“My daughter had isolated herself and her family at the start of March itself because of the pandemic. She had stopped calling her domestic help also. It has been more than three months now, she has not stepped out or let her family step out even for a few hours. They order in groceries, don’t go out for walks either. I am scared for her and her family’s health. It seems to me they are all turning into some type of zombies. The children are forever watching TV; her husband has been complaining of digestive issues due to lack of exercise, I believe, and not eating enough healthy food (since they do not go out to buy groceries AT ALL. They get delivered whatever is necessary. And my daughter was telling me she has developed knee joint pains. She is just 37. I am worried that before COVID gets to them, her paranoia will, all thanks to the wrong information and irrelevant content floating around,” says a worried Malti Sivakumara, mother of Shinjini.
Shinjini is a patient of infodemic--The overabundance of misinformation about the coronavirus, especially on social media which further fuels social stigma, fear of the social “other”, segregation, fearfulness, and suspicion. suspicion. Some psychiatrists are warning of the likelihood of increased emergence of paranoia, schizophrenia, and fear psychosis as the pandemic rages on.
And it is not just social media, but the uncontrollable urge to see the current number of cases in the country or worldwide, obsess about the graph of increment of the disease, debate on the government’s failure that add to the feeling of being forsaken, left alone, and doom.
“Our cousins stay in UK where the situation was very bad. Shinjini also constantly asked her about the disease and without putting it in perspective of India, made the prophecy that we all doomed to die just like in Italy or UK. I have tried to reason with her but she is just not ready to listen to me or look at any positives such as recovery rate. After a point I gave up trying to explain anything to her,” says Malti sadly.
It is important for us to keep ourselves updated about the virus and follow the protocols but it is also important for us not to fall sick to the infodemic.
- Limit news consumption.
- Keep social media only to reconnect with friends and family.
- Keep away from social groups unless and until they are family and friends.
- Be rational in your thinking and approach.
- Take care of your physical and mental health.
- Seek help if it is all becoming very overwhelming for you.