What I’m about to say might seem paradoxical, but let’s face it, we just cannot handle being IDLE! Rather than me telling you, just take a moment to introspect as you’re reading this and just ask yourself, “When was the last time I felt hopelessly frustrated?” In most cases, the analysis will lead to a period of being IDLE, jobless or having nothing to do. We start off with frustration and slowly build it to a feeling of hopelessness, which further ends at us being depressed! This is what we refer to as ‘DOWNTIME DEPRESSION’
Understanding
Downtime Depression
Some of us work, some of us are self-employed, some are studying and there might even exist some who are jobless... But irrespective of our situation, we all have a routine. Whether the routine is productive or not doesn’t matter, all that matters is that we had ONE. Now when we are forced into lockdown, we just have no clue regarding what to do with all this EXTRA TIME!
Those who didn’t lift a finger to WORK when there’s no WORK are the ones who are worst hit by this type of depression. Simply because they expected to return to NORMALCY soon, but as the lockdown got extended repeatedly and the hope of normalcy vanished, many found it hard to COPE with being IDLE.
The biggest cause isn’t just the extra time or unwillingness to keep ourselves occupied, but the thought of the uncertainty in the future with respect to jobs, financial conditions, unavailability of WANTS, etc ADDING TO THE DOWNTIME. Finally, the spark to tick off the bomb is the FORCED SOCIAL ISOLATION or inability to meet our friends and venting out our issues, which would have helped us to be sane to an extent. So...Is there hope? Yes!
Virtual is the new REALITY!
Virtual connections will definitely have a positive impact and is the ray of hope during these bleak times. It helps to address the CRAVING FOR COMPANY that many of us NEED! Like I’ve pointed out earlier, there are many living alone who, for many reasons, haven’t been able to go back home, these individuals require this the most.
Virtual connection doesn’t just cover social media, instant messaging apps and conferencing tools. Even online dating apps belong to this category and recent reports have shown a drastic rise in the usage of dating apps as more and more people suddenly realise a brutal truth... That they are LONELY. Especially when their professional lives are negated from this equation.
So the million dollar question: Are virtual connections good? Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been the first to object but we are living in a time in which nothing is NORMAL and change is the only CONSTANT. Here are 3 main reasons why it is good for you.
Ease of access and multiple options — if one is busy, you can always connect with someone else.
Rebuilding old bridges — We win some, lose some but because of some misunderstandings, we would’ve burnt bridges too. Whether we like it or not, the guilt always persists.
The joy of GIVING — Ironically, though we are the ones craving for company, we’re actually GIVING QUALITY TIME to others too.
Go on people, brighten the lives of others... I’m with you and will do it too!
