FACING THE ‘MONSTER’ UP CLOSE- MY BRUSH WITH COVID GHOST

Abstrakt

I am a doctor. I thought I understood the pandemic. I thought I knew the patient, the disease, and the percentages. I thought I understood sickness and coping. You see, I am a psychiatrist by profession. But, did I really, in these surreal times?

It is challenging to maintain a level of stability.

As a psychiatrist, interacting with the COVID-related patients and the health care workers was a blur of protocols, PPEs, dispensing hope, and being careful. It seemed defence was a great strategy. The numbers in the subcontinent were also not that scary. I thought being a corona warrior was relatively calm. Finally, after years the health care workers were getting their due at this place.  

Admittedly, we are in an unforeseen situation, and it seems that we are in it for the long haul. The costs are high, and the risks are not elucidated. It is a daily struggle to remain COVID-free. Equally, it is becoming more difficult for people to remain positive in the lockdown. All those recommendations to stay positive in the face of this pandemic are often ineffective when people look at the brakes put on their lives—the boredom, eternal and immovable. But despite the risks, I felt empowered. I was contributing and participating in the battle to overcome the virus. The threats were there, but as was the hope.