve or improve our mental health. In today’s time, the value of self-care and its importance is being more acknowledged. Even then, there are several misconceptions, confusions, and doubts regarding it, one of the most major ones being about how self-care is only for you during your worst times or how it is a luxury. Self-care is not only required in turbulent times but also in our everyday life. Self-care is like checking in and taking care of your body and mental health, and making sure that everything is satisfactory. Forgetting to do so could eventually and possibly be detrimental to your health. During turbulent times, not taking care of yourself will most definitely lead to some degree of failure. Our mind is constantly under pressure due to the new changes, adaptations in our routine, and the threat of a severe virus. With the influx of constant information surrounding us about COVID numbers and the stance of the global world, it is a must for us to take some time away and take care of ourselves. Self-care is different for each individual. One must find something that works for them. This can vary from meditation, journaling or simply taking a walkout in nature. If it helps you release stress, feel relaxed, and vitalized, then it is self-care characteristic to you.
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