The recent terror attacks on the financial nerve centre of Mumbai have put the entire country into a state of frenzied panic. In this time of great national emergency, it’s hard to maintain a sense of calm and composure. We got experts to recommend the best ways to keep your nerves calm. As the mega metropolis Mumbai is struck by ‘terror’, citizens are left in a shocked state of mind, as they witness a gory sight with bomb blasts, cross firing and hostages marking another era of violence. Mumbai-based designer Nisha Jamvwal shares, “I’m deeply hurt, unhappy and tensed about the whole situation, but it’s time to be proactive and not fall into the trap of terrorists. They want to frighten us, but I feel by sticking together and empowering each other with full support, we (Mumbai) can rise from the ashes and survive. I’m not in favour of talking about the bad things and spreading negativity all around; I’d rather motivate my near and dear ones to stay tranquil and set an example of solidarity.” Exemplifying the Mumbai spirit, Nisha adds, “Right from maids in houses to office employees to top CEOs, we all are working and this shows that we believe in staying calm and standing by each other. There’s strain and stress on our faces, but no signs of fear.” A petrified Rakhi Sawant shares, “I had a flight to catch to Chennai, but this terror has spoilt my travel plans. I feel Mumbai is not safe, but as long as we’re staying here, we won’t let terror triumph. It’s easy to tell someone to remain calm, but we can see that people are worried, so by all means we’re trying to prevent fear from finding a place in our minds. We need courage to deal with the crisis.” While people across India are trying hard to cope with the hard-hitting situation, the blood and gore being shown on news channels and faces being flashed every now and then is not letting them overcome the fear. Stating that youngsters are most affected in such a crisis, Dr. Deepak Gupta, child and adolescent psychiatrist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi says, “In a crisis situation, the foremost advice is to remain united and not fret. We often see in such a crisis that people start misinterpreting situations and spread rumours either though the Internet or by word of mouth. They must strictly refrain from doing so and rather delve deeper to know the facts form the media and the authorized officials. This would surely help them stay calm and not panic unnecessarily.”
Though it becomes tough to deviate one’s mind from watching the constant updates, experts says that remaining detached from daily work won’t help, as constantly brooding about the terror attacks spreads negative thoughts. Dr. KP Rana, consultant psychiatrist, MNAMS opines, “At an individual level, if you allow negative thoughts to invade your mind, nothing can actually help. But to stay calmer, we suggest that you remain engrossed in your daily routine. Try and retain your confidence levels and maintain a stronger approach towards the situation.” Dr. Deepak Gupta further adds, “People who have been affected or who are feeing low and depressed due to terror, can talk to people who can listen and can support them, as emotional venting is very vital at such times. Sensitive souls who can’t bear trauma either get over apprehensive about the situation or anticipate negativity, but talking to friends, relatives and teachers or even counselors help them to feel better and relax their mind. Baring out your feelings can actually prevent you from a serious break down when there’s an emotional turmoil.” Another way to maintain a balance mentally is by counting to ten. Your brain has two hemispheres. One of them handles stuff like imagination and emotion. The other handles logical things. In a crisis, you want the logical side in control, so you can concentrate on what needs to be done and not speculate on the worst. If you give your brain a logical or linear task, like counting, it gets assigned to the half of your brain that handles those tasks. Counting or running down a checklist automatically unlocks some of your fears. If watching horror scenes on the TV are scaring you, breathe deeply. These should be diaphragmatic breaths. In a crisis, your brain needs lots of oxygenated blood. Deep breaths get more of that oxygen into your bloodstream and slow you down, too. And if you count the breaths, you get a double benefit. Dr Gorav Gupta, senior consultant psychiatrist, Apollo Hospital concludes, “It’s a common human tendency to spread panic in a crisis situation, but if citizens become a little more responsible and patient, things can be dealt with in a proper way. To stay calm and let others also feel the same, it’s wise to have faith in your (political and security) system and believe that they’re doing the best to deal with the crisis. Criticizing the system will only induce a feeling of insecurity and will further frighten the affected ones.”
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