Abstract
India’s COVID-19 tally was almost 8 million on September 26, 2020, while the global cases marched towards 42 million. People globally have been living under some sort of COVID-19-driven lockdown, stay at home, shelter-in-place, or some similar government-mandated measures. Living in a lockdown is NOT a natural phenomenon for most humans. How are people trying to manage themselves during the restrictions imposed on them? What are the mechanisms people are resorting to, to cope with this stress? Is their heritage, cultural or national differences that are allowing one segment to react better than the other? To address the research questions presented here, we leverage the qualitative analysis technique of narrative research to understand emotions and actions of 25 people of Indian heritage (spread across India, USA & Canada) over the first 100 days of the COVID-19 pandemic and transpose the same with the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. In this research, we present the initial findings from the ongoing study of global Indians and demonstrate that people are using a system of appraisal, response, and adaptation strategies. Both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies are being leveraged, sometimes together. Reappraisal is driving a dynamic response to the evaluation and response process. Over 100 days, there is a shift from the physiological needs to the safety needs to love and belonging, and an overall shift from concern/panic to acceptance/co-existence. Practical, theoretical, and policy-related implications are discussed.
Highlights
India’s COVID-19 tally was almost 8 million on September 26, 2020, while the global cases marched towards 42 million
The absence of social connections due to global lockdowns does not bode well for our emotional health and well-being. Added to this is the stress induced by COVID-19 at multiple levels, including the fear of a loved-one getting infected, living with others in confined spaces for long, as well as the anxiety of the uncertainty that lays ahead, whether professionally or from the societal attempts to co-exist with the COVID-19 virus
We present the initial findings from the ongoing study and demonstrate that people are using a system of appraisal, response, and adaptation strategies
Summary
India’s COVID-19 tally was almost 8 million on September 26, 2020, while the global cases marched towards 42 million. The absence of social connections due to global lockdowns does not bode well for our emotional health and well-being Added to this is the stress induced by COVID-19 at multiple levels, including the fear of a loved-one getting infected, living with others in confined spaces for long, as well as the anxiety of the uncertainty that lays ahead, whether professionally or from the societal attempts to co-exist with the COVID-19 virus. The COVID-19 driven environment can be best described as an amalgamation of (a) concern for the immediate health of self and loved ones, (b) ensuring the availability of critical resources, (c) attempting to stay abreast with the latest hyperlocal, local, national and global developments, (d) emotional swings due to extended period of the lockdown and stay at home guidelines and (e) uncertainty of the future. How are people trying to manage themselves under the restrictions imposed on them? What are the mechanisms people are resorting to, to cope with this stress? Are there national and cultural differences that are allowing one segment to react better than the other?
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