This is a guest post written by Garima Adlakha, my wife.

Sitting in front of the screen, I’m all blank. What lies ahead is the question I’m trying to answer, like a lot of you. This COVID has definitely coerced us to rethink our life and priorities, which we had been putting aside for so long. This feels like another form of meditation. The break in routine and the uncertainty in various aspects of life have made me ponder over the kind of life I had been living so far. Which one’s better? Of course, the one with some routine but why ain’t I ready for the scatterings? Maybe because I really was never told in its true sense that life is unpredictable. Till now, all I knew about this impetuous nature of life was in the quotes.

While I have been trying to figure out my own way out of this internal crisis, I couldn’t help but ponder over the state of mind this pandemic has put all of us into. The other day I spoke with a friend of mine, Nikita(name changed), and was appalled by her journey of balancing herself ever since this COVID started. It was not until she had become insomniac did she call me on a Friday night at 11. As strange as her name on the phone appeared to be, more shocking was her mental health. She had lost her job a few weeks after the lockdown started but more importantly, she had lost her social life. Being an extrovert, she couldn’t cope up with the sitting at home routine. The one line I remember so clearly she said was, “Garima, I need to go out.” It just summarised what she said in the rest of our conversation.

Humans are social animals. Even introverts, in some form or the other, need this social life; not necessarily in the form of party or interaction. Sometimes, it’s just the presence of someone that is enough to make you feel good. Being an introvert myself, most of the time, and ambivert for the rest, I feel it’s imperative to have that humane presence around you.

So, here I am for those who are finding it hard to find someone to pour their heart to. Let me help you deal with your inner turbulence. Oh, wait! I missed out on what happened to Nikita post our conversation. So, post our conversation I realized that what she really needed was a listening ear to pour her heart out. We had talked for almost 2 hours but I couldn’t help her get the sleep she had been wanting for weeks; because it was too late and she needed a psychiatrist. You must be surprised at the mention of a psychiatrist. Well, it’s not an exaggeration. She really had to go for medication to calm her down. Now, we talk regularly.

This is just one friend I have mentioned but there are more people I have come across with such conditions. It’s difficult to admit that we need help but more difficult to seek help. That is why I am here to help anyone who just needs to be heard without any judgment. Talking certainly helps but don’t wait too long.

You may email me at garimak1305@gmail.com and we can get talking.

See you on the other side of the screen!