We knew it but did not realise its importance till the coronavirus pandemic pushed it down our throats. The importance of taking care of our mental health just as much as we do of our physical health suddenly became a reality as the lockdown aimed at breaking the infection chain confined us to our homes and we are bombarded with news about COVID-19 deaths, the devastation of the economy and job losses across entire sectors.

As the virus keeps stalking us, we, in the confines of our homes, have started not only to miss our old unfettered “outside life”, but are also getting anxiety attacks about the new world. How many of us had seriously imagined that work-from-home would one day define the new normal?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. This pandemic, by shredding the fabric of our social wellbeing, has, in turn, impacted our emotional and psychological existence. A successful professional who is also a known face in Kolkata’s social life has become a wreck. Now in his seventies, he has served on company boards, runs a consultancy, draws a hefty pension for having served a multinational as an executive director abroad and worries about his children staying in foreign lands. His biggest worry is about the staff of his office and how to look after them. For the last two months, he has been paying them from his reserves. At this rate, he will have to draw down his savings for their upkeep. He had given up smoking but now has gone back to his old vice.

This is a story that is common now across the entire spectrum of society – globally. Even those who have the relative safety of a government pension or salary are worried about buying their medicines and what to do when they need medical help, as they can no longer drop in at their doctor’s chamber or hospital because of the coronavirus scare.

The total disruption of life as we knew it is playing havoc with our mind and so our physical wellbeing. Earlier, we had chosen not to care about our mental health as much as we had cared for our physical. But now, weighed down by our anxieties, we are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of keeping ourselves mentally fit.

Mental fitness so far has meant our ability to reason. But this pandemic has laid bare the spectrum of mental health with all the three components -- emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. And that we need to take care of mental health as much as we need to take care of our physical has become glaringly obvious now. It’s not just important, it’s as essential as your daily walk or run to stay wholesomely fit.