COVID-19 is the worst pandemic the world has witnessed in the last century. All human activities have come to a standstill. It has paralyzed the whole planet and all human activities have come to a standstill. The gravity of the pandemic is slowly changing the way people address health. Being healthy is not just absence of any disease but includes mental wellbeing. Many individuals, for their wellness are adopting a holistic approach. This essay will focus on how the Knight McNaught framework can be used for the wellbeing of people in this time of a pandemic. People around the globe have suffered in terms of being locked at homes, job insecurity, health risks and unavailability of essential goods and services. COVID-19 had a huge psychological impact on people globally (Serafini et al., 2020).
COVID-19 has forced all of us to stay socially isolated. This had an intense psychological impact on the people worldwide and disrupted their mental wellbeing (Maugeri et al., 2020). Due to following the isolation measures, there has been a rise of mental health issues, which encompasses domestic violence, self-harm, child abuse and even suicides. The mental wellbeing of a person is directly linked to his/her social interaction. Moreover, due to COVID-19, unemployment rates have massively increased which brings financial burdens on many individuals. This in turn gives rise to stress, depression and other mental health disorders. Thus, the pandemic is deeply overwhelming to many people, especially the ones living in hotspots, the one who lost their jobs and the ones who lost their loved ones to COVID-19 (Alradhawi et al., 2020).
I am able to self-isolate in a safe environment which is my home and have access to resources to ensure my wellbeing, but I also will be feeling stress and anxiety when I am exposed to corona virus, while I step out of my home for buying essential goods or for medical purposes like my dental appointments. My social life has foreseen big changes such as adapting to the digitalized environment. For our wellbeing, my institute had changing the learning style from classroom learning to online learning. Even the company I work at has changed to work from home to keep us safe in the time of the pandemic. However, there always remain an issue of constant high-speed internet connectivity. Sometimes, when my Wi-Fi is unstable, I miss my online class lectures and have problems interacting with my office colleagues. At the beginning of this change, it was a hard time for me to get used to the new norms of life but I had no choice except accepting this situation as a new normal. The benefits of working from home is that we can have quality sleep and knock off on time. Due to this change, I got extra time to catch up with my studies and I found that my time management skills have considerably improved. During circuit breaker (CB), my housemate and I searched recipes to cook our daily meals. We really enjoyed our cooking sessions together and relished the healthy food we cooked together. Our relationship is also improving, as we know each other much better after spending so much time together. Even though we cannot exercise at stadium due to social distancing, we like to do yoga at our living room together. I am not the kind of person who regularly follows news, yet nowadays I found myself the latest news all the time and reading statistics of COVID-19 from the official government website. I keep a track on the number of cases and the classified location of transmission to avoid visiting those places.
The Knight McNaught framework model takes into account all aspects of wellbeing including geographic, environmental, political, socio-economic factors. The four domains of the framework mentioned are individual wellbeing, family wellbeing, community wellbeing and societal wellbeing. The framework analyses wellbeing based on the interaction among the concerned person’s statuses, activities, locality as well as psychological resources like interpersonal relations, for example, relation with family members or better halves. Individual wellbeing is multi-faceted, integrating, like subjective experiences of occupation and monetary wellbeing, along with physical, psychological, moral and spiritual experiences. Family wellbeing comprises quality of interpersonal relationships, the condition in which individuals live their life and access to resources necessary for their lifestyle. Families shape an individual’s life and is a source of love, care, money and status, which can either improve or diminish their wellbeing. The notion of community wellbeing usually refers to the cultural, social and psychological needs of a person including his/her family and community. Knight McNaught framework is a beneficial tool to develop theoretical contexts, which can direct the design and improvement of health as well as wellbeing interventions. Thirdly, it provides the philosophical underpinnings for wellbeing policy development. The asset of the framework is that it helps people examine how they might feel about their conditions and assess how they are affected as individuals, families or societies by their objective situations. (La Placa et al., 2013). This can be of huge help in a time like this where the whole world is suffering from the various negative consequences of a pandemic. Some other influencers of wellbeing include poverty, economic activity, transportation, environment and ecology. Societal wellbeing encompasses factors like public services, employment, and the ambience associated with an individual. A holistic approach is necessary for wellbeing (Dooris et al., 2017).
There are various dimensions of wellbeing. Wellness is a holistic integration of emotional, physical, intellectual, mental, environmental, spiritual, social, vocational and financial wellbeing (Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life, 2017). Amidst this pandemic, social and emotional dimensions of wellness are of utmost importance. We are all accustomed to a societal life where we interact with others and do activities together. COVID-19 has affected my social wellbeing not only in an intense manner, but also for a prolonged period. I am socially isolated and the only person I get to interact with every day is my housemate. According to study, a healthy social life is associated with a healthy cardiovascular and endocrine system (Wallace, 2019). Societal wellness can also enhance the immune system. Due to the misbalance in my social life, my emotional state is also affected. I try to keep myself busy with my studies, by doing domestic chores and cooking but staying confined within four walls frustrates me, and makes me restless (Utter et al., 2016). Being emotionally well is important in order to overcome life’s obstacles and have a control over one’s behavior and feelings.
Due to COVID-19, the idea of well-being is emerging again. Knight McNaught framework for wellbeing can be used to examine the influence of various social, environmental, financial, emotional and physical factors on a holistic wellness. Public health structure can be modernized at the local level by implementing the Knight McNaught framework of wellbeing. In this scenario where people are confined in their homes, have restricted travel permissions, losing jobs and loved ones, it is essential for application of health care plans which will have a holistic approach to wellness. More local health clinics should have mental health specialists as COVID-19, worldwide, has increased the people’s anxiety levels, stress and in some cases depression. With proper implementation of the health care plans, the average wellbeing of the population can be substantially enhanced.
References
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Utter, J., Denny, S., Lucassen, M., & Dyson, B. (2016). Adolescent Cooking Abilities and Behaviors: Associations With Nutrition and Emotional Well-Being. Journal Of Nutrition Education And Behavior, 48(1), 35-41.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2015.08.016
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