“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
A mental health study done on over 8,000 individuals found that college students were the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown. As the lockdown progressed, students continued to be the worst-hit emotionally, reporting the highest net deterioration in their emotions. This phenomena is also known as ‘lockdown fatigue’.
Students recorded up to a 6% net increase in the emotions of anger and irritability at the beginning of the restrictions and up to a 13% net increase in the emotions of loneliness and boredom.
Nithin Reddy Annedi, a Computer Science and Engineering student at the renowned Lovely Professional University had to move back home during the pandemic. This is something that greatly affected his mental health.
“After I moved back home, I was finding it hard to concentrate on my studies. Homelife was a distraction. Parents would watch the TV loudly, and I felt myself getting more frustrated with everything.”
Since Nithin was a kid, he had lived in a hostel and did not have to spend a long time at home. This sudden shift proved to be a challenge for him. He started missing his friends and the independent life that the college campus had offered him.
“I felt trapped being at home. With my parents around all the time, it was a new experience for me. I started missing my friends as well. I love to be outside, playing with them and the pandemic brought all of that to a halt.”
Along with this change, the pressure of keeping up with online classes and his academics proved to be overwhelming. So he decided to give counseling a shot and approached YourDOST.
“I was skeptical at first. Counseling was something I had never done before but this experience changed my life. My expert Ms. Swetha Chauhan was very kind and listened to my problems very keenly. She offered me a lot of support and help to get through these challenging times.”
Counselling gave Nithin a better understanding of what he was going through and that he was not alone in this. Swetha suggested some helpful techniques that Nithin has inculcated in his life.
“The first thing Swetha ma’am suggested was that I change my routine. I had to schedule my day in a way that I could look forward to waking up every day.”
Nithin’s expert also suggested that he have a separate, quiet, and no distracting space for his academic time. This helped him gain his concentration back. Along with this, she encouraged him to get back into physical activities that he could do at home itself.
“Meditation brought me a lot of inner peace. I began to make to-do lists as well, and blocked some time every day to revise what I learned in class.”
Nithin began to slowly cope with the lockdown. He started feeling himself again. This helped him feel more content with what he was doing and also helped develop a better relationship with his parents and siblings.
“When I was not occupied with my studies, I spent time connecting with my siblings. This was something that I could not do earlier, but with the time and therapy, I built a relationship with my parents as well.”
Today, Nithin feels wholesome in all aspects of his life and thanks to his counseling experience for giving him a better perspective about life.”
Nithin’s Warrior Tips:
1. There is no need to be skeptical about counseling. It helped me a lot, it is meant to help everybody get a better perspective of their life.
2. Seek professional help if you feel it is necessary, do not let anybody stop you.
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