- Research reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted mental balance across the world.
- Experts recommend strategies fostering emotional intelligence to reinstate mental balance in people affected by the pandemic.
Understanding Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) is a person’s ability to understand and manage his/her emotions in a positive manner—so as to relieve stress and improve communication. It also helps us in developing life skills related to empathy, decision-making, psychological resilience, conflict management, etc.
Mental Health Crisis In The COVID-19 Pandemic
The pandemic has wrought a physical and psychological crisis across all sections of the Indian population. Social isolation, grief, fear of infection, burnout, and economic losses have created a mentally imbalanced nation. Managing mental health during COVID-19 was tough considering the country’s weak psychiatric infrastructure. Inevitably, research shows the skyrocketing numbers of mental health issues and cases of suicide.
Reinstating The Mental Balance During The Post-COVID Era
Experts suggest self-help strategies and interventions that foster emotional intelligence and psychological resilience as a way to combat any mental crisis. Both conventional and unconventional methods should be made accessible and economical for all sections of society to successfully manage mental health during the COVID-19 emergency. They have also been vocal about the need to raise awareness for such strategies, especially amongst the middle- and low-income groups so that they can effectively harness the benefits of EQ.
Prerna Sahni, a renowned journalist, states, “The positive aspect of EQ is that we can all become emotionally intelligent over a while with seasoning, acceptance, and adoption.”
