Minding Stress of Working from Home Mindfully

NEWJ Power Hour with Dr Rajendra Barve

The last two years have changed the meaning of 'normal'. As we navigate stress in the pandemic-era, psychiatrist Dr Rajendra Barve, discusses mindfulness with our teams. The following are excerpts from the NEWJ Power Hour session conducted on 24 Jan, 2022.

The NEWJ Power Hour is an interactive event conducted, every month for our 200+ team members who are based across India. We invite prominent personalities, leaders and subject matter experts from different sectors and fields to share their thoughts on a topic and interact with our employees.

Dr Barve’s session was curated taking cognizance of our personal and professional lives in the pandemic era where stresses of all kinds accumulate to disturb stability and mental balance.

Following are some of the key points from the Power Hour session which address certain pressing issues that we all face today.

• Don’t expect the ‘new normal’ to be like the old normal – the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we live our daily lives, things are certainly not going to be like the pre-pandemic days hence It’s crucial that we think, act and adapt with the times quickly.
• Side effects of the WFH culture – the augmented stress caused by receding virtual environments, encroachment of our time, space, and emotions and the accumulation of ‘emotional residue’ due to a lack of in person conversations with our friends and colleagues cause of lot of distress.
• Mental Health is the new buzzword – a topic that received limited attention a while back, has gone mainstream in our general discourse. The pandemic has compelled us to give importance to mental health that was long due.
• Navigating the Cycles of Hope and Despair – The onslaught of Covid infection waves has taken a toll on us and caused a lot of stress and how coping with it has turned out be a big challenge for us because we were all caught unaware.
• Acknowledgement is key in dealing with mental health issues – being in denial mode can be counterproductive, Dr Barve shed light on how to look for telltale signs of anxiety or depression and address them in a timely manner.

It has been our consistent effort to create new learning and networking opportunities for our team and the NEWJ Power Hour is a step towards achieving the same.

About the speaker

Dr. Rajendra Barve is a psychiatrist and the founder of The Mindful Life. He seeks to share his knowledge and expertise on mental wellness for public benefit. Dr Barve has been working for people with distress - coaching and counseling them as a psychiatrist for the past three and half decades, making a difference to his clients' lives. You can connect with him via email or on Facebook.