How to deal with Covid-19 stress??

The epidemic of Covid-19 covering the major part of world’s population has defeated the enormous human development of Science and Technology. Due to vast spread and crisis situation, it has badly affected the mental health and psychological wellbeing of mankind. Due to repeated media exposure, everybody feels like “seized” and wandering in the sea of hopelessness. In history, mankind has faced various epidemic situations, fought bravely and defeated the ruthless circumstances. We can also defeat this situation by joint efforts and following preventive measures. In this article, we’ll find out how a person can manage his stress levels with his own help & can come out this situation positively and confidently.

Stress is a bodily response to the unwanted situations that encourage changes in your physical and mental state helping you either to escape from the situation or face it head-on. The stress response is a survival strategy and is your body’s way of providing you with a biological mechanism to deal with life-threatening situations. Like anything in life, too much of a good thing can become a problem. The stress response is essential, but if activated and sustained over long periods of time, you are likely to experience both psychological and physical damage.

Managing the Stress

Historically, our thinking patterns are built in a way that we attract negativity much more than the positivity in our lives. Due to repeated exposure towards the negative news about such a situation, we feel helpless and demotivated towards the destination. Human motivation in any situations depends upon that how much control we got over the situation. Due to widespread negative orientation, we are bound to think that nothing we can do about the situation.

Same is happening in the Covid-19 situation, media exposure is creating hopelessness, and the information shelling is creating anxiety and stress. As a psychologist, I’ll suggest to reduce this media exposure and devote this time towards other positive and learning based activities so that our lockdown time becomes fruitful for us in the future outcomes. You can use this time to recite Holy Quran with translation, you can read books on Seerah, history and self-development. You can start a new hobby like gardening, cooking, and others. Various institutes are offering free online courses, register yourselves there. Time is very valuable, do not waste it on watching and spreading social media news. Reduce your screen time up to 1-2 hours a day.

Sleep is very important for healthy body and healthy mind. Make a regular sleep cycle of 6-7 hours daily. Go to bed early and wake up early in the morning. Spend some time on physical exercise. Take deep breaths and be thankful to Allah for His every blessing. Avoid sleeping during the day. Avoid a heavy meal and eating late at night.

Stress and Food, the increased levels of stress are also linked to our food intake. The following are some dietary tips that will help you:

·         Drink plenty of water – not only is it good for your skin, it helps to flush out toxins and keeps your kidneys in good working order. Around eight large glasses a day is best.

·         Make sure you eat at least six times a day. By eating little and often and ensuring that you do not skip meals you will help your blood sugar levels stay balanced.

·         Try to avoid ‘fast food’, as it usually contains more fat and additives than are not good for health.

·         Try to avoid overdose of coffee, tea, cola drinks, and sugary chocolate, as all these contain varying amounts of caffeine.  Try to avoid saturated fats, as these can lead to health problems.

Relaxation can also play an important part in dealing with stress. Take time to enjoy a bath, light some candles and play some gentle music while you take time for yourself. Dim the lights in the lounge, play some gentle music, close your eyes, and allow yourself time to relax. Take some time to enjoy your garden or local park. Take time to look at all the trees and flowers.

Breathing a rescue remedy that can be used anytime and anywhere, When you find yourself feeling stressed, or are about to deal with a difficult situation, it can be useful:

·         Breathe in through your nose for a count of four.

·         Breathe out through your mouth for a count of five.

·         As you breathe out, consciously relax your shoulders.

As you breathe in and out, use your stomach muscles to control your breathing.

Hopefully, these stress management techniques will help you to burst out the Covid-19 stress and also in other general stressful situations.

Abdul Bari Nomani

(The writer is Islamabad based psychologist, Peer Educator and Blogger, and Mission Holder Positive Pakistan Foundation)

ایک نظر ادھر بھی۔از صدف کامران

!ایک نظر ادھر بھی

شکریہ شاہینو

للہ  شاہینوں کے گھر کے چولھے کبھی نہ بجھیں

جنہوں نے ہمارے بجھے ہوئے چولھے کے بارے میں سوچا اور راشن لے کر ہماری دہلیز پر آئے۔

 "اشرف المخلوقات انسان ہیں یا اِنسانیت"  

کبھی کسی نے سوچا ہے؟

 کہ ہمارے درمیان ایک طبقہ ایسا بھی ہے جو   معاشرتی اقدار میں قرنطینہ میں ہے۔  ایک ایسا انسان جو انسان ہی کے جسم سے پیدا ہو، مگر انسان کا رتبہ نہ پا سکے۔اور معاشرے میں صرف تذلیل کا نشانہ بنے۔ تو زندگی کی راہ ہموار کرنے کہ لیے ہی خواجہ سراوں کا معاشرہ تشکیل پاتا ہے۔ نہ صرف معاشرتی طور پر بلکہ تہذیب و تمدن اور خاندانی اقدار میں بھی اس طبقے کو صرف اور صرف پستیوں میں ہی دھکیل دیا جاتا ہے۔ 

حیرت کی بات یہ ہے کہ معاشرے میں قبول نہ کیے جانے  کے باوجود  یہ نسل پھر بھی ہم میں موجود ہے۔  وہ کون لوگ ہیں جو اشرف المخلوقات کہلاتے ہیں۔یہ طبقہ تو ہمارے معاشرے میں انسان تو دور کی بات کسی کی  انسانیت کے حق دار بھی نظر نہیں آتے۔

کبھی کسی نے سوچا ہے؟

کہ اس طبقے کو جان بوجھ کر معاشرتی برائیوں کا انتخاب کرنے کے لیے مختص کر دیا جاتا ہے۔

 کبھی کسی نے سوچا ہے؟

آج کورونا وائرس انکے اس احساسِ محرومی کو جاننے اور سمجھنے کی وجہ بنا ہے کہ ہر خاص و عام فرد  قرنطینہ کے احساسِ خوف سے واقف ہے۔ 

جبکہ پیدائش سے لے کر موت تک قرنطینہ ہی انکا مقدر ہوتا ہے۔ 

کبھی کسی نے سوچا ہے؟

 یہ لوگ کہاں سے آتے ہیں اور کہاں چلے جاتے ہیں۔ان کی موجودگی سے کوئی انکار نہیں کر سکتا ۔

مگر پھر بھی یہ زندگی کے دائرے میں شامل نہیں ہیں۔

کیونکہ! وہ انسان تو ہیں مگر دوسرے نام نہاد انسانوں کی طرف سے انہیں انسانیت کا شرف نہیں بخشا گیا۔

پیدائش پر والدین کے لئے شرمندگی کا باعث بنتے ہیں کیونکہ معاشرہ انہیں قبول نہیں کرتا۔ اسکولوں میں تعلیم حاصل کرنا ان کے لیے ایک سزا ہے۔جو ہم اشرف المخلوقات ہی انہیں دیتے ہیں۔ پھر اگر یہ ضرورت معاش کے لئے کچھ کرنا چاہیں تو راستے زنداں کی زنجیریں بن جاتے ہیں۔ اور  کوئی ابن آدم انہیں محنت مزدوری کرنے یا کام دینے کی جسارت نہیں کرتا۔

 كيوں ہم کو سنا تے ہو جہنم کے فسانے

اس دور میں جینے کی سزا کم تو نہیں

گویا انکے لیے ہر دروازہ بند ہوتا ہے اور اُمید ناپید...۔تعلیم کے دروازے ان پر بند ہیں۔ کوئی کام کاج کوئی شعبہ انکے لیے میسر ہی نہیں۔ ان کا کھانا،پینا،اٹھنا،بیٹھنا،رہنا سہنا سب ایک بند دروازے کے پیچھے ہے۔

گویا یہ معاشرتی طور پر قرنطینہ میں رہتے ہیں۔ اور پیشہ ورانہ طور پر ان کے ہاتھ میں ایک کشکول ہی نظر آتا ہے۔

چونکہ انکا ذہن نفرت کے ردِ عمل کے تحت پروان چڑھتا ہے تو غیر متوقع اور مجرمانہ عمل ان سے متوقع ہو سکتے ہیں۔

مگر پھر بھی یہ لوگ کسی بڑے جرم میں ملوث نظر نہیں آتے۔

آج دنیا میں اس افراتفری کے عالم میں ہر کوئی خوف میں مبتلا ہے۔

مگر افسوس آج بھی ہمارا دل اس طبقے کے لیے نرم نہیں ہے۔

آج اگر ہم مدد کرنا چاہتے ہیں تو اس غریب کی جو دو نہیں تو ایک وقت کی روٹی کما  اور کھا ہی سکتا ہے۔ مگر خواجہ سراؤں کے لئے ہم نے صرف بھیک مانگنے کا ہی شعبہ مختص کر رکھا ہے۔ جو آج لاک ڈاؤن کی زد میں ہیں۔ افسوس اس بات کا ہے کہ ہماری ہمدردیوں اور ساتھ میں یہ لوگ آج بھی شامل نہیں ہیں۔

کیا کسی نے انکی گلی کوچوں میں جا کر پوچھا کہ تمہیں بھی راشن کی ضرورت تو نہیں؟

کیا کورونا وائرس نے تم لوگوں کو بھی متاثر کیا ہے؟

کیا تم لوگوں کو بھی حفاظتی سامان مہیّا کیا گیا ہے؟

ہمیں فخر ہے کے ہم اشرف المخلوقات ہیں۔

مگر۔۔۔

یوں تو سید بھی ہو،مرزا بھی ہو،افغان بھی ہو

تم سبھی کچھ ہو بتاؤ تو مسلمان بھی ہو؟

 اس مشکل وقت میں اس طبقے کا بھی درد سمجھیں جو مستقل معاشرتی قرنطینہ جھیل رہے ہوتے ہیں۔
(صدف کامران)

KICK-START MARITIME TOURISM IN PAKISTAN

Maritime tourism is now considered to be an important segment in a multi-trillion dollars and multivariate global tourism industry. It offers one of the newest avenues and fastest growing areas for a significant role in global economies. Various countries such as Maldives, Singapore, Indian State of Kerala, and Thailand etc. have focused on tourism products related to maritime tourism, which evolved over period of time. They devised strategic policies & plans with good governance principles and succeeded in sustainable revenue generation with an increased domestic and foreign tourists flux for maritime tourism.

The Kerala Tourism Statistics 2017, reveals an impressive tourism based earning over US$ 5 billion per annum and the Maldives Tourism Yearbooks 2007-2017 also provide encouraging facts that Maldives’s economy primarily relies on maritime tourism with approximate 28.78% of its contribution towards national GDP.

Pakistan also has immense maritime tourism potential with more than a 1000 km long serene coast-line with sandy & sunny beaches, which is blessed with diversified natural, religious, and cultural attractions, along with connectivity through coastal highway.

The Balochistan coastline possesses muddy cliffs with rocky land and number of sandy sunny beaches as well as Ramsar sites, including the Hingol National Park & Buzi Makola Wildlife Sanctuary, Astola Island, Miani Hor, Jiwani, Ormara, Gwadar, Pasni and Mangrove forests. Architectural resources include tombs, forts, mosques, graves, and other historical monuments in Balochistan. Whereas, Sindh’s potential coastal tourism resources also include rich biodiversity, protected areas, serene sandy beaches, mangrove forests, and the internationally renowned Indus Delta. Karachi is among the mega cities of the world with a middle class hungry for beach activities & warm waters.

Many maritime tourism products such as dolphin / wildlife / green turtle watching, scuba diving, live aboard, backwater tourism, 28m Lighthouse at Manora, cruising, water-sports, model village, Gadani ship-breaking yard, Paradise Point, Gadani Fish Harbour, beach activities, Somiani Spaceport, hot air balloon joy rides, paragliding, parasailing, camping, hiking trails, speed boating/water scooter riding/banana boat riding/sea kayaking, and other hospitality services can be introduced in Pakistan.

The Government of Pakistan upgraded the tourism sector to a separate industry status in 1989. However, it is still ranked very low i.e. 125 in terms of the world tourism income. Under Pakistan’s National Tourism Policy (1990), the Federal Government was advised to establish a Beach Development Authority for the development of beaches and to provide incentives for the equipment of water sports activities. The National Maritime Policy (NMP-2002) has also underlined the importance of maritime tourism as it proposed to the Ministry of Sports, Culture, Tourism & Youth Affairs, with collaboration of Sindh and Balochistan provinces to devise a long term effective policy for promotion of maritime tourism and water sports activities.

However, the federal context of the tourism segment was changed particularly after the 18th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan. After this amendment, tourism became purely a provincial subject with no clarity on the responsible institution for maritime tourism and all other incentives as were guaranteed vide the National Tourism Policy 1990. Due to these bottlenecks and for some other reasons :political instability and prevailing security situation after 9/11, things could not move in the right direction to put into practice any improved version of policies in Balochistan and Sindh to address outstanding issues and harness the true potential of maritime tourism in Pakistan.

Although Pakistan is facing many challenges in tourism sector of economy, the gravity of issues is more severe in case of coastal tourism; however, it can be a success story like Maldives where tourism was considered impossible.The experiences of Maldives and Kerala on maritime tourism activities may be equally replicated in many locations of Pakistan coastline. The factors behind the success stories of Maldives and Kerala state in India can act as guidance for taking initiatives on the proposed potential of coastal tourism sites in order to uplift the maritime tourism sector in Pakistan.

The establishment of National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB) in March 2019 with different working groups including Maritime Tourism working group is a great initiative for the revival of tourism in Pakistan and Maritime tourism based economy can reach a greater height if NTCB remains vibrant and effective role of provinces is ensured. However, national determination, strategic planning and its effective execution along-with good governance norms and product-based approach would be critical for the vibrant role of NTCB and addressing requirements for maritime tourism in accordance with its National Strategy Paper / Plan that was prepared during October 2019.

To kick-start maritime tourism, NTCB needs to devise a comprehensive Maritime Tourism Strategic Plan & Road Map, along with actions for revisiting existing Policies, Legal and Institutional Framework by identifying gaps in National/Provincial Regulations, laws and policies, which hamper  development of maritime tourism. In addition, establish a Maritime Tourism Agency / Board as a regulatory and coordination body among various stakeholders, and prepare its rules and regulations for one-window operations. Further, the Federal Government needs to de-conflict various Government Security Agencies and Allied departments.

Naureen Fatima

– The writer is an analyst, Maritime Researcher at National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA), and Content Manager Positive Pakistan Foundation.