Tackling meltdown in tough times

Under stress from every front that one has held together during the pandemic, working from home, homeschooling, civil unrest, breaking news channels threatening life with an increasing number of Covid 19 cases, blaring music or drums of the teenager in the house, – on top of it the dishes, laundry and your familial responsibilities, we are experiencing meltdowns. When something seemingly small happens suddenly you feel like screaming, sobbing, beating or even rage, silence or emotional shutdown.

A meltdown is the body’s natural mechanism to let go or cleanse itself of painful emotions held back for some time. An emotional meltdown is a reaction to unexpected changes to life, overwhelming routines. It’s usually not something people can control.

Tantrums are common in young kids like toddlers and pre-schoolers. They don’t yet have the language to express themselves or the self-control to keep emotions in check. They may yell, cry, or stomp their feet when they’re frustrated or are trying to get something they want or need.

But some kids keep having these strong emotional reactions as they get older. As teens or adults, they may be quick to get upset when something doesn’t go the way they hoped it would.

For many kids and adults, meltdowns happen when they get too much information from their senses. The brain is too stimulated by sensory overload with certain sounds, sights, tastes, or textures. It gets overwhelmed trying to process it all. What most meltdowns have in common is loss of emotional control. They occur when we no longer have emotional resources to deal with our stress.

Meltdowns tend to end in one of two ways: By changing or reducing the amount of sensory input or by just getting worn out. Some people may fall asleep. Others retreat inward and are unresponsive to the people around them as the nervous system resets.

The good news is that you can recover from a meltdown, and you can learn to manage the stressors in your life that threaten to push you over the edge, so that future meltdowns are less likely. Strategies for releasing tensions and fighting Pandemic 19 at times need interventions from professionals who integrate cognitive behavioural, emotion focussed interpersonal, narrative, and existential and other approaches.

Professional free counselling services are available for students through CBSE portals and helplines. Manodarpan is another platform under the initiative of the Ministry of Education that will provide free psychosocial support to students, parents and families for their mental health and emotional well-being.

Dr. Sudha Turaga

Director DPS and Pallavi Educational Institutions

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