Mental Health and Lockdown

Lockdown has affected a lot of lives in various different ways. The situation has worsened than before. During this pandemic period, everyone irrespective of their financial standards is facing a crisis in their daily life. People are majorly focusing on the financial problems that people are facing nowadays. But who’ll stand for the people who are suffering from mental illness? Society must understand that along with physical health and personal economy, mental health is also a vital part of life. Lockdown was for the people to stay healthy. But is it really working? Because even if people seems to be physically fine they are not necessarily present at a good emotional state. 

Mental Wellness and How to Improve It - Domus Retreat®

How did lockdown affected people’s emotional well being?

The country faced huge economic decrement in this pandemic. Due to lockdown, most of the local businesses were kept close. Many companies were shut down due to less financial support. As a result of this, huge population of was unemployed. Even the newbies faced difficulties in finding jobs. We cannot deny that unemployment is a primary reason for the rise of mental illness during the lockdown.

As people had to stay home for a very long time, they could not get fresh air. Because people stayed home for a very long time it affected people’s mind. People started having mood swings. Domestic fights have increased and as a result, environment at home gets polluted. As a result of all this, people went into depression. Number of suicide attempts have increased than before. People who were under depts chose the option to end their lives so as to get rid of problems. Lack of physical activity resulted in other health problems.

Why is mental health important?

Before we understand the importance of emotional well being let us have a sneek peek at its importance. To stay emotionally fit, it is of high importance that society should know its significance. Here are a few reasons that shows how vital it is to be mentally healthy.

Mental health in association with physical health

Physical and emotional health goes hand in hand. If you are not happy, if you are in a lot of stress you’ll might face some physical health issues. For instance, if you take a lot of tension, your BP might shoot. You will have headache and many other physical problems. 

Life risks

Mental sickness leads to some life threatening acts. If left untreated, the person will go into depression and might take some dangerous decisions. An emotionally unhealthy person is not only a threat for himself but also for the people he is in regular touch.

Social problems

People who suffer from emotional trauma might isolate themselves sometimes. They can start drugs consumption. Violence, verbal abuse all these results in weak social relationship of those people.

Exercises to improve mental stability

Promote Mental Health by Communicating Benefits, Leading by Example

One can increase their mental stability with the help of extremely basic activities. No need of external help. Say no to medicines, psychiatrist, or any external counsellor. Follow these basic steps that are mentioned below and have a healthy mind.

  1. Discuss issues with loved ones. It is very important to open yourself in front of people. The more you keep things in your heart the more they affect you.
  2. Do meditation regularly. Meditation reduces anxiety and stress. 
  3. Maintain a diary. You should write your daily activities in your diary. This will help you understand how productive your day was. 
  4. Instead of thinking about the negativity in your life, focus on all positive things that occurs. 
  5. Spend time with your loved ones. Play games and other indoor physical activities that will reduce stress.
  6. Go for walks in your building complex and communicate more and more with people.

Lockdown has been a difficult phase in everyone’s life. Whether it be rich or poor, young or kids, employed or unemployed, everyone faced difficulties. As a part of the society it is our duty to help people in every possible way. We need to understand that our physical health is of no use if we do not have a good mental health. Countries throughout the world are facing these issues. We should understand that all this is temporarily and things will be good.

For more blogs related to health visit: https://eduindexnews.com/category/health/

Advertisement

INEQUITY UNMASKED

The Indian education system is based on elitism, with educational accessibility serving as a major dividing line between various socioeconomic groups of a culture. The hierarchical organization of society based on caste or ‘varna’ – the caste system (‘varna vyavastha’) ascribed a rank to the person that marked virtually every aspect of Hindu social life – was one way in which this inequality manifested itself in ancient society. The caste status of a person dictated their privileges (or lack thereof). Many social, religious, and economic advantages were conferred on the upper-caste ‘brahmins,’ including education, while the lower castes were denied entry. The government of the post-colonial Indian state attempted to resolve and abolish such disparities by enacting the Right to Education Act, which required all children under the age of 14 to attend school, as well as the Reservation Policy. In today’s coronavirus-shaped world, inequality is once again exposed: access to the internet and mobile devices, rather than one’s social status, has become the deciding factor.

The repercussions for the general population were immediate and serious when the Indian government declared a full lockdown on the 24th of March 2020 in the hopes of controlling a COVID-19 outbreak. The lockdown, in addition to triggering its own set of issues, revealed the education system’s existing flaws and deteriorating structure. This population did not include families living in poverty who could barely afford regular meals, let alone technological devices, emphasizing the ever-widening divide between the wealthy and the poor.

Online learning has had a positive effect on the education sector; it has sparked a desire for Open and Distance Learning (ODL), as the curriculum promotes self-learning and customization of the syllabus to the students’ needs. However, since the latter is only reaped by a small percentage of the population, the negative consequences greatly outweigh the positive.

Another effect of the curfew on Indian education has been a dramatic rise in the number of students dropping out. For most poor families, the economic fallout from the lockdown resulted in unemployment and a decline in earning power. Children were forced to drop out of school as a result, forcing them into the job market.

The Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme, which aimed to provide food for students in government schools, was also lost as a result of the lockdown and subsequent school closure.

Ramesh Nishank, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development, announced an increased allocation of funds of Rs. 1700 crores to ensure the provision of MDMs to students even during the lockdown. During the lockout, however, it was discovered that 40% of the qualifying children did not receive MDMs. On the 1st of February 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Union Budget 2021, which outlined the allocation of funds to various sectors. The budgetary allocation for the government’s flagship education programme, Samagra Shiksha Abhyaan, has been reduced from Rs. 38,751 crores to Rs. 31,050 crores for the coming fiscal year. If the government fails to place a high priority on public education, the detrimental consequences will last for generations and decades. Unemployment would eventually rise, affecting almost every part of society and the economy.

Thanks to the lockdown, schooling took on a new structure overnight, requiring students and teachers to navigate a novel system of adjusting to an online education forum. Humans are social animals that rely on face-to-face communication for successful communication, and the educational field is no exception. In the absence of this face-to-face learning, ground-level proficiency is broken, especially for students studying fundamental concepts and skills that they will need during their lives at the elementary level. Furthermore, students’ practical effectiveness in the field of STEM, where conceptual comprehension and practical applications are at the center of learning, has decreased.

The curfew has forever changed the face of Indian education. The advantages of the blended learning system are only available to those in the upper echelons of society, making the rest unprotected. The issue of quality education accessibility has always existed in the Indian system; it is only now that it has been exacerbated in the face of the pandemic and revealed for all to see.

Agriculture : The Lone Survivor

Apart from the enormous consequence of coronavirus on the human life which claimed more than 1.75 million lives worldwide and infected more than 75 million people, COVID 19 also demolished economies around the globe. Amongst the most badly affected nation was India, which recorded more than 1 crore case and a lakhs deaths and counting. While this sounds bad, visuals of lakh and lakh of migrant workers waking back thousands and thousand of kilometers on foot made the situation worse. If this was not the end of misery Indian economy shrinks by 23.9 percentage point in the first quarter of FY 2020-21 lowest since independence. Every sector of economy from manufacturing to industries and even services tanked except one : Agriculture and allied services which recorded growth 3.4 percentage point at constant prices. Agriculture and allied services contributes nearly 16 % to country GDP while providing employment to 42 % of the workforces.

Several economical and agriculture expert had the views that had there been slummed in agriculture and allied services, things would have been much worse. Agriculture provided employment to the migrated worker who returned to there home and provided them with some earning in these apocalyptic times. Such was its importance and necessity that it was the first sectors to get relaxation from nationwide lockdown for manufacturing and transportation of agriculture input, seeds, machine, etc. Supply chains related to agriculture goods and services were allowed to function with protective measures in place. Efforts paid the dividend a sharp increase of 5.7% in area coverage of Kharif crops was registered as on September 2020. Amid good monsoon and adequate water storage in the winter reservoir for Rabi crops the Government of India set an all time high record for food production target of 301 million tons for 2020-21.

When the prime minister Modi announced nationwide lockdown, the immediate consequence was the mass exodus of migrant labourer from virtually every part of country to there rural household and faces an immediate risk of hunger and livelihood. So government announced a number of schemes for them. Government released an advance installment of Rs. 2000 from PM- KISAN scheme, wage rate of worker were increased and number of days of guarantee work was increased to 150 days under NAREGA. Under the economic stimulus package, credit support for small farmer were announce through various institution like NABARD was extending additional support of Rs. 30,000 crore for crop loan through RRB(Region Rural Bank) and other institutions. Nearly 25 lakhs new Kisan credit cards were sanctioned with a loan limit of Rs. 25000 at a minimal rate of interest were provided to not just farmer but also to one belonging fisheries, animal husbandries and agriculture allied services. The timely credit stimulus helped thousand of farmers and laborer to sustain themselves during such a tough times. A new scheme under the name of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana was launched to take care poor and vulnerable section of society. In order to boost the rural economy, Indian Railways launched Krishi Rail scheme for transportation and building a seamless supply chain of perishable product like milk, fruits, fish etc. It is benefitting farmer from all around the country as they will be able to sell there product all around the country.

In addition to the schemes and relaxation, good monsoon season and tremendous efforts of our farmers and workers help agriculture to stay afloat at a most delicate point in our economic history. These schemes and announcement might seems be rewarding but not a solution for a sector which is on a downward trend for quiet a few years and the news of suicides of farmer reported daily. There is a need for a comprehensive long term vision and policy with huge investment not just on agriculture and its subsidiaries but also on the farmer. When agriculture and its allied sector will grow at a great pace so will rural economies of our countries and in process increasing the income of farmers and laborer which in turn will increase the growth of our overall GDP.

Unlock 4 : New Covid Rules

The Government of India had announced a lockdown over the last few months due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A lockdown was imposed on the whole country from the month of April. The lockdowns were imposed as a preventive measure for the pandemic. Since rates of infection have still not gone down, these measures are being continued. Recently there has been a change in the guidelines and a new system of “Unlock” is being introduced in the country. Today, a new set of guidelines were announced regarding the unlock. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a new guideline about the opening up of more institutions and activities. Metro train services and open air theatres are to be allowed in areas other than Containment Zones. A new set of lockdowns is being extended in the country and the rules will apply to zones where there are active cases and places labelled as containment zones. Other zones will have less strict Unlock rules. These guidelines will be extended in the country till 30 September.

Photo by Miguel Montejano on Pexels.com

The Centre has said,”The new guidelines, issued today, are based on feedback received from States and UTs, and extensive consultations held with related Central Ministries and Departments.” After issuing the guidelines, the Home ministry also announced opening up of more activities, like the resumption of Metro train services and open air theatres. Closed theatres have not been permitted to be kept open. Until further notice they will be closed. The re-opening of activities rule will only be applicable in areas outside the Containment Zones, said the Ministry. The Centre has allowed the states and Union Territories to permit up to 50 per cent of its teaching and non-teaching staff to be allowed to go to the schools for online teaching and other official and related work. States will also be allowed to permit students of classes 9 to 12 to visit their schools, but only in areas which are not included under the containment zones, said the government order. The Centre, however, has allowed reopening of higher education institutions. But this is only for research scholars and post-graduate students of technical and professional programmes which require necessary laboratory or experimental works in labs or other institutions. The previous Unlock 3 guidelines which were issued on July 29 had allowed the opening up of yoga institutes and gymnasiums. It had also removed restrictions on movement of individuals during night curfew.

School, colleges and other educational institutions will continue to remain closed for students, said the Centre on Saturday as it issued guidelines for the fourth phase of easing down the COVID-19 restrictions – “Unlock 4” – beginning September 1. This will be continuing for a month. The Home Ministry, issuing the guidelines, announced opening up of more activities, such as restarting of Metro train services and open air theatres. According to the Ministry, the re-opening of activities will only be allowed in areas outside the Containment Zones.

The Unlock3 guidelines issued on July 29 had allowed opening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums and removed restrictions on movement of individuals during night curfew. In its latest order, the States have also been asked not to impose any local lockdown restrictions in places outside Containment Zones. According to the government data, India’s COVID-19 numbers rose to 34,63,972 with a single-day spike of 76,472 new infections, while the death count climbed to 62,550 in 24 hours.

World’s Overshoot day!!

Happy World’s Overshoot day!! Today we’ve exhausted all the natural resources generated by Mother Earth last year and as economists say, we are in a deficit, although not financial, but ecological. This could be quite shocking news to many, but interestingly this year World’s Overshoot day has been pushed by 3 weeks. In 2019, World’s Overshoot day was marked on July 29 as opposed to August 22 in 2020. In fact, this day has never been pushed so far since 2005. So, is it an achievement worth celebrating? Apparently not, cause it is not done by design, rather by the disaster. The World’s Overshoot day is calculated by GFN (Global footprint network), an independent think tank established in 2003 with its headquarters located in California, United States. Overshoot is calculated by ecological footprint, which is a measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices. Researchers estimate that the planet equivalent has grown from 1.5 in 2008 to 1.6 in 2020, i.e. now humans require 1.6 planet Earth to sustain themselves and this doesn’t account for all other species in the world. However, this doesn’t mean that all countries contribute equally to the spectrum. Overshoot day varies from country to country due to the prevailing technologies in different countries. For e.g. a world would be enough for Indonesians to survive, but it would require approximately two worlds to sustain ourselves if we were to live like Qataris. The worst country to perform in this index is Luxembourg, which consumed all its resources by February 16. Even Australia, the biocapacity giant is seeing deficit for the first time in its history due to the devastating fires of 2019-20. This shows how fragile biocapacity can be.
But this year is not an achievement, all though the COVID lockdowns brought down the Ecological Footprint by 9.3% reduction as compared to the same period last year and put a remarkable dent on the global economy. Since this pushed date is a reflection of a lot of sufferings and the reflection of imposed changes to our lives. The irony is that these vast reductions that scientists had always been craving but through sustainable developments rather than sufferings. Now it would be foolish to presume that in order to reduce our carbon footprints and planet equivalent we require such sufferings since such reductions are discriminatory, they disproportionately affect people of color and caste economically. Climate skeptics have used the situation to say that lockdown is what “green campaigners want” and they cannot enjoy things like international travel and economic growth in the future. But it is foolish to fall for such beliefs. The goal should be having better economies and social outcomes with lower emissions.
Researchers reiterate that balance of humanities consumption and Earth”s produce needs to be restored. It would be wise to make such balance intentionally rather than facing such disasters that comes at such high and terrible human cost.

India – today

The world has taken a huge toll on the pandemic. COVID19 has left the nations crippling, whether it be their health infrastructure, economic sectors, or manpower. The global lockdown imposed has irrefutably slowed the spread of the disease but had a humongous cost paid by the common people. The health infrastructure has been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of victims and at the same time, the global economy has shown an unprecedented plunge. Developing nations are on the frontline of facing the wrath of the pandemic. Already lass with feeble health infrastructure, slow growth of the GDP, and a colossal amount of informal sector workers, India is one of them. All of its sectors have been devastatingly hit by the pandemic except for the medical industry (in terms of capital gains). At the beginning of the year IMF already projected a truncated growth for India and now due to the lockdown imposed the situation seems to worsen than being reported. A report published by the  National Restaurant Association of India’s (NRAI) Food Services in 2019, hospitality was one of the most promising sectors but still, in a recent press release, they called the recent crisis as  “a battle to retain our mere existence.” Restaurants are already a high-risk business because the landlords demand a fixed rent which along with manpower consumes 40-45% of the restaurant’s revenue. Another problem is due to the foodservice aggregators since they charge as high as 20-30% of the commission and thus can be termed as digital landlords. Foodservice aggregators pose a threat not only to the restaurant owners but also to the delivery boys. Already they were crushed down by the targets provided by the companies and now in such volatile situations, they are doing a hard time to make ends meet. Already many restaurants are shut down because of their inability to pay rent and their workers due to the loss of confidence of customers. People are more skeptical than ever of the hygiene standards practiced by the shop. Moreover now restaurants have to focus more on the implementation of hygiene and physical distancing protocols and rebuilding confidence at the same time. Practicing social distancing in coffee shops, restaurants is implausible because going out to such places is itself a social exercise. To enjoy solitude, one would go to the most crowded coffee shop because humans are social animals, we enjoy the company of people. The night life, pubs and bars have also being affected indiscriminately, the restaurants have been provided with a slight relaxation by opening up but the pubs still don’t have the permission to operate thus heavily impacting the industry. 2 months of permanent lockdown and intermittent lockdowns have hugely impacted the day time industries but the night time is still at its lowest, they are unable to operate even after 4 months into the pandemic. The construction structure was also one of the most promising sectors employing 49.5million people and this figure is the one which is registered (formal workers). Most of the job data is missing because of the informal workers so whatever figures you can see here, the real data is much higher and thus plight also is unseen and much devastating. As seen in the lockdown how these lifelines of the cities were left on their own. Due to the lockdown, most of the migrant workers returned home while walking on a path of thorns (literally) and they would like to stay at their homes rather than coming back to the cities  The real estate sector has also taken a great hit, already the sector was facing a crisis due to project delays, regulatory changes, and low sales in the last few years. And now due to the ongoing pandemic, most companies and organizations have proceeded to implement policies of zero contact meetings and no visitors which poses a great threat to the sector as no one wants to invest in an unsurveyed area. Many of the jobs are already lost and it is being predicted that the situation is going to worsen. People now believe that in tough times, home is a place where the safest environment is available Due to the unavailability of labor, the costs of building homes are going to shoot up, bringing more uncertainty with it. The manufacturing sector also saw a staggering loss, already the automobile sector was facing tremendous losses and now with the lockdown imposed the manufacturing units had to shut down. Some units that opened up after unlock, had to cut down their workforce to make their ends meet. Many of the employees have been credited with truncated salaries or no salaries at all for the months of lockdown. Many in the sector have been pressurized to ask for unpaid leaves and forced termination.We are living in a world of uncertainties more than ever, the volatile situation needs to be handled carefully and innovatively. Innovative measures, lessons from other countries who have revitalized their economy, ethics are required along with huge investments to get back on track if not grow. Doing all this with fingers crossed is the best we can do post-pandemic.

Image by rawpixel.com

Lockdowns And Decreased Seismic Noise

Scientists from the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Brussels recently shared an observation that after lockdowns were imposed by governments all over the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a remarkable decline in human-linked vibrations within the crust of the Earth. And the scientists in Brussels, with the help of other scientists around the world, have published a new study in the journal “SCIENCE“, which shows how the ‘Seismic Noise’ has reduced, allowing them to observe and record previously concealed earthquakes better.

Courtesy- Stephen Hicks @seismo_steve

Measured using seismometers, seismic waves are the vibrations traveling within the Earth that could be set off by earthquakes or volcanoes. The waves could be subject to the disturbance caused due to human activities or naturally. In the study, it is found that the reduced human activity led to an average drop of around 50% human-caused seismic noise, which was recorded between March 2020 to May 2020. The drops in the seismic noise, especially in the urban areas, are unprecedented and are observed to be more than what is considered usual quiet periods like weekends, holidays, or during the night.

The scientists have termed this time of global anthropogenic or human-based seismic noise deduction as ‘Anthropause’. This anthropause can help the scientists get a more accurate measure of the seismic waves and to differentiate between human and natural seismic noise clearly.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Thomas Lecocq from the Royal Observatory of Belgium explains, “With increasing urbanization and growing global populations, more people will be living in geologically hazardous areas. It will, therefore, become more important than ever to differentiate between natural and human-caused noise so that we can ‘listen in’ and better monitor the ground movements beneath our feet.”

The scientists and researchers are hoping to move forward with their study of seismic lockdown and the previously hidden indications of earthquakes and volcanoes would be easier to be recognized and there will be a better understanding of the natural seismic waves.

It Took A Pandemic…

Remember the pre-COVID times when going out was not counted as a privilege, we could go out and enjoy with the scare of a deadly virus. All the long drives, eating out, the office runs, and whatnot. But what I do not miss is the pollution, long traffic jams, all the noise, and unnecessary honking. The lockdown made us realize that going out unnecessarily could be avoided and we can stay home on weekends as well, that we can work from home too without contributing to the traffic by going to the office. But the only thing which shakes my head is that it took a pandemic for us to realize that we can control pollution and contribute to saving the environment.

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

Pre-COVID we brought home groceries and placed them in the selves without hesitation, purchased different goods, and used them with ease, but now after bringing in stuff we thoroughly sterilize them as soon as we get them home and only then we use or store them. But now things have changed we clean and sterilize everything as soon as we bring anything home. Isn’t it something which we should have been doing always? Making sure anything that we bring home from outside to be sanitized thoroughly before using? Well, it took a pandemic to make us realize that everything carries germs and should be sanitized properly before use.

Oh and remember how earlier we used to just casually wash our hands and it took a pandemic to teach people how to wash hands properly, that a proper handwash is an 11 step process, and should take at least 20 seconds.

How do I wash my hands properly?

Washing your hands properly takes about as long as singing “Happy Birthday” twice,
using the images below.

Steps of washing hand-Courtesy WHO

There is no doubt that Corona times are crazy and COVID-19 has changed our lives in a way that we wouldn’t have ever imagined, there is no doubt that we are more cautious and disciplined now and the only question that we need to ask ourselves is why it took a pandemic to teach us discipline, to teach us proper sanitization, and a simple habit of proper handwash.

Why it’s okay to not be productive right now

Pandemic or not, your self worth is not proportional to your productivity

Like me, if social media has become your only out to boredom, you may have noticed conversations about the notions of ‘productivity’ rocketing. Whether it is your twitter mate updating you with their daily baking sessions or an Instagram friend showing off the pages and pages of work that they finished, or your family groups bombarding you with motivational posts about how to spend your free time, if you have any. There’s so much pressure right now to make the most of this ‘free’ time. It’s exhausting to even try to keep up. The rhetoric around productivity is so romanticised, glamorised and even glorified. However, every time I come across a reminder to be productive, I find myself thinking whether is it really a practical thing or can being productive everyday be a damaging to oneself?

As a university student doing her under graduation, the increase of workload, since the onset of Coronavirus in India, hasn’t gone unnoticed- being given a task after task, a deadline after deadline took a toll on all students. At the start of lockdown, I had internals, I was constantly pulling all nighters revising for the tests, completing assignments and keeping up with the daily workload of the online lessons. In this sense, it felt like nothing even while being locked up in our homes. There was always something that had to be submitted, something that needed to be revised or something that I needed to start working on. I was trying, as was everyone, but oftentimes, it felt like all the efforts amounted to nothing in the end. The workload didn’t end with the end of the semester, having to take-up internships in the middle of a pandemic caused immeasurable pressure and paranoia. My work plans are disrupted by distractions, I find myself unknowingly overextending and the balance between work & free time has become invisible. Not to mention the stress is unavoidable, and I constantly find myself waking up wishing for the day to end.

Is there anything that can be done?

Last year, if someone told us that we would be trapped inside our homes in a state of quarantine due to a deadly pandemic, we would have laughed it off. So, at the time our worst and unimaginable fears are coming true, being plunged into uncertainty does not mean that we have to function effectively alongside it. And therefore, being productive is no longer as important as it was before.

It is of utmost importance to acknowledge that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to use this situation to hone their skills, try new hobbies, explore new passions or build something unforgettable. In the midst of rapid unemployment, losing your loved ones, anxiety caused by separation from friends and family, isolation and loneliness, bad mental health is inevitable- and that’s okay. It’s okay not to be okay, it’s okay needing to take time off. It’s okay to listen to your body. Don’t be mad at yourself for not being able to deal with the situation as efficiently as your friend or your parent or your Instagram mutual. Getting out of the bed at a reasonable time is a task enough. Not putting off taking care of yourself and your needs is a task enough. Keeping up with your friends and checking up on them is a task enough. Spending time with your family is a task enough. Doing these tasks is no where near the perfect productive day I imagined – and it won’t be for a long while. I was meant to be getting excited about interning opportunities and travelling more and capturing more. Now when everything has gone south, the task of prioritising yourself is a rebellious act.

How can we change this mindset?

If you’re anything like me, university and work mean that I can not entirely ignore all my responsibilities in favour of self-care. Prioritising what you have to do is a good start to make sure you can do what needs to be done. Practice different methods or working. For me, sitting at my desk for more than 7 hours, staring at the laptop screen is quite overwhelming, mentally exhausting and doesn’t leave me feeling fulfilled. Taking breaks to perhaps watch an episode from a show that I’m currently hooked to or to mindlessly scroll on twitter ensures that I feel the balance.

This unsettling environment can be taxing. Forgive yourself for making mistakes.