“Can I have some more dal please?”
I requested my wife as she hovered near the door of the room, trying to look after my needs at home. She dutifully came back with a bowl and handed it over to me with gloves covered hands.
His voice shook with a lot of emotion as he spoke to me over the phone. He is a renowned doctor, working on the frontline currently dealing with the COVID 19 Pandemic. He came to us when he started to feel the toll of the pandemic on his mental health. He prefers to remain anonymous when I asked him if I could share his experience.
It has been more than a month since I have hugged my 3-year-old baby.
More than a month since I have held hands with my wife. I am extremely scared that I will bring the virus back with me from the hospital every time I come home. I am fighting death every day, dealing with distraught loved ones, seeing life trickle away every day, and feel extremely helpless. But that does not affect me as much as the fact that I might be putting my own family at risk because of my job. I follow all the safety measures required at home. But the worry leaves me sleepless at nights even though my entire body is exhausted beyond belief. Sometimes I feel why am I doing this? This is the first time in my life when I almost feel like quitting my job.
Anxiety and fear are something that most of the frontline workers are facing during this pandemic. It is the fear of the unknown that triggers these emotions. Helplessness in the ability to have control over what is happening around, worry about the family’s safety, their own personal safety, anxiety about their life-changing completely, and yet having to get up every day and tread on to the place of work and face the threats all over again. Because if they don’t do it, who will?
They’re not only suffering the anxiety of caring for sick patients while facing a dire lack of personal protective equipment and rapidly changing hospital protocols but also forgoing the calming companionship of their partners and children. It’s a whole different level of loneliness from what most of us are dealing with.
The symptoms of anxiety in frontline workers can come in the form of –
1. Loss of sleep
2. Restlessness
3. Feeling Agitated
4. Fatigue
5. Difficulty Concentrating
6. Irritability
7. Tense Muscles
Here are some tips for frontline workers to minimize the effect of the pandemic on the mental health
1. Take precautions for the family - Have frank discussions with your family about the risk to you and to them and make them understand the necessary steps to be taken to minimize the risk.
2. Taking breaks at predetermined intervals – Don’t overexert yourself. Take predetermined breaks for refreshment.
3. Talk to colleagues - Check in with colleagues at regular intervals. Look out for possible signs of anxiety in your colleagues and motivate each other for better mental health. Most probably they are going through a similar mental situation as you are. It helps to know that all of us are in this together.
4. Keep the news and media information to the minimum – Constantly keeping track of the news and the spread of the disease can take a huge toll on mental health. Restrict it to only once or twice a day.
- Work in partnerships or in teams.
- Maintain helpful self-talk
And finally
- Focusing the efforts on what is within their power.
If stress persists for longer than a few days and interferes with functioning, health care workers should consider participating in formal mental health treatment.