Pushpa Gujral Science City celebrated World Health Day byorganizing a webinar on “Managing Stress during Covid-19”. Around 200 studentsand teachers from all over Punjab participated through virtual mode.
Dr. Himanshu Sareen, Professor and Head, Department ofPsychiatry, Punjab Institute of Medical Science, Jalandhar was the key speakerat this occasion. During the live interaction, he said that stress should notbe seen in isolation but in relation to how the event is perceived, availablesocial support and coping capabilities.
“A person with good support and coping ability is lesslikely to have harmful effect when faced with stressful situations whereas aperson can easily breakdown even when the stress is not very severe if one haspoor stress managing ability”, he said.
He urged the participants to eat healthy, exerciseregularly and evade paranoia.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Neelima Jerath, DirectorGeneral, Science City told that according to latest results of the WorldHappiness Report, India is the fourth-least happy country in the world.
“The country’s chronic unhappiness is a result of manyfactors: rapid urbanization and congestion in cities, concerns about foodsecurity and water safety, rising costs of health care, women’s safety, andenvironmental pollution, which itself is linked to poor mental wellbeing”, sheadded.
She pointed out that Stress is one of the leading causes ofabsenteeism in schools and that happy students learn better and 'Happy Schools& Happy Homes' enhance academic performance.
Dr. Rajesh Grover, Director, Science City delivering thevote of thanks said the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact is going far beyond physicalsymptoms. Even though last year’s experience is helping people adapt to the newnormal, anxiety, uncertainty and loneliness are taking a heavy toll on mentalhealth. On a positive side, India is armed with two locally made vaccines butto flatten the rising COVID-19 curve, people would again have to minimiseoutings, maintain distance and spend more time at home.