Doctors and nurses are working themselves to the bone to help the world around but fear and anxiety are feelings that are creeping right in. Our country had a comparatively lower number of infected cases and still, it bothered the healthcare professionals as there is no possible and tested solution for COVID. The virus-infected patients that were numbered around 2,000 have now crossed 90,000 cases within just a span of two months. And this growing number is a reason for the increased sense of helplessness in doctors. 

 Dr Adit - assigned to the COVID patients in Mumbai said, “The number of patients is increasing by the day. We were assigned just 3-4 cases in the beginning and now each one of us has a minimum of 400 patients to tend to. And yet, the patients keep coming in.” He further mentioned, “Every day I dedicate just 20 minutes for NEWS on COVID update. I switch on the TV in the hospital cabin or look through my phone with the hope that somewhere in the world there might be good news of reducing number of cases, the virus being wiped out or a vaccine being tested. But all I come across is the number of increasing cases and I lose all hope.”  

 The doctors and nurses are worried about the mounting number of patients. There is no escape from the deaths and the burden of facing the families. 

While they are mentally and physically exhausted, the wave of new cases is making them lose hope that things will ever straighten out. This loss of hope is playing heavy on their mental and emotional health where they are feeling embittered, cheated, and helpless. Even though they want to help, they know that things are out of their control and this further is angering them.

Here are a few simple steps to help you cope up with these feelings of helplessness during the phase of the crisis:

1) Understand that you cannot control everything:  It is OKAY to feel that you cannot control the number of deaths and patients being infected. Accept the fact that not everything that happens around you is in your control. Try and focus on the small things that you can influence and work on those productively--be it as simple as making a patient/family feel better about their condition, or applauding when someone gets cured. 

2) Try to disconnect:  With so much of death around, it is essential that healthcare workers start to distance themselves emotionally from the mortality of it. Accept the fact that there was nothing else you could’ve done to save the patients. Instead of grieving over the number of patients who are dying, try and focus on the patients who can be saved. 

3) Keep close to your family:  Family is known to calm an individual’s nerves. Try and stay connected with your family whenever possible. This was, you’d feel a sense of relief, knowing that your family is safe. Just connecting with them will lift your spirits for the time being.