Pawan Kumar, an advertisement professional, who recovered from a severe infection of Covid-19, saw his blood sugar levels shoot up to 350 levels. He doesn’t feel the urge to work and spend time with the family. “For hours together he keeps staring at his mobile. His responses are erratic and his sleep pattern also has changed. His overall change in nature is giving us sleepless nights,” says Shalini, his wife.
In conversation with his wife, Kumar said he can’t focus on his work or read a book. He complains that he used to lose track of what he had read in the previous page. He felt that he was slowly getting disoriented. Moreover he was getting addicted to mobile. His screen time has increased ten-fold. “I used to go to bed tired and feeling guilty for wasting my time on watching videos and other messages,” he said.
Kumar consulted his psychologist friend Rekha Sharma who is a motivational speaker also. Sharma said these kinds of problems were quite common in people who had contracted Covid. A spiritual enthusiast, she had deep faith in the power of spirituality to bring balance in life. She suggested 5 solutions to get over this problem.
Keep smartphone away from dining table and bed
Sharma asked Kumar to leave his phone on the work table and enjoy the food along with family members. Take interest in dishes prepared and if you find it good, appreciate your wife for cooking that. If you don’t like it, suggest ways to improve it or help her in the preparation. “Take care to feed your son,” Sharma told Kumar.
Do puja or meditation and recite mantras
Try to take a bath very early and spend at least 10 minutes conversing with god. At least 5 minutes one should spend doing meditation. “More minutes of meditation help declutter the mind. You will feel energy flowing into you. Slowly you can see that you could focus for longer hours,” said Sharma. If you can recite mantras – just Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare – is enough. It will give a blissful feeling.
Do reading, painting or working out
Being a news buff, Kumar used to spend longer hours watching news shows and debates. Sharma suggested not to watch TV for longer hours instead read newspapers. “Whenever you have free time, don’t reach for your smartphone. Pick up a book and read.” Spend more time on exercises.
Spend time with plants or take a walk in a park
Greenery has a magical power to ease our minds. Try plant some flowering plants or vegetable plants in your household garden. “I used to take a stroll on the terrace for some time. I started with 15 minutes. Now I spend almost an hour. I don’t take my mobile along,” Sharma told Kumar.
Keep a timetable
Keep a timetable for using mobile. If social media is not essential for your job profile, limit social media engagement to an hour. This way you are insulated from overflow of information. If you have the opportunity to undertake service work, do it. Keeping yourself engaged in all these activities will tire you which will give you a good sleep.
Discussion about this post