Quoted in Mid-day on 12th May, 2021
Dr Nahid Dave, psychiatrist:
“Both my parents are general physicians and husband is an eye surgeon, so they are going to work every day. They have to treat Covid-19 patients on a regular basis. That does create a sense of uneasiness in me.
Recently, I spoke to a 20-year-old who has lost both her parents in the past month and then there was another patient who had attended a virtual funeral and was traumatised, and kept getting flashbacks of the last rites. So, when you keep hearing these incidents of grief on a daily basis, there are times during the day when even I start thinking that, ‘Oh! Nothing good is happening’ or ‘Are we ever going to have a normal life?’. Those times I have be mindful that I’m jumping the gun. I bring back my focus to the present.
Talking to colleagues who are mental health professionals helps me cope. I also avoid watching news videos or the ones circulated on WhatsApp. My source of information is the news apps, which I read once a day. That’s a rule I have made for myself. I also make sure I am mindful about my eating habits. Watching TV shows like ‘Friends’ and ‘How I Met Your Mother’ also helps me.”
