Well-being after COVID – Jason Grech

It’s almost been a year and a half since the pandemic ‘exploded’ into our lives, throwing a handful of sand in the smooth working machine of the world and, ultimately, transforming the way we work, interact and live.

It was all about contagion and death rates, social distance and semi-lockdowns, face shields and face masks, anti-bacterial detergents and oxygen cylinders, good vaccines and less good vaccines, variants and more variants…

The media, especially its social sphere, has, quite frankly, bombarded us with COVID-related news. There was a point in time when the authorities even felt the ‘need’ to specify the exact locality and job description of the latest COVID-19 cases. Indeed, it’s been an emotional challenge of epic proportions and a media frenzy that, probably and inadvertently, exceeded its scope and utility.

During this considerable amount of time, all the discourse revolved around the notion of the virus, its immediate health repercussions and the subsequent commercial problematics. Yes, it was inevitable to focus on the immediate threats posed by the menacing pandemic but, now that the worst seems to be over, a drastic change of stance is needed.

Now it’s time to talk about the post-COVID emotional well-being in a truly holistic fashion. It is time to focus on the long-term mental health issues derived both from the COVID and non-COVID scenarios.

Many are those whose perception of ‘threats’ has been altered. Some recent fears, such as the worries on food stock and hygiene supplies lasted as long as cats last on a highway. However, more deeply ingrained fears will inevitably stay with us for some other time.

There are segments of our society for which the pandemic was more destabilising, such as the elderly, vulnerable persons, individuals with mental health conditions and, to a less obvious extent, children. The latter may need particular attention due to their elevated and deeply entrenched sensitivity.

COVID-19 has been an emotional challenge of epic proportions- Jason Grech

Social isolation, temporary closure of schools, challenges with online lessons, prolonged absence of direct interaction with friends and extended family members and even daily health-protective practices and hygiene behaviours may have taken a considerable toll on children. It is evident that when kids ask questions about pandemics, contagion and, ultimately, death, they are being catapulted in a reality that does not belong to them and should not belong to them…

This situation should be given due attention, especially at an educational, emotional and psychological levels.

A holistic plan can be enacted by the relevant professional stakeholders while specific support programmes may be incorporated in our educational system.

Apart from the current pandemic-related situation, it is amply clear that emotional well-being issues and incidence are constantly on a rise and need to be tackled in a more efficient, prompt and holistic fashion. Coping tools such as enhancement of emotional well-being, cognitive behaviour strategies and stress tolerance should be elevated to the core of our education system and not treated as peripheral or fringe subject matters.

The complex dynamics of the human mind, its perceptions and underlying fears as well as the best ways to face the constant ups and downs of the human experience should be given pride of place in our educational system, now more than ever.

Edward de Bono, the world famous Maltese psychologist, philosopher and academic all-rounder, who died recently, once said: “Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.”

Maybe it’s high time that our nation updates its “thinking strategies” in the mental health sphere. A shift from a purely academic education model to a more holistic one that puts the student’s well-being at its core may be a good start.

Jason Grech, freelance writer