THE DIGITAL PANDEMIC

By Selina Seesunkur

As Covid-19 became a worldwide pandemic, and governments were putting their countries into lockdown, I was in bed with a cold. Having spent months organising a community Fashion and Talent show, which was subsequently cancelled due to early fears surrounding Corona Virus, I was tired and worn out.

I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so when my body wants to sleep it will, but I am also incredibly energetic and the prospect of staying in bed unnerved me. I watched a bunch of movies but quickly got bored as my brain began to itch. I opened up my laptop only to find a social media frenzy of bulk buying reports, shouts for help where the elderly could no longer walk down to the pharmacy to get their prescriptions, and cries from people who had gone to the supermarket only to find all the shelves bare! It was soul-destroying watching this unfold as I lay in bed.

Being a social person, I was really looking forward to catching up with friends in a few weeks’ time, but it was clear that this was now not going to happen. I get irritable if I am at home for too long without speaking to people so I could see this was going to be an issue. But my craving is just that, a craving. I know people who would go into depression if they could not go out and be part of the world, I also know people who would also spiral at the prospect of being alone, so completely alone. But what to do?

My best ideas tend to come to me in my sleep, and it was in this way that the concept of the Self-Isolation Plan, a SIP, was born. The idea was to get people to think about a routine, something I was told by my own physiotherapist was a good idea for people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My friend was also given the same advice for something he was going through. He was also told to keep his mind busy during the day to help him sleep at night. To get my concept out there, I launched a Facebook help group, which attracted over a 1000 members in over two weeks. Whilst this was exciting, I had to ensure the page remained meaningful, so I used my network to provide areas of expertise on issues such as mindfulness, fitness and gardening. We have people who post regularly on these subjects, but most surprising was how much people love sharing humour, which has been tricky to manage as people tend to get offended by different things, but the key rules are nothing offensive, nothing political and nothing which incites hatred or violence. I also have a team of 3 admin and two moderators to help.

I did not anticipate the amount of positive feedback we are getting, and one member said he thought the page was a lifesaver! I do wonder what will happen to the page once we are over the Corona Virus, answers on a postcard!

Selina Seesunkur

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HARRY AND MEGHAN – A PROMISE SNATCHED OR A LEGACY OF HOPE?

By Pauline Lewis

It did not seem too long ago – so many wedding party pop-ups happening all over the country, with misty eyes, wedding hats, and champagne glasses all clicking to the same celebration – Harry and Meghan were getting married. 

For the Black community, in particular, there was an interest in the Royal Family that had not been present before.  Meghan was marrying into the Royal Family and she brought her African American heritage with her.  Suddenly, Black people had someone in the Royal Family to identify with.  This was unprecedented, joyous and exciting.  This historic advance in cultural diversity expressed itself perfectly at the Royal wedding in Windsor castle – a congregational mix of royalty and aristocracy with celebrity, and a service that fulfilled their cultural mission – a Black Pentecostal preacher who wonderfully demonstrated the Black Pentecostal tradition. This wedding came with a promise and that was celebrated by many – of every culture.

Fast forward to 2020 and we are seeing a very different picture. The promise of diverse representation in Royal circles is all but gone. No Harry and Meghan at Christmas at Sandringham and finally the announcement that the Royal couple will not be carrying out any new Royal engagements.

No-one really knows what issues Harry and Meghan face, nor how difficult it is for them to deal with those issues. Harry has said that he could not see any other choice when coming to the decision to give up Royal engagements, and there is no doubt that this is how he felt.

The most unfortunate consequence from this is the loss of promise in the leap forward for Black British cultural diversity. Through Meghan and Harry, we had that promise. The Black British community suddenly looked up and saw themselves in a place they had never seen themselves before. With our history of being racially discriminated against and, as a community, often being consigned to the lower economic bands of society, this promise was welcome and well overdue.  Indeed, the promise of change was embraced by the wider British community too.

There is, therefore, more at stake than the personal difficulties of Harry and Meghan with which I am completely sympathetic.  The hope of wider cultural diversity in the UK has taken a big blow. But a big blow is not a complete defeat. We have now had a taste of what can be, and we can now look forward with full confidence to a Britain with more cultural diversity than ever before.

Pauline Lewis LLB(Hons)

Barrister Atticus Lawyers

Conservative Women Organisation (Diversity) National Chair for Lawyers

MENTAL HEALTH IN THE MODERN WORLD

By Rathi Pragasam

It’s one thing to feel low, but it’s another to feel low in the modern world. I believe the modern world exacerbates mental illness.

So much is said about overpopulation and we often hear how it’s easy to feel lonely in a crowd. However, we forget that the crowd consists not just of people, but of ideas and ideals. People feel lonely because they don’t fit with the ideas or they feel compressed because the ideals that are imposed are too overwhelming.

Facebook walls became billboards for “It’s OK to not be OK” images and reminders of: “A man dies by suicide every 2 hours in the UK” with plenty of takes on how more money should be channelled to mental health services.

However, the very same society that promotes men’s mental well-being campaigns is the society that also tells men who display emotions to “man up” or “grow a pair”. Social media platforms that allow images of mental health slogans also host advertisements of how post-natal depression can be avoided if mothers-to-be “embrace” pregnancy by having professional photographs taken of their burgeoning bellies.

The conundrum surrounding mental health services is akin to the treatment it attempts – treating the symptoms but not the root cause.

Very little besides Patient Satisfaction Surveys are conducted to gauge the quality of treatment given to the patient. A common piece of advice that is given to people is to “keep yourself busy”, which raises questions as to whether enough weight is attached to the rat race that most people in the modern world a part of are already. The notion being that an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop, rather than grabbing a bull by the horns.

“Burnout” cases are a frequent occurrence where people have swept their problems under the carpet because they were too busy to deal with their emotions. In such circumstances, surely the blanket advice of: “keep yourself busy” is the wrong thing to tell a patient who might need to switch off instead.

Group therapy is heavily recommended to people without exploring if being surrounded by others with similar symptoms would be a trigger, such as with some people who self-harm. Therefore, while mental health services could benefit from more funding, it could also be enhanced by reviewing the advice and treatment that are being dispensed. Addressing the root cause as opposed to the symptoms may reduce the duration that the patient uses the service leading to a reduction in costs.

For a society that prides itself upon being liberal-minded, the stigma and stereotype of mental illness are as widespread as mental illness itself. Rethink.org states that one in four people will have a mental illness at some point in their lives, yet society chooses to shame or sympathise rather than synchronise with mentally ill people.

The modern world thrives so much on telling people how to live their ‘perfect life’ that people’s preoccupation with knowing and interpreting everything comes at the expense of our individual experiences, a connection with ourselves and the organic interactions we have with those around us.

Today, the most basic human interactions that man has been consuming since Adam are dictated by magazines and websites. People are made to doubt themselves. Issues as complex as how to love fully are covered in a two-page article.

Our present world has paved a trajectory for people to run from feeling inadequate to instant gratification then back again, which is a sure-fire way of manipulating self-esteem and creating anxiety. Of course, there are no shortage of websites spelling out anxiety symptoms to turn an emotional wound into a gangrenous emotional handicap.

Perhaps society itself is feeling insecure.

If we take the public admiration for Joaquin Phoenix after his disturbing and complex portray of The Joker, there were as many critics who claimed the film would incite the mentally vulnerable to commit mass murders. Could this be a subtle admission by society that it has failed to nurture its members in a healthy and emotionally productive manner and that still is still so many misunderstandings about mental health?

The human mind is a universe. Let’s give it the credit and freedom to be seen for what it is and to be whatever it is without confining its grandeur through a telescope. Let’s be empathetic and nice when we see someone who is struggling mentally. It can happen to anybody.

Bearing this in mind - if you come across me, please be empathetic and please be nice.

Rathi Pragasam

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