The second wave of the Covid19 pandemic is causing tremendous distress this time around. Psychologists from NIMHANS Bengaluru have cautioned that too much exposure to television news with horrifying pictures of corpses by the hundreds floating on the Ganges; of Covid patients writhing in pain and breathlessness and finally dying for want of oxygen or of those who die on hospital floors with their family members yelling out in vain, all create a grim picture of the present situation in India. On one hand citizens have been told to stay indoors to break the cycle of infection. On the other hand the grim situation pushes every normal human being in isolation to want to find out how the situation is developing – whether the oxygen shortage is resolved; whether Covid numbers have come down or are still on the rise and the number of Covid infected and deaths across the country. Seeing the unending images of death and despair over television has its negative effects. People are getting into a cycle of depression with many ending their own lives out of desperation. News of a young doctor becoming a victim of suicide because the burden of seeing Covid patients die for want of oxygen or a hospital bed was too heavy on his mind, informs us that post Covid India will have to deal with mental illness over and above many other challenges.
Online classes and work from home are not the new normal. Humans are social beings that thrive in the presence of other humans. This is true of children as it is of adults. Last year Covid took a heavy toll on the mental health of students who were ill at ease with online education, especially those seeking to appear for entrance exams to professional courses. By November 2020, everyone believed the worst was over and normalcy was returning. But that was not to be. The second wave hit India with a vengeance since April this year. And things have just spiraled out of control. Many are staring at the spectre of job loss or loss of income from the trades they pursue. The tourism industry is shattered. Hoteliers and guest house owners are out on a limb. They are all hurting but have to take it on the chin. Meanwhile the central government’s handling of the pandemic compounds the problem. Now even vaccines are running out even while the majority of Indians are yet to be vaccinated. Now even as the death toll mounts and news of death of friends, relatives and acquaintances numbs the soul, the mental health of Indians is at stake. This will be India’s big challenge post Covid.
