Tame yourself and family from depression during this COVID-19 season.
By Dickson Tumuramye
My children have endless questions "so dad why are you still working when we, are staying home? We hear people are dying, will we also all die? Who will bury us?...........! These are very sensitive and touching questions. You enter the house, they are ready with sanitizers and literally "force" you to wash your hands.
The isolation at home with strict rules has made them resort to indoor games and watching TV for most of their time. This seems that for a longer time, they will not manage what they have not been used to. This is equally the same for adults. The government has closed most businesses, suspended public transport which obviously will limit people's movement. The common word now is "stay home."
This may result in fear, frustration, stress, loneliness, anxiety, loss of income especially people who earn from hands to mouth daily, those that don't earn wage/salary, loss of jobs, among others. Depression cannot be ruled out. Watch out for behavioral changes like irritations among your children and people at home, which could be a result of the current state of affairs.
Some people have worked most of their lives without undertaking leave from work like business people, officers, name them. A lot of people's businesses have shut down and people are not sure of how to survive at home with their families without the usual daily take-home income. The second term is not far, they have business loans, the cost of living is likely to go high, utilities have to be paid for yet people are "quarantined" home. The majority of them will now be home idle with anxiety; not “busy” anymore.
This is likely to create a lot of mental disorders for adults and children. I urge people to become creative. Don't be a slave in your own home/apartment. Think of how to control and tame the situation before it stresses you. God gave us dominion over everything (Genesis 1:26), don't allow conditions to control you.
Do things that will keep you busy. Do a lot of reading with even children. Start farming instead of staying home sleeping. Don't stay in closed doors all the time. Go for an evening walk with your children because coronavirus isn't an airborne disease. Play indoor games with children and other family members. Don’t give up giving age-appropriate information to your children when they ask. Think of an online business, chat with friends on social media, engage yourself or children in different activities.
An idle mind is a devil's workshop. Don't allow your mind to be preoccupied with many unanswered questions or sluggishness. Avoid worries and overthinking. Also, avoid taking a lot of unauthentic messages. People are forwarding to us a lot of information on social media without even themselves reading it. This too is creating speculations and anxiety in public. My friend Faith Musinguzi, a counseling psychologist advises that if one develops mental disorders or depression, seek online counseling.
In light of this, there are some online therapy options like emails, phone calls, video calls (skype, zoom, Whatsapp, etc) you can use to contact a professional therapist. Seek help when depression or stress is too much. I suggest also that the government should think about toll-free numbers for psychosocial support and more information on how to cope up with depression than only updates on how to avoid COVID-19 and medication.
This situation should teach everyone that we always need to save and invest money in things that can bring income without necessarily requiring your daily presence especially business people. As they say, “don't put your eggs in one basket”, avoid investing your money in one area. If you have an idle land nearby, plant something there with your family this season than dying of idleness. Don’t use all the little savings now before you get to know the longevity of this condition. But also stock enough foodstuff at home. Learn to always plan for emergency funds in your savings.
Put your trust and hope in the Lord. Hope doesn't disappoint us (Rom. 5:5). Paul encourages us thus “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer”(Rom.12:12). Keep praying without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17), and don't tell God how dangerous coronavirus is but tell coronavirus how big and dangerous your God is. Let us not glorify the devil in this situation.
Be anxious about nothing but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let's put our petition to God. May His peace and love guard our hearts and mind through Christ Jesus (Phil.4:6-7).
The writer is a motivational speaker on positive parenting, marriage,
and family, UCU
tumudickson@gmail.com
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