Life Interrupted: Do the Next Right Thing | By Jodi Yip
When the pandemic first began, everyone had their doubts. From speculating if this virus was even real to witnessing the increase in the global death toll to the new normal of surgical masks and sanitizers. It has shaken communities all around and left massive consequences to everyone alike.
Our lives were literally interrupted in the worst way possible.
Hence, Taylor’s Psychology Society hosted a webinar on 29 April, titled ‘Life Interrupted: Do the Next Right Thing’, inviting medical frontliners and psychologists to give their insights and experiences on the pandemic.
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| Taylor's Psych Society. |
The webinar had notable panelists such as Dr Denise Leom, alumni of Taylor’s University and Medical Officer of the Emergency and Trauma Department in Hospital Labuan, Ms Tasha Prahba, alumni of Taylor’s University and yoga instructor, and Dr Loh Siew Ping, General Physician of Internal Medicine and geriatric trainee in Hospital Melaka.
Beginning with the warm welcoming ceremony followed by a forum, this series of online discussions enabled us to put ourselves in the shoes of the many communities in Malaysia.
Session One: It’s Not Easy Being Old
In the first part of the webinar, Dr Loh Siew Ping highlighted the daily struggles of the elderly during the first Movement Control Order (MCO), how they cope with the environment now, ending with a Q&A session.
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From top left: Dr Loh Siew Ping, moderators Hessa Syabirah and Leanne Goh Source: Taylor’s Psych Society. |
The pandemic has affected the older generation much worse, especially those who have chronic or neurological illnesses. Usually, our elders rely heavily on a routine such as heading out for their coffee or tea, exercising and socialising with their friends at the markets or restaurants.
“With the restriction of movement, especially during the first MCO, many of the older adults could not fulfil their daily quota of exercise and social interactions.
This has led to the development of weaknesses in the muscles and possible loneliness and depression,” said Dr Loh.
Additionally, the fear they have over contracting the virus has forced them to stay cooped up at home, leading them to postpone regular medical checkups and seek treatment for their illnesses a little too late. That alone has dire consequences, which was why Dr Loh emphasised the importance of the vaccines.
Studies in the UK have shown that vaccines have reduced the rate of hospitalisation for Covid-19 among the elderly as well as the severity of the illness itself.
“We should register for the vaccine and take care of ourselves,” advised Dr Loh.
During the Q&A session, Dr Loh answered a variety of questions. One which stood out the most was, “Any advice on communication with the elderly when they get in those grumpy moods of being cooped up at home for so long?”
Here are some ways to help your elders cope better with the pandemic:
- Help them learn new skills such as utilising electronic gadgets to communicate with other people.
- Intergenerational activities with their grandchildren such as playing board games or creating simple art and crafts.
- Going out to non-public or crowded places for a breath of fresh air.
Session Two: Helping Those Who Serve Us
Our frontliners have proven to be the Marvel heroes of this century. This Q&A session involving Dr Chia Han Sheng, Dr Denis Leom and Dr Aizat Mohd Aziz not only helped provide further insight into their lives but also to demythologise any fake medical news we would hear.
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| Source: Taylor's Psych Society. |
“We’re working shifts. We come home, exhausted from wearing PPEs all day, from attending to patients to seeing people dying in front of us.
“And when you come home, you have to read up and learn that what you read yesterday was not accurate anymore.
“It is frustrating. Really frustrating,” said Dr Chia Han Cheng, Medical Officer of the Emergency and Trauma Department in Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
Their shifts can range from six to ten hours at one go, leaving no room for rest nor proper showers. Especially during the time where Sabah had their spike of cases back in 2020.
As shared by the fellow doctors, they had to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when dealing with Covid patients. Once they are done with their rounds, proper sanitation and disposal measures of the PPEs have to be taken not only to protect themselves but others around them.
Dr Denise shared how she and her colleagues would have to shower in public toilets, using the bidet as there were no showers in the quarantine centers.
There were also moments where Dr Denise felt drained and tired, but nothing a little chocolate and sleep couldn’t fix. Like the energetic person she was on the webinar, she bounces back after a good rest, ready to fight for her patients.
When asked what support they would receive from their friends and family, all three doctors agreed that they were thankful for being away from their family at the moment.
“My parents are quite old, so the fact that they’re in KL and I’m in Sabah, I’m thankful. There’s no fear of me infecting them, since I work in the ICU, and they have the sickest Covid patients there.
“It gets to you when you see your patients passing without being able to see their family,” expressed Dr Aizat.
Our frontliners have gone far and beyond to keep our communities protected by sacrificing not only their physical strength to work longer hours than they are used to, but also their mental and emotional strength.
The Ministry of Health Malaysia has also contributed towards the welfare of our frontliners by empowering the psychiatric department of Sabah to help administer the Psychiatric First Aid. With this, any affected healthcare worker who feels burned out, depressed, or negatively affected in any way will have a number they can contact.
“This was well utilised in the first six months.We had support. Not only did we rely on each other but also the government and administration as well”, said Dr Han.
Session Three: Stay Active, Flex Your Body
Last but not least, Ms Tasha Prahba welcomed all to a short yoga workshop where she introduced some easy but effective yoga moves and debunked some yoga myths.
With everything being integrated online, it is no surprise that the majority of us find ourselves with body aches due to the amount of time spent being in one position only. Not to mention, staring at our devices while doing so.
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From left: Ahmad Arief (moderator) and Ms Tasha Prahba. Source: Taylor’s Psych Society. |
“Yoga is not just stretching. Yoga is actually mental stretching as well. It strengthens your mental health and physical body. It’s a lot on core and muscle conditioning,” explained Ms Prahba.
Her passion started back in Taylor’s University where she wanted to learn more about the human body and how exercising can help with that. Being the lively instructor she is, she teaches, educates and empowers people on how to maintain their well-being as a whole.
“Are you able to bring your mood into the present moment and be aware of your body? That is the question you should ask yourself,” said Prahba.
Yoga has been rumoured to be part of a religion, practiced by a single gender or even restricted to people of a certain weight group. All false! Yoga welcomes all regardless of gender, weight, ethnicity, and age.
Prahba then proceeded to teach us two simple breathing exercises and some yoga stretches to help reduce our stress levels and calm our nervous system.
1. Alternate Nostril BreathingBend the index and middle finger of your right hand while keeping the ring and pinky upright, place your thumb on your right nostril. Then take a deep breath without lifting your shoulders, making sure your belly expands out. Close the left nostril using the ring and pinky fingers and exhale out. Then, switch sides using the same techniques.“You’ll immediately find yourself in a state of calmness,” said Prahba after the demonstration.2. The Breath of FireThis next exercise may sound intimidating but it really was not.“Being cooped up at home, you’re so tired. One side is stressed and the other side is down in the dump. So this breathwork is kinda like your shot of caffeine,” explained Prahba.The Breath of Fire turned out to be a detox breath practice that focuses on passively inhaling and forcefully exhaling while placing our palms on our belly. Begin with the first 10 seconds of trying to get used to it then gradually increase up to about 30 seconds.
Yoga has been proven to be one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to calm the mind and relieve stress. Never did we expect to find ourselves in such a situation but yet, here we are. The pandemic has taught and opened us up to many areas of our lives where we should take note of and prioritise such as the lives of our elderly loved ones and even ourselves. Hence, let us all do our part for the betterment of ourselves and the communities around us.
You can watch the post Facebook-Live here.
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