The COVID- 19 pandemic has brought about significant changes to people’s way of life all around the world. It has deeply impacted each and every one of our lives in one way or another. Education predominantly switched to an online mode. Working from home became the norm. From Dalgona coffee to at-home dance trends, we adapted to the ‘new normal.’
The question is, how effective has this adjustment been? This pandemic has taken a large toll on our mental and physical health. At a personal level, some of us have rediscovered our passion and revived our hobbies. Self-sufficiency has become increasingly important. Multiple lockdowns over two and a half years left us with no help around the house, a major concern for many of us. Eventually, we set for ourselves a ‘lockdown routine’, consisting of cooking, cleaning, and getting up from our beds to our workstations only a few feet away. The pandemic normalised mask-wearing and maintaining great levels of personal hygiene. A habit to keep up, pandemic or not!
With no physical contact with the outside world, the passage of time wasn’t duly noted, making it seem as if we were re-living the same day over and over again. Adjusting to this was quite the task for the extroverts among us.
The pandemic has undoubtedly tested our psychological resilience, with many of us having to become more flexible and adapt to drastic lifestyle changes.
The new normal is not just about a change in our lifestyles. It’s also about a new way of thinking and understanding each other. The pandemic has helped us think as a community, as a society. It has helped us become resourceful and helpful where necessary. From mobilizing medical resources to arranging basic necessities for those in need, we developed empathy.
SHAPE 