mental health
Sponsors hail Naomi Osaka’s ‘courage’ on mental health
A few years ago, a star athlete dropping out of a major tennis tournament over mental health issues might have been seen as a sign of weakness.
Today, at least for Naomi Osaka’s corporate sponsors, it is being hailed as refreshingly honest.
That would explain why so many of them have stuck by Osaka after the four-time Grand Slam champion announced Monday that she was withdrawing from the French Open because she didn’t want to appear for the requisite news conferences that caused her “huge waves of anxiety.”
Osaka, who also acknowledged suffering “long bouts of depression,” received criticism by some who say the media events are just “ part of the job. ” But Nike, Sweetgreen and other sponsors put out statements in support of the 23-year-old star after she revealed her struggles.
Read: Naomi Osaka wins 2nd US Open title
“Our thoughts are with Naomi,” Nike said in a statement. “We support her and recognize her courage in sharing her own mental health experience.” Sweetgreen tweeted that its partnership with Osaka “is rooted in wellness in all its forms.” And Mastercard tweeted: “Naomi Osaka’s decision reminds us all how important it is to prioritize personal health and well-being.”
Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, said that Osaka’s disclosure has made her a more authentic spokesperson — and more valuable to corporate sponsors.
“Every athlete gets a sports sponsorship because they win games or perform well,” he said. “But the best ones become true brand ambassadors when they have a broader persona. The best brand ambassadors are real people. (Osaka) is talking about an issue that is relevant to many people. Mental health is a bigger issue than winning or losing tennis.”
Reilly Opelka, a 23-year-old American tennis player seeded 32nd at the French Open who plays his third-round match Friday, told The Associated Press he’s glad Osaka “is taking time to get better.”
“She’s one of the best players in the world — she’s very influential,” Opelka said. “The sport needs her. She’s an icon. It’s bad for the sport to have one of the main attractions not around.”
Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father, moved to the United States with her family when she was 3, and now lives in Los Angeles.
She has taken a leading role in protesting the deaths last year of George Floyd and other Black people who died at the hands of the police, wearing a mask with a different victim’s name on each match day at the 2020 U.S. Open. She was named the 2020 AP Female Athlete of the Year.
Read: Naomi Osaka wins 1st-round match at Brisbane International
According to Forbes, Osaka is the world’s highest-paid woman athlete, earning $37 million in 2020 from blue-chip sponsors such as Tag Heuer, AirBnB, and Louis Vuitton in addition to Mastercard and Nike.
Nike has stood by sports stars after other controversies, including Tiger Woods after his 2009 sex scandal and former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick after he knelt during games to protest police brutality against Black people. But it recently dropped Brazilian soccer star Neymar after he refused to cooperate with an internal investigation into sexual assault allegations from a Nike staffer.
Osaka’s disclosure comes as celebrities and other public figures openly address their own issues with depression and anxiety. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, shared their experiences in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey and have since teamed with her to create a mental health focused series called “The Me You Can’t See,” in which Prince Harry talks about working through anxiety and grief.
Osaka also joins a growing list of top-tier athletes speaking out about mental health. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, NBA players Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan, and the WNBA’s A’ja Wilson have all spoken very publicly about their bouts with depression, sharing both the successes and setbacks.
The four Grand Slam tournaments reacted to Osaka’s withdrawal by pledging to do more to address players’ mental health issues. The episode also could serve as a tipping point for the professional tennis tours — and leagues in other sports — to safeguard athletes’ mental, and not just physical, health, said Windy Dees, professor of sport administration at the University of Miami.
“It’s absolutely a growth opportunity for the (Women’s Tennis Association) and all leagues, there’s a lot of work to be done,” Dees said.
Marketing consultant Adamson believes Osaka’s decision to come forward will encourage many more athletes to divulge their own mental health battles. He noted that if Osaka had revealed her bouts with depression 10 years ago, her corporate sponsors likely would have stayed on the sidelines because the issue had been taboo. But, he noted, the pandemic has raised awareness around mental illness.
Read: Naomi Osaka's knee injury brings uncertainty to US Open
From August 2020 to February, the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%, according to a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Census Bureau.
The survey also found the percentage of those reporting they didn’t get the help they needed increased from 9.2% to 11.7%. Increases were largest among adults aged 18–29 years and those with less than a high school education.
Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer for the National Alliance On Mental Illness, said Osaka’s decision to go public is a positive development for all people who feel isolated.
“We are moving from mental health and mental illness as a ‘they” thing to a ‘we’ thing,” he said. “These are ordinary common human problems. And I firmly believe that isolation and shame directly contributes to people not getting help. I look at a great athlete, an exceptional athlete, as one potential role model.”
‘I was afraid’: Prince Harry, Oprah discuss mental health
For Harry, returning to London to attend Prince Philip’s funeral last month meant once more facing a place where he felt trapped and hunted by cameras. It would be a test of his ability to cope with the anxiety that was bubbling up again.
“I was worried about it, I was afraid,” Harry told The Associated Press during a recent joint interview with Oprah Winfrey to promote a mental-health series they co-created and co-executive produced for Apple TV+.
He was able to work through any trepidation using coping skills learned in therapy.
Also read: Prince Harry thought about quitting royal life in his 20s
“It definitely made it a lot easier, but the heart still pounds,” said Harry, the Duke of Sussex and grandson of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her late husband Philip.
In “The Me You Can’t See,” which debuted Thursday night on Apple’s streaming service, Harry reveals that he first saw a therapist approximately four years ago at the encouragement of then-girlfriend Meghan. They’d had an argument and she recognized his anger seemed misplaced.
The series is another chapter in the unprecedented openness that Harry has brought to his life and his royal family relationships since stepping away from his duties and moving with his wife to California. In March, he and Meghan gave a headline-making interview to Winfrey that elicited a rare public response from the palace.
Harry’s self-work may be relatively recent but he and older brother William, The Duke of Cambridge, have long championed the importance of mental health. In 2016, Harry, William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, launched Heads Together, an initiative to speak up and not be ashamed to ask for help when mental well-being is at stake.
Their collective work led to interactions with people across the globe, from all walks of life, and they recognized a common thread. “Sharing your story in order to be able to save a life or help others is absolutely critical,” said Harry.
Harry is practicing what he preaches and laying bare his own struggles with trauma and grief. He describes in “The Me You Can’t See,” the instances of feeling helpless as a young boy while riding in the car with his mother, Princess Diana, who cried as they were surrounded by paparazzi and she struggled to drive.
Years later, Diana was killed in Paris after the car she and friend Dodi Fayed were riding in, crashed during a high-speed chase to flee cameras. Harry was 12 and suppressed his own feelings to meet the mourning public gathered outside Kensington Palace.
Cameras rolled and snapped away as he walked behind her casket to Diana’s funeral, alongside William, father Prince Charles, Philip and Diana’s brother Charles Spencer.
Harry’s revelations coincide with Queen Elizabeth’s official confirmation a few months ago that he and Meghan will not return to their senior royal positions within the family, following a one-year trial period.
Also read: Royal funeral offers chance for William, Harry to reconcile
The couple now lives about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles in an exclusive area near Santa Barbara called Montecito. They count Winfrey, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom as neighbors. The paparazzi still lurks but it’s less intense than in Los Angeles.
This new, outspoken prince who shares his emotions is a contrast to the “never complain, never explain,” “keep calm and carry on” mantras that are part of the prototypical British way.
The British tabloids have had a field day picking apart his statements. Some royal commentators have also cried foul over a contradiction between seeking a private life yet granting interviews and revealing family strife.
Harry appears to be cautious in choosing what he wants to speak about, and neither he nor Meghan seem interested in sharing their every move with the world. They do not operate a social media account.
He is undeterred by naysayers, he says, because there’s a greater good in being honest about his struggles. “I see it as a responsibility. I don’t find it hard to open up,” he said. “Knowing the impacts and the positive reaction that it has for so many people that also suffer, I do believe it’s a responsibility.”
Winfrey was already working with Apple to develop a series on mental health when a conversation with Harry sparked the idea to join forces.
“We were having a conversation and I asked him, ‘What are the two most important issues you think facing the world today?’ And he said immediately, ‘climate change and mental health.’ She mentioned the project and Winfrey recalls him later saying , ‘Oh, by the way, if you ever need any help with that … give me a call.’ And I went and turned around and said, ‘What’s your number?’”
Winfrey’s existing partnership with Apple created a rare opportunity to reach the vast number of people who use the company’s devices, Harry said.
“If that’s in a billion pockets on a billion screens, then maybe we can really start a global conversation about this,” he said.
Winfrey recalls some of her own childhood traumas in “The Me You Can’t See.” In addition to her and Harry’s stories, the series also features accounts from both regular people and celebrities including Lady Gaga and Glenn Close, who speak candidly about their own experiences with mental illness.
Winfrey said Harry pushed to present a global perspective. “This has got to be a world thing and not just a U.S. thing,’” she recounted him saying, adding: “I think we’ve accomplished that really well.”
Harry jokes he’s “slowly catching up” to Winfrey’s decades of inner-work and encouragement of others to do the same whether on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” or her “Super Soul Sunday” interviews on OWN. Even Winfrey said she’s had a lot to learn.
“I have dealt personally with one of the girls from my school (Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa), who had schizophrenia,” Winfrey said. “Only after hearing the doctor say that ‘it’s a diagnosis. It’s not your life, it’s not who you are,’ that I had my great awakening about it. ... ‘That is not you. You are a person who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia.’ That is powerful.”
World Meditation Day today
The World Meditation Day is set to be observed Friday.
Meditation is a universal exercise of the mind. People of any age can practice it every day. Regular practice of meditation awakens the positive entity inside man, the auspicious power.
Also read: Types of Meditation: Which One is Right for You
How to strengthen your immune system to prevent COVID-19 infections?
With the recent surge of coronavirus infections, conscious people are seeking all the possible ways to boost immunity. Although vaccines are available, the whole world wouldn't be vaccinated overnight. It will take years to vaccinate the seven billion people. And for third-world countries, vaccination could be a rare thing. Hence, defending COVID-19 with our body's immune system will be the only way to survive. Strengthening your immune to prevent COVID-19 is collective and long-term work. One cannot simply gain the immune right away. However, you can gradually achieve the proper immune system through a healthy lifestyle and physical activity.
Read Vitamin C: Where to Found and How Much to Consume
Boost your Immune through Practicing Healthy Lifestyle
Having a proper sleep, taking nutritious meals, and leading a stress-free lifestyle can definitively raise the functionality of your immune system.
Getting quality sleep is a significant health behavior to function the immune system properly, which also works on boosting physical and mental health as well as the quality of life. According to the experts and doctors getting more than seven hours of sleep is essential to make your adult body's metabolism work suitably. However, 11-14 hours of sleep for infants or toddlers, 10-13 hours for preschoolers, 9-12 hours for school-going kids, and 8-10 hours for the teens are necessary.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh breaks records with 7,213 daily cases, 66 deaths
With the surge of COVID-19, our stress level is also getting high accordingly. It is normal to get stress during this global pandemic. But, staying stress-free is highly essential to keep your body fit. For a stress-free lifestyle, you can take healthy meals, practice regular exercise, take self-care and maintain COVID-19 health protocols. Each of these behaviors is connected to our stress-free lifestyle.
Increase Immune System with physical activity and exercise
A mild, intense physical activity is connected with a better immune function. Hence you should continue regular physical activity to increase your immune system. However, physical activity can be in many forms, which you can practice for the wellbeing of your health.
The first thing you can do is keep your body moving. It can be any kind of intense aerobic physical activity. Experts recommend having moderate exercise at least 150-300 minutes per week. This can keep your body's metabolism on track.
Read Easy Homemade Summer Drinks to Beat the Heat and Increase Immunity
If you are unable to do aerobics activity, you can try indoor activities. It can be walking briskly in the house or even up and down the stairs every day for 10-15 minutes for 2 or 3 times. Besides, you may also dance with your favorite music, or exercise on home cardio machines, or even you can try jump rope.
If you can go outside of your home, you can also walk or run on the f roads. Though you cannot go outside of your house, working out at home should be okay. Outdoor activities are way more useful than indoor activities. Nevertheless, if you are going out, you should keep in mind that you will need to stay at least 6 feet away from others.
Read Coronavirus Tips: Immunity Booster Herbal Teas to Prevent Infection
Furthermore, regular physical exercise at home will also work. You can download a workout app on your smartphone and follow that to start your physical exercise at home.
Yoga is another way to keep your body moving. Deep breathing, along with mindfulness, works as a catalyst to reduce anxiety. Therefore, your stress level will definitely reduce through yoga. You try watching a yoga video with instructions to start yoga at home.
Take Food to Enhance the Immunity
All your exercise will not work if you don't take proper nutrition. Even though you don't exercise, you need nutrients to strengthen the body's immunity during the COVID-19. You can take the nutrients from natural resources such as fruits and vegetables.
Read Where to Buy Grocery Online in Dhaka during Quarantine?
Vitamin C is the ultimate shield against the coronavirus and any bacteria. You can get Vitamin C on green fruits and vegetables such as grapefruit, lemon, broccoli, bell peppers, green peppers, etc.
Vitamin D is also essential to fight off any infections. Besides, it can work on building strong bones. You can find Vitamin D on mushrooms, cereals, bread, and fortified milk. However, if you want to take Vitamin D via a natural source, you can stay under the sunlight for 5-10 minutes every day.
Vitamin A keeps your skin and tissue healthy which also works against infections and boosts the immune system. Sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots are the common sources of Vitamin A.
Also read: Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
Vitamin E is another vital element for your body's immune system. It is an essential antioxidant that works in fighting against cell damages. Plant-based foods are a great source of Vitamin E. Commonly, nuts and peanut butter are usual sources to get Vitamin E.
Finally, Zinc is one of the essential antioxidants for COVID-19 patients as well as healthy persons. It increases the metabolism that also boosts the healing process. You can find Zinc on shellfish, beans, meat, and seeds/nuts.
Apart from these natural sources, you can also take supplements as we may not buy these foods always. Vitamin supplements are available over the counter, so you don't need prescriptions to buy those. But it is recommended to take advice from medical practitioners or doctors.
Read Honey Benefits: What Happens to Your Body When You Consume Honey
Limitations of Immune System Against COVID-19
It is essential to keep in mind that the strong immune system will not work to prevent you from getting COVID-19. It can just help you to recover quickly if you ever contract coronavirus. So, if you have a strong immune system, coronavirus may not damage your body parts.
Final Words
It is always good to maintain COVID-19 health safety protocols such as wearing a mask, keeping social distance, washing your hands frequently, maintaining good hygiene, and cough etiquette.
There is a saying that "prevention is better than cure," which everyone should follow during this coronavirus global pandemic. New variations of COVID-19 do not have a significantly proven cure yet. But we can prevent it or even fight it by strengthening our immune system.
Read Tulsi Tea Health Benefits: Know the Magical Herb Holy Basil
Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
It seems coronavirus is not going away anytime soon from our life. And the second wave already hit Bangladesh. This time the new variations of COVID-19 are much more deadly than the last year. Hence Bangladeshi government was forced to call for another lockdown like the previous year. The government has issued new directives to implement during the lockdown period for the next seven days.
Staying at home without being accessible to the open air is not satisfying for some people, while it is enjoyable for some. But the ultimate truth is, 'lockdown is a necessity not a luxury.' Here we have explained a proper guideline to cope with the lockdown and stay home safely.
Read Coronavirus Home Quarantine: How to keep the Elderly People Engaged
Reliable Sources for COVID-19 Updates in Bangladesh
With the vast availability of smartphones along with the internet, access information circulates so quickly. Therefore, it becomes hard to tell which news is true. With the wrong or fake news, it is easy to get scared. But, getting the real news is highly essential.
Currently, government-issued circulations are the only trustworthy source to ger the real information about coronavirus in Bangladesh. You may visit corona.gov.bd to access the latest and reliable information. Besides, information from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is also counted as reliable. However, if you want to get updates on other parts of the world, you can check the World Health Organization.
Read How to Handle Your Coronavirus Anxiety during Home Quarantine?
COVID-19 Lockdown Do's and Dont's
Do’s:
Stay home! This is the ultimate goal of lockdown. There is no point in giving lockdown if you don't stay at home. However, you can go outside for emergency purposes or grocery shopping, or even if you need to go to the office. Since there is no proper guideline about attending the office and most of the offices are open, you may go to the office by maintaining proper COVID-19 safety protocol.
Wash your hands frequently. This is the easiest process to slow down the spread and restrict passing to others or having passed it to you. However, you need to follow the proper handwashing guideline, and you found it here.
Also Read: Coronavirus Home Quarantine: How to keep the Elderly people engaged
Practice proper coughing and sneezing etiquette. Corona can easily spread through the affected person's coughing and sneezing. Whether you are affected or not, cough and sneeze on your elbow. In this way, your hands remain clean and eventually prevent from spreading germs. Practice proper social distancing. In other words, don't go out unnecessarily. Avoid going to any large gatherings. Nevertheless, if you go out in an emergency, maintain at least six feet distance from people.
Use the mask properly. We have a tendency not to use a mask. Even when we use a mask; we don't wear it properly. So, wear a mask properly as it can prevent the virus to a great extent. Use designated transport to commute to the office. According to the government-issued directives, government, non-government, courts, and private offices can provide transportation facilities to their employees. Those vehicles will maintain all the safety protocols, so you can use the official transportation to stay safe.
Read Essential Hygiene Practices to Prevent Coronavirus Contamination
Order food online. Since the restaurants are instructed to stay open for delivery or takeaway foods, you can order from home or even order and pick up from the restaurant quickly.
Don'ts:
Going out between 6 pm to 6 am is strictly prohibited unless there are any emergencies. However, it is suggested that you try to stay home regardless of the time. Even if you need to go out, you should not spend much time outside.
Avoid visiting the shopping malls. Although the shopping malls will remain close, shops can keep their wholesale part open. But it would be a good idea to avoid any kind of shops.
Avoid buying excessive suppliers. We have seen in last year that people tend to buy excessive supplies of foods, toiletries, etc., like there is no tomorrow. Avoid buying more supplies than you need and keep the items for others.
Read Pandemic Grocery List: Is Your Home Ready for Coronavirus Home Quarantine?
Don't panic. We may get panicked if our nearest or dearest ones get infected. In that case, you will need to stay calm and quiet. Besides, remember that COVID-19's severity depends on several factors. So, try to stay calm and take the necessary steps.
Read Where to Buy Grocery Online in Dhaka during Quarantine?
Tips to Stay Stress-Free During COVID-19 Lockdown
Getting stress during the lockdown is inevitable, even though you did everything to stay calm. You will need to keep yourself busy on something that you have an interest in. Besides, you can take some steps to make your lockdown stress-free.
Read How to Keep Your Children Occupied during Coronavirus
For health and nutrition
Adequate nutrition can certainly fight COVID-19. You may not get proper nutrition as you cannot go outside to shop according to your needs. Sometimes you may not get the proper supply in your nearest grocery store. Therefore, you can shop online and get your desired items.
However, it is mandatory to hygiene your online deliveries. For instance, you can wash your food before eating. Besides, you can clean and use disinfection spray to clean other stuff.
Read Masala Tea Health Benefits: How Can It Improve Your Immunity
For mental well-being
Taking care of your mental health is highly essential. For mental well-being, you can do yoga or meditation by maintaining a specific routine. Besides, being physically active is necessary, too, as it can reduce depression and can also reduce feelings of stress. Healthy eating is another way to boost mental well-being.
Read Coronavirus and Insomnia: How to Sleep Well during COVID19 Pandemic
For physical well-being
During the lockdown, we tend to sit idly, which invites some fats into our bodies. Therefore, physical activities are necessary to involve all of your muscles. Try to be active at home; you can do this by simply walking on the rooftop. You can do some home exercise too. If you are not sure which exercise you should do, there are plenty of apps for work out, and you can follow these to stay fit during the lockdown.
Read Online Pharmacy: Where to Buy Medicine in Dhaka during Coronavirus Home Quarantine
For self-development
Last year many people did online courses during the lockdown to develop themselves. You can do this too. You may search for the books that you are interested in and enrich yourself.
Besides, taking courses on different platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, Repto, etc. are the great way to develop skills.
Read Where to Find Online Courses during Coronavirus Home Quarantine
Final words
The Bangladesh government has imposed a seven-day lockdown so far. However, there is a great chance that it will be extended. So, the guidelines and the tips we have mentioned in the article will definitely help you to stay motivated during a long span of lockdown.
Read Rooftop Gardening: Way to Release Stress and Promote Health during Pandemic
Global rise in childhood mental health issues amid pandemic
By the time his parents rushed him to the hospital, 11-year-old Pablo was barely eating and had stopped drinking entirely. Weakened by months of self-privation, his heart had slowed to a crawl and his kidneys were faltering. Medics injected him with fluids and fed him through a tube — first steps toward stitching together yet another child coming apart amid the tumult of the coronavirus crisis.
Mental health alert for 332 million children linked to COVID-19 lockdown policies: UNICEF
The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says the mental health of millions of children worldwide has been put at risk, with at least one in seven forced to remain at home under nationwide public health orders – or recommendations – during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Facebook partners with Bangladeshi organizations on mental health
Facebook has said it is making it easier for users in Bangladesh to connect with helplines by partnering with local organizations in an effort to support and raise awareness on mental health.
Consider mental health issues seriously: Speakers
Speakers at a webinar have laid emphasis on taking mental health issues seriously to ensure healthy growth of all.
COVID-19 disrupts mental health services in most countries: WHO survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93 percent of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey.