‘We are in this together’: Malaika Arora reflects on current times

The second wave of the pandemic has been especially harsh, with many people also feeling low and demotivated after being confined to their homes for the last 1.5 years. Even though things are not in one’s control, it is most important to hold one’s stead, be positive, and wish for the best.

Recently, Malaika Arora took to Instagram and shared why ‘hope’ is the need of the hour.

“Remember, ‘hope’ is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope and you will fill yourself with hope. Remember that the struggle we are in today, is developing the strength, we will need for tomorrow,” she captioned one of her pictures.

“Tomorrow will be better. But what if it’s not.’ I asked. ’Then you say it again tomorrow. Because, it might be. You never know, right? At some point, tomorrow will be better,’ she quoted American novelist Morgan Matson.

“We are in this together,” she mentioned.

According to Sahana S, clinical psychologist, outreach associate, Mpower The Centre – Bengaluru, when the COVID situation initially hit us, it was more about coping with sudden and unexpected changes. However, the impact of the second wave has been “more devastating both physically and mentally“, she said.

“This time, people have to face and cope with the loss of their loved ones. A sense of hopelessness and guilt has also risen amongst people. They are feeling emotionally numb and there is a lot of grief and anxiety that we have to deal with. It is more painful because it is anxiety that is stemming from our very basic need – survival. Furthermore, protecting and helping our loved ones survive is also causing people to break down emotionally,” she mentioned.

In such emergency and panic causing situations, here’s what to do:

*It is important to work with what we can (things that are under our control),
*Allow yourself to feel the varied emotions that you are going through and know that it’s okay to go through them,
*Try to be in the “here and now” and look at things one day at a time,
*Avoid overloading of information that creates anticipatory anxiety,
*Always stay connected with your loved ones and do not withdraw from people.

“An amazing trait of being human is that we learn to adapt and cope with the most difficult of situations. There is definitely hope and continue helping one another,” she shared.

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