The coronavirus outbreak has sparked a major global mental health crisis. Maybe the pandemic will be brought under control in some time in the near future, but the stress, anxiety, and depression will continue to affect people and communities.
Not only the number of deaths crossing 300,000 (as on date); there has been an immense psychological effect on a vast number of people who lost or at the risk of losing livelihood, have been separated from loved ones, or have suffered from drastic lockdown orders.
A study conducted in Ethiopia showed 33% of the population is suffering from depression-like symptoms. Other studies indicated mental stress is as high as 60% in Iran and 45% in the United States. A Canadian study shows nearly half of the health care workers need psychological support. The story here in India is not different.
It is natural for many people to feel trapped in thought patterns of fear, anxiety, and helplessness, adversely affecting their mental health and well-being. Lack of access to their usual support system and coping strategies can make the situation further worse.
But the good news is that even in these trying times we can learn to maintain positive mental health and achieve personal growth. While the present crisis is certainly painful and difficult, it doesn’t control the outcome of your life. There are many aspects of your life you can control, modify, and grow with. That is what we focused on in this webinar today.
Pallavi Srivastava, the speaker in this webinar, is a very renowned therapist and a wellbeing consultant. She has a deep fascination with the human mind and its limitless potential and has conducted numerous workshops on mental health, wellbeing, and mindfulness.
Pallavi says her mission is to help people find authentic happiness, success, and inner peace enabling them to flourish in life. Some of the key issues that she has helped people resolve include fears/phobia, anxiety, insomnia, depression, OCD, relationship / marital problems, stress, career growth, and achievements, and many others.