Medical

Reflecting over the past few years, my daily life in Australia is slowly becoming less surreal. In my mind, I compare this back to when half the population of Australia was in a lockdown situation two years ago due to a deadly contagion.

Until then, all my friends, family and local community had been living ‘normally’. Then, the world was suddenly turned upside down.

During the various ‘waves’ we experienced, the panoply of COVID-19 variants haemorrhaged into the population, including my neighbourhood. Just like bacteria in a petri dish, reproductive numbers (R0) of the newly mutated Omicron variant were quoted as >2, meaning one person infected two, two affected four, four affected 16, 16 affected 64, etc.,

My local healthcare facility, like many others, was at a crisis point. And I mean, even worse than the situation pre-pandemic, if that was possible.

From Past To Present

Even today, where there has been a flattening of epidemiological curves to an extent, the problems still exist worldwide. We have all had to adapt accordingly.

Unsurprisingly, the strain this brought on my mental and spiritual health was all too consuming.

Fuelled by the grim statistic from the WHO that there are now millions of confirmed fatalities worldwide, I struggled in acknowledging these alarming figures. I often found myself emotionally charged with feelings of uncertainty, anxiety or even a sense of hopelessness.

And looking back, I know I was not alone when talking with my social circle.

From Chaotic Clinics To The Comfort Of My Couch

As a doctor exposed to COVID-19 in a clinical environment, I felt even more vulnerable than most. Despite our rigorous training in learning how to work and cope under the most adverse circumstances, we had to remain brave for the sake of our patients.

If I were not fainting after sweating in all the PPE donned each shift, I would arrive home with ‘mascne’ on my face. My hands would be red, raw and desiccated from all the hand sanitiser.

Then, I stopped working as a clinician and transitioned into working from home to earn a living. That meant suddenly having to strictly adhere to the public health orders and ‘stay at home rules’.

The psychological sequelae of ‘lockdown fatigue’ and confinement were overwhelming to the point where I felt myself decompensating. Like others, events like this were totally alien to me.

Homeliness And Loneliness

By and large, humans are a social species that are hard-wired to form and maintain social bonds with one another. That is when we are not needing much-needed time at home by ourselves.

In our novel world, any form of social exchange was suddenly restricted. A trip to my supermarket or a brief walk around my park with an hour’s time limit became my escape from insanity.

Visiting my elderly neighbours was prohibited and fraught with problems due to the potential risk of spreading the virus via the air or fomites.  So, we all remained disconnected from those closest to us in ‘microbubbles’. 

I initially perceived living by myself as a luxury. But after living in solitude for weeks, I knew I was morphing into a recluse, having normally been a gregarious person. 

Listening to the news for hours, I became consumed with cynical feelings, toxic positivity, and blind optimism to the point I had to avoid it.

The Conundrums Of Confinement

As a species, we are used to moving freely without restriction. And when faced with any form of physical or mental stress, we innately gravitate away from negative stimuli or ‘trigger points’, as a protective mechanism.

This was largely impossible in a lockdown situation, meaning our stress levels were contained within the surroundings we were not allowed to escape from. 

My frustration escalated within the four walls that were incarcerating me. If the balance between calmness and tension remained net negative’, my anxiety levels would only continue to escalate like a pressure cooker effect.

The effects of interpersonal conflict, domestic violence, alcohol and substance misuse became self-evident, as reported by government statistics.

The link between exercise releasing nature’s own anti-depressants within our brains, like dopamine and serotonin, is widely known. So, living in a static environment for a prolonged period was even worse for specific individuals.

The effects of loneliness, hypostimulation and boredom also increase levels of cortisol and are a catalyst for triggering psychiatric conditions and maladaptive behaviour.

The increased rate of reaching out to mental health facilities and contacting crisis support helplines within Australia provided concrete evidence. And if anything, there has been no reprieve, especially as the cost of living has increased due to escalating inflation worldwide in 2023.

Pyjama-Powered Productivity Had Its Limits

For me, flexible ‘working from home’ hours once led to later nights, erratic sleeping patterns and ultimately, a loss of Circadian rhythm. I couldn’t stop taking my work home as I was already there.

Personal and professional boundaries became blurred and meaningless, and I would find myself working in my home office, still dressed in my nightwear.

The effects were insidious until I knew I had to exercise an element of self-discipline. A failure to recognise and act on this, speaking from personal experience, was and remains a perfect recipe for working sub-optimally.

And for those with children, I struggled to comprehend how any miracle parent coped who was home-schooling while maintaining their source of revenue.

From Setback To Success: The Resilience Mindset

So, over the past three years, working from home more meant re-inventing myself and changing my attitude and behaviour to become even more resilient.

Resilience is not an innate quality; it is something we all must learn and develop. To some, it may come more easily. 

Derived from Latin, it defines the ability to adapt to life challenges that one faces. Many would have tasted adversity, pain, suffering, or failure on several levels. 

But eventually, through resilience, emotional balance is restored, and individuals emerge stronger.

Regarding social isolation through lockdown, I had to accept the reality of what it was. Life had to remain meaningful in believing confinement would not last forever. It enabled me to reflect on life in general. Introspection in isolation is a potent weapon in the process of self-development through mindfulness.

Even now, I have acknowledged that some days will be better than others. I will not be discouraged and will try to learn from every difficult situation.

Our sense of optimism is preserved by cultivating and maintaining supportive relationships when going through difficult periods.

Remaining connected with loved ones as an act of mutual altruism and transforming negative feelings was paramount. Video chatting has become my new normal. Though it lacks physical interaction and one can get ‘FaceTime-itis’, it is a healthy compromise compared to actual face-to-face meetings.

Though there is often not enough of it, any form of ‘coronavirus kindness’ to others can benefit one’s soul. My resilience will hopefully rub off onto others who are more vulnerable.

Your Mindset Matters For Workplace Well-being 

Many sabotaging behaviours can threaten one’s biopsychosocial equilibrium. Even today, I am still learning what mine are and have developed strategies to steer away from them. 

For instance, many of us have ‘emotional vampires’ who walk into our lives. Their primary objective appears aimed at draining every joule of mental energy you have in reserve when trying to work in solitude. 

Unintentional or not, I am learning to avoid getting into these situations. Turning my phone off is a simple solution as things can wait unless there is an emergency.

In addition, I also find writing amongst clutter with poor natural light impossible. To me, it ultimately manifests in decreased work productivity through disordered thinking.

I re-created a more natural environment through innovative visual imagery when I couldn’t connect with the outside world. Plants and digital images that were easy on the eye brightened up my day.

It goes without saying that focusing on diet, exercise, and good sleep hygiene is paramount in maintaining one’s health.

Just as it was pre-pandemic.

The Vortex Of The Vaccination Rollout

Like anybody else, I found all the public health information utterly confusing. Where and when could I protect myself? Was I even suitable, given my age and health status?

Even as a doctor, I had to update myself on the scientific literature, mainly on vaccination development. And the goalposts seemed to change as fast as people were dying. 

Even after three years, I am still sifting fact from fiction on various social media platforms and in print articles that are widely available to the public.

‘Click-bait’ misinformation and propaganda based on ‘quasi-plausible’ ideologies are ubiquitous. And often drudged up by scaremongering ‘tin-pot’ anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists.

Many lobbyists kept their sleeves rolled down. Others miraculously became expert virologists overnight. They appeared to know what most medical undergraduates like myself took months to learn.

In countries where vaccination was readily accessible, those deemed suitable constipated health care systems. They were attached to ventilators. Intensive care units ran out of oxygen and cylinders were being sold on the black market.

But despite the controversies surrounding vaccination safety, all personal choices had to be respected.

Gripping On For Life: Will The Ride Remain Relentless?

As quoted in urban dictionaries, the ‘Corona-Coaster’ effect through prolonged lockdowns was frustrating, to say the least. 

Rollercoasters run unpredictably and haphazardly, but eventually, they grind to a halt from where they begin.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 (with all its variants) will be with us indefinitely and will continue to take a different pace.

However, there was always that glimmer of hope where my vaccination syringe had remained ‘half full’. My community was yearning for freedom, including myself, to visit loved ones outside of our zone of restriction. 

Although we are still going through a rebirth, I finally see the horizon.

And as a three-time survivor of COVID-19, despite being quadrupled vaccinated, I am grateful for each day I wake up alive.

To end, I quote the famous Sonya Renee Taylor, who is an author, word artist, humanitarian, and social justice activator:

“We will never go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalised greed, iniquity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not take long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature.” 

About the author

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Dr Surrinder Singh is a medical doctor, blogger and freelance writer. He is passionate about healthcare, medicine and education and works professionally with B2B and B2C clients.