Netflix or NetFixed! Facebook or Facehooked! - What's your next Insta story?

You can empathize when you connect & you can support each other when you belong!

Have we thought what in the lockdown made social isolation so difficult for people?

Weren’t we socially isolated from each other way before the lockdown?

We were next to our parents but always occupied on our mobile phones, and work was our best excuse. When with a spouse, we let Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar become our best friends before each other. Our outings with friends were all about the next Facebook and Instagram pictures we wanted to post.

Social isolation started before was imposed on us. It was uncomfortable because of the force. The struggle seems real because we were unable to connect emotionally and mentally with family and friends. We started finding family unbearable without healthy boundaries.

Nothing will change even now when we meet our friends. We will still think of the best picture to post on social media. So let me ask you this - when our friends are the social partners, instead of telling them you missed them, how does posting a picture help?

Suddenly, we all want to go to our offices, schools, colleges, and institutions. When we were going to work, we wanted to work from home. Now, it’s become more of a challenge than a choice.

Human beings are funny. We always have sides to pick without knowing the experience of both the sides. We were socially distant from our loved ones much before the pandemic. It should have been easier for us to adapt. Unfortunately, we failed. We connected so we can virtually tell people about the essential elements of human existence – belongingness!

A virus invisible to the naked eye was required to make us realize – we still need people over machines to continue with our survival. It’s time to connect with family and friends – emotionally and spiritually.

Machines can churn products, and human beings sustain lives.

To belong is to connect deeply with people around you, in person, and mind!

#mindoverbody #mentalwellbeing #belongingness #isolation #connection #socialisolation #lockdownstories #supporteachother

Gratitude - Conscious Effort

“Just make a list of five things you are grateful for every day. You’ll be surprised to see the list never ends!”

To have gratitude for so many things that one has can enforce positive elements in life. For a person battling with depression, anxiety, or a personality disorder such as borderline, it is useful to use the power of gratitude in your life.

In a depressive state when negative feelings trap you completely, it is then that we consciously start listing out things, relationships, and opportunities we are grateful for. It wouldn’t miraculously change a condition you are suffering but it would definitely give you a way forward.

Think and imagine, a person you love dies by suicide tomorrow. The first thing people would believe is that life is a precious gift and one should completely celebrate it. So, the first thing to do when you wake up is to thank yourself and the universe for keeping you alive. And, then you realize, you are healthy, safe, and able. These are things to be grateful for because it isn’t about what you don’t have, it’s about what you have. It is about your ability during a crisis.

Recently, I read somewhere that when you’re sick and you focus on the sickness, it doesn’t go away. It rather stays. Similarly, when you are down and out, feeling like you are not good enough for your friends and family. Take a minute and thank yourself for living despite struggling every single minute. Thank your-self for your body that offers support, thank your mind for not giving up, and be thankful that you may be suffering but are able!

I tried making a list of things that I’m grateful for and I realized – I was holding onto a version of myself I disliked without appreciating a strong version of myself, which exists. I was hoping to have a stronger sense of self-giving away the different versions. Sometimes, you have to thank yourself before anyone else does that to you!

#positivepsychology #optimism #hope #attraction #mentalhealthandcopingskills #gratitude #mentalwellbeing

Samay ki Ginti

Khud se darr lagne lagaa hai,

Beetien huye kal ko bhool jaane mein

Aane wala kal bhi beet raha hai

Kis ko bulao, kis se do-chaar baat karo

Koi padosi ki baat pe naraaz hai,

Aur koi khud se rutha hua hai,

Main toh sirf ek tamaasha hoon

Aaj tere liye, kal sab ke liye

Mann udaas nahi bechain sa hai,

Aankhein bhari nahi, pareshaan hai,

Dil dhadakta hai par jeene ke liye nahi

Marna bhi ab ek khwaab hai

Yeh akelapan bhi ek saathi hai

Jis se dosti karleta hai

Toh nibhana bhi jaanta hai,

Insaan bhool jaye par yeh parchhai hai

Andheron mein saaf dikhta hai

Din mein yeh chhup jaata hai

Kabhi kabhi lagta hai ki sab ek brahm hai

Lekin phir yaad aajata hai

Jab gam ke nishaan sab taraf ho

Toh insaan andar se sirf toot jaata hai

Ek darr aur bhi lagta hai,

Kya main paagal toh nahi?

Jo aaj mein rehkar bhi

Samay ko ulta ginta hoon!