Worried about the mental health of its own staff members and of the people belonging to cooperatives in the country during the pandemic, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) held a virtual talk on mental health issues last week in Delhi.
The title of the talk was “NCDC Health Talk-Covid & Mental Health” Prof Nand Kumar, Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS New Delhi discussed in detail the ways and means of overcoming the mental health crisis sweeping the world, informs a press release.
During the session which stretched for over more than an hour, Dr Nand Kumar talked about various issues related to Covid-19 ranging from its impact on psychology, physical well-being as people suffered persistent nervousness, irritability, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, panic disorders and phobia such as fear of not getting medical treatment in time which in turn aggravated the health problems, physically and mentally.
Keeping in contact with the near and dear ones through virtual medium like phone and videos, restoration of physical activities like walking in fresh air, doing yoga and a little bit of stretching, meditation and maintaining a daily routine were some of the measures suggested by the doctor.
During the interactive session, Prof Nand Kumar replied to a range of queries raised by the participants. While one viewer queried about the issues related to the post Covid cough, which Prof Nand Kumar cautioned that should not be ignored and doctor should be contacted immediately in case of any problem, another wanted to know how to do a balancing act between work from home and work for home.
“Covid will go away sooner or later but trauma caused by the virus will stay for a long time and we should come out of it as soon as possible by restoring our daily activities and Cognitive flexibility,” he said and advised that when in panic just think about the mantra that “this too shall pass”.
Ms Preitiben Patel, Chairperson of Rajkot Womens Credit Cooperative anchored the program. Talking about the need of holding such a session, Ms Preitiben Patel said that the mental health crisis impacts women in a big way and the second wave has taken a toll on families.
MD Sundeep Nayak added, “As an organization, it is NCDC’s responsibility to be with our employees and cooperators and help them find ways to cope with situations like these.”
Dr. K.T. Channeshappa, Executive Director, NCDC said that such a session was the need of the hour given Covid-19 deaths, lockdowns and job losses had resulted in anxiety and depression. He quoted NCDC MD Sundeep Nayak saying people are going through a multitude of traumas which need to be talked about.
The event was attended by representatives from 150 cooperative societies across the states besides staff of the NCDC head office and its 18 regional offices. It is noteworthy that the NCDC Ayusman Sahakar scheme has been launched as a response to the challenge posed by the Wuhan virus.