The search for holistic/lifestyle medicine practitioners that provide equitable, customized, individualized quality care to meet patients’ needs is in demand. Making A Difference Because You Matter, believes the healthcare system’s sustainability (economically, environmentally, and socially) begins with “taking your pulse” in three different ways. Through using a holistic and bioenergetic model with evidencebased, groundbreaking tools to help clients get to the root of their challenges and live healthy lifestyles with purpose.

Keywords:

Pulse, Healthy lifestyle, Mental health, Healthcare.

Bio

Dana Bagnall is the Founder and CEO of Making A Difference Because You Matter, LLC. She is a Certified Holistic Health & Wellness Coach, Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner, Bioenergetic Health Practitioner, and International Keynote Speaker. Dana is the Author of “Soulful Wellness Journey – Live Life Abundantly: A Collection of Soul Food Recipes Plant Based & Gluten-free,” which includes a curated collection of wellness tips, nutritional charts, recipes, and a playlist of soulful sounds. She has partnered with top Fortune 100 financial organizations, leading national healthcare associations, and women business owners to educate them on how health impacts women’s wealth and the practical steps needed to become proactive– resulting in a citywide focus on this timely issue. Dana is passionate about helping women over 40, and their loved ones heal from the inside out to release pain, stress, fatigue, trauma, depression, and anxiety, while energetically mastering their well-being so they can live more abundantly. She has facilitated the mentoring of college students who have experienced disadvantages and helped to bring success in their advancement academically, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Dana continues to bring her expertise in counselling and advising with the public and private sectors to the services offered in her health and wellness academy.

Abstract

Globally, healthcare systems and individuals are collectively looking for a way to unify and sustain a healthy lifestyle with purpose after the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians and practitioners are exhausted, frustrated, and overwhelmed to meet the care of patients, administrative duties of E.H.R. coding notes, and patient satisfaction surveys. Patients feel healthcare puts profit before the people, and they are not being heard nor getting enough time to meet their needs during doctor visits. Consequently, studies show that physicians and practitioners feel depressed and anxious. The departure from the healthcare system to provide higher-quality care or pursue something else is rising. The search for holistic/lifestyle medicine practitioners that provide equitable, customized, individualized quality care to meet patients’ needs is in demand. Making A Difference Because You Matter believes the healthcare system’s sustainability (economically, environmentally, and socially) begins with “taking your pulse” in three different ways. A roadmap to implement a holistic and bioenergetic model with evidence based, groundbreaking tools to help clients get to the root of their challenges and live healthy lifestyles with purpose is vital. Recommended therapies focus on awakening and understanding what triggers are causing dis-ease in their lives (spiritually, emotionally, physically, environmentally, nutritiously, etc.). Secondly, it involves correcting cellular information distortions. Lastly, it helps to cleanse and protect their well-being. This study helps people reach the root of their health challenges faster, lowers costs, and fosters qualitative care service between practitioners and clients. Lastly, it provides collaborative wraparound services with clients, the community, and health providers.

Introduction

Hospital leaders are sounding the alarm as health systems face an exodus of exhausted and demoralized doctors, nurses, and other front-line workers (Levine, 2021). Prior to the pandemic, physicians were reported to be twice the risk for burnout compared to the general population. Additionally, 40% of those who were surveyed reported experiencing depression and suicidal ideation, per Dr. Victor Dzau (president of the National Academy of Medicine) (Levine, 2021). The consistent emotion physicians and patients are mainly experiencing post Covid 19 is stress, leading to increased burnout and trauma. Stress is a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation that all experience to some degree. A natural human response triggers us to address challenges and threats. There are three types of stress: daily, chronic, and acute. Daily stress is common, which is interwoven in our livelihoods. Stress is an overarching, physiological, psychological, environmental, and sociological effect impacting individuals, organizations, businesses, and systems’ overall health. Burnout is a psychological syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of reduced accomplishment in day-to-day work (Wood et al., 1998). Trauma can be overwhelming and pervasive due to exposure to a life threatening or emotionally disturbing event(s) that may impede one’s well-being (spiritually, emotionally, physically, socially, and mentally). This research aims to unify & sustain a healthy lifestyle with purpose using the P.U.L.S.E.© model.

Risk Factors of Stress that Lead to Burnout with Doctors

Stressors include time constraints to conduct physical examinations and preventive care for patients and follow- up appointments; feeling pressured to complete electronic health records (EHR) coding and paperwork daily; pressure to add on more examinations that a patient might not need; disconnect of quality service of care between healthcare administration and physicians/ practitioners, patients, and shareholders; feeling qualitative care, has now become quantitative care; and maintaining work-life balance.

Risk Factors of Stress that Lead to Burnout with Patients

Predominate stress factors impacting patients entail health and the cost of health care, financial hardship, interpersonal issues, discrimination, workplace stress, mass shootings, climate change, and loneliness, among many (Fryburg, 2021).

During the pandemic, many lost temporary or permanent connections with their jobs/businesses, homes, health, or loved ones. As a result, the desire to help people get unstuck, feel, be, and do better spiritually, emotionally, and physically was essential.

Methods

According to the American Institute of Stress, the National Institute of Health, the American Psychological Association, the Center for Disease and Control, and the World Health Organization, 75–90% of doctors visit are stress-related illnesses/diseases. Through experience and research, what is known, is what causes disease has the potential to fester and become an illness/disease if left untreated. At Making A Difference Because You Matter, LLC, we believe the roadmap to a unified and sustainable healthy lifestyle begins with our recommended therapy focus, “Taking Your Pulse.”

P.U.L.S.E.© model

Take Your Pulse©: Pulse is the rhythmic throbbing of an artery resulting from a heart beating typically measured in one minute. It is a vibration that causes a sound, or wave, that emits an electric current or light. Traditionally, taking someone’s pulse can be done by placing two fingers or a thumb on the wrist, below the jawline on the side of the neck, back of the knees, top of the foot, and groin areas. Within the last century, the work of Marey in Paris and Mahomed in London has helped to advance the sensing of clinical pulse waves in the medical field. By doing so, Mahomed was able to show how the “recordings could be used to detect asymptomatic hypertension and used them to chart the natural history of essential hypertension and to distinguish between this condition and chronic nephritis.” Since then, a new easy-to-use scanning tool NES BioenergetiX Wellness Scan (BWS) was created Harry Massey of NES Health to bioenergetically detect the condition of the Body-field. In Albert Einstein’s, well-known scientific equation E=MC^2, we recognize that matter is and relates to energy. Bioenergetics is the study of energy and living systems. It is the concept of Chinese medicine and acupuncture applied to physics. Peter Fraser (acupuncture professor, homeopath, and Traditional Chinese Medicine-TCM practitioner) was the first to properly map the energy of the human body-field and how energy (Intelligence) flows throughout the body. “The human body-field is an intelligent, self-organizing, self-correcting, self-maintaining energetic and informational structure that, says Fraser, functions at the level of QED [quantum electro-dynamic] and quantum holography.” (Massey, 2020)

In this particular study, the first step to take your pulse begins with becoming unified with the mind, body, and soul to honor you (matter) in Einstein’s most quoted equation. The focus in this step is to awaken.

Take Your Pulse©

Awaken

• What are your mind, body, and soul communicating to you? What does it need or want?
• Awaken yourself by stopping, looking, and listening to your body to identify what stressors/painful symptoms are bothering you.
• Complete a detailed health intake assessment. One assessment involves comprehensive evaluation to scan the body for less than a minute to get to the cellular root of health challenges using NES Health scanning software.

P.U.L.S.E©

The second step involves clients to Practice Unlimited Love through Self Evaluation (P.U.L.S.E.©) to help correct distortions in the body-field so they become strengthened.

Strengthen

• Express compassion to your body-field by understanding how your thinking and feeling, nutritional, environmental factors and so much more may affect your total energy and well-being – make you feel out of balance with the potential to manifest physical illnesses or emotional imbalances.
• Take steps to clear the energetic blocks by feeding correct cellular information that has been distorted. A varied number of tools (i.e.; Pulse Electromagnetic Frequency – PEMF) or methods (i.e.; hypnotherapy, sound therapy, meditation, aromatherapy infoceuticals, NLP, yoga) may be used to help optimize clients’ well-being.

Eat Your Pulse©

The last major yet simplistic step with taking your pulse, is to eat your pulse. In this regard, pulse refers to vegetables & multi-grains that are naturally, genetically encoded with phytonutrients/phytochemical and fiber. A healthy, low fat plant-based diet can empower the immune system by strengthening it to help combat infections. Research shows, “Those eating plant-based diets have been found to have better insulin sensitivity, better blood sugar levels, better insulin levels, and even significantly improved function of their beta cells— the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin in the first place.” It can also help prevent it from being hyperactive or minimize pain if and when one may be impacted by illnesses to help:

• prevent disease and keep your body working properly;
• maintain a healthy body weight; eliminate excess cholesterol from the body;
• maintain or lower blood pressure; reduces risk of colon cancer;
• reduce constipation;
• improve skin conditions.

Real-life Example-life example of the interconnection nature of the body-field and body’s functions:

Client A participated in a Pulse Wellness Scan with Making A Difference Because You Matter using an intake self-assessment and NES BioenergetiX Wellness Scan (BWS). Client presented herself well groomed with a full affect. She expressed feeling tired more than usual, disconnected with life yet rates herself as a seven on scale of happiness (0 not happy at all to 10 being most happy), bloated, recently more stressed than normal on a daily basis, new food allergies and noticing hair thinning and loss of hair. Client A shared her allopathic primary care doctor met with her for approximately ten minutes to share that she was prediabetic and recommended she begin exercising, reduce eating starchy foods, and return for a follow up appointment to determine if a statin drug was needed.

Results

Results from the NES Health BioenergetiX Wellness scan on Client A showed distress with energy flow in the following organ biofields (see areas marked with purple bars): stomach, muscles, and pancreas.

Discussion

The results from Client A wellness scan have provided opportunities for further discussion, investigation, and coaching to help strengthen her well-being. The holistic health coach gave no medical, biomedical, or psychological diagnosis to justify a quantitative analysis or replace appropriate medical tests or advice. However, Client A receives more intentional holistic healthcare services and screenings to address elevated basophil count and inflammation in the large intestines from osteopathic medicine instead of allopathic medicine. Additionally, she is receiving wellness consultations from our program to strengthen her immune system, improve her nutritional intake, reduce environmental stressors by doing a metal detox, engage in N.L.P. exercise to P.U.L.S.E.© and improve internal and external communication to release repressed and grasping emotions and strategize healthier career opportunities that do not include toxic molds and other pathogens daily. The holistic coach also referred Client A to a chiropractor to help unblock shocks and traumas stored in the muscles from car accidents. Lastly, Client A now recognizes that her hair loss is possibly related to stress, nutrient deficiencies, and toxic chemicals in her work and home environments. In contrast, Client A receives 45-60 minutes wellness sessions compared to the ten-minute visits with her previous allopathic doctor. It is unknown if Client A received more time with her allopathic doctor, that similar findings could have revealed she was still experiencing emotional and physical trauma from car accidents a couple of years ago, she is working in a toxic environment and has frequent exposure to harsh chemicals that cause her to feel exhausted with a lack of energy to engage socially and has placed a strain on her marital and social relationships.

Research has shown lifestyle medicine can help up to 80% of chronic diseases. From the biblical era to the present, taking the time to eat your pulse (vegetables & multi-grains) has shown significant improvements in health where some key markers ravaged human body-fields. “Apparently, most people who switch to a plant-based diet are happy they did. One of the reasons there’s been such great compliance with plantbased dietary interventions is that people not only tend to get measurably better, they also tend to feel much better.” (Gregor M, MD; Stone, G 2015)

Conclusion

Since the global pandemic and the past decades, numerous healthcare and mental health systems, practitioners, businesses, communities, patients, educational systems, and governments have recognized the need to revive, recalibrate and rejuvenate the broken healthcare system. Chronic health and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), like heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, are the leading cause of death in the world. The WHO reported, “The solutions are highly cost-effective. Comprehensive and integrated action at country level, led by governments, is the means to achieve success.” (World Health Organization, 2021) The roles of behavioral, nutritional, and psychosocial factors must not go unrecognized and unresolved with the impact it inflicts on human health and disease. The sustainability (economically, environmentally, and socially) of the healthcare system and the well-being of those they serve vitally begins with “taking your pulse; practicing unlimited love through self-evaluation, and eating your pulse.” Breakthrough to protect your energy to further enhance your transformational journey to overcome what may be apprehending you from walking fully in your purpose.Take steps to holistically break free from emotional and belief issues that no longer serve you so you can evolve, heal and live life more abundantly using proprietary, customized bioenergetics and health and wellness coaching programs.

These statements and reports support the need to focus on health– risk behaviors for primary prevention and routine screenings (energy, mind, body, environmental, nutrition, body field, energetic immunity, terrains, and life journey.) of individuals to optimize their health to live life more abundantly and energetically. This transformational step is the first step that helps lead to living life more abundantly. In conclusion, “P.U.L.S.E.©: the love connection that unifies and sustains a healthy lifestyle with purpose” is a recommended roadmap to implement holistic and bioenergetic models with evidence-based, groundbreaking tools that support clients to get to the root of their challenges so they can live healthy lifestyles with purpose.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between Yoga and physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

Keywords:

Yoga, Mental Health, Meditation, Emotional Health

Bio

Aparna More has a degree in software engineering and she is passionate International Yoga Therapist by profession. With eight years of experience, Aparna More has been living and teaching Yoga. She lives with the staunch belief that “I am enough” to make this place a better one. The purpose of her life is to spread the beauty and magic of Yoga at National and International levels. Aparna More has a Diploma in Yoga education and a teacher’s training certification from the World Yoga Alliance. She contributes her efforts into helping people towards taking their longest journey – which is the journey inwards through Yoga. Aparna More is specialised in rekindling hope in cancer survivors, people with disabilities and helping people to start loving their lives again. She does this by helping these souls to connect with themselves. Aparna More is a recipient of the Best Yoga Therapist (2022) and an Indian Icon Women personality (2019) from Western India region for her contribution in the field of Yoga.

Abstract

The rise in emotional and mental instability has become a major concern in many parts of the world, particularly after the coronavirus pandemic. Yoga has been identified as a medium through which physical and mental health challenges can be stabilized. The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between Yoga and physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

Yoga can be perceived as a combination of therapy, meditation, and exercise, connecting the self to overcome limitations linked to conditional thinking. It is a life science covering aspects of human life, relating the human body with the mind. It endeavors to establish a pathway for positive progression whilst maintaining the natural relaxed state of the body.

Upon physically performing the yoga positions or asanas there are numerous benefits including increasing serotonin levels and boosting mental clarity. Bending forward inculcates surrendering activity, in contrast bending backwards opens the heart facilitating suppressed emotions to be cleared. In addition, pranayama reduces the rate of respiration and the heart rate, thus assisting individuals to reach mental stability. Internal cleansing techniques aids individuals to release stored emotions to make space for love & compassion within oneself.

This study has found that there is a strong correlation between Yoga, mental and emotional health. Yoga creates bespoke impressions over the mind and body, to awaken the infinite potential within the self. Further quantitative studies are recommended to establish a causal relationship and develop preventive measures going forward.

YOGA – A way of life

YOGA is a Holistic regimen…there is this belief that Yoga is mostly a therapy, so people are generally looking for specific asana or postures for ailments. It surely is a great tool to fight the physical ailments, however, we need to understand that Yoga is not about symptomatic, localized treatment – the idea is to adopt Yoga holistically, to remove the imbalances in the body, the mind and the Prana, in fact this approach leads to better and more effective healing.

Yoga is a science and firstly it reflects on the outermost aspect – the physical body which most of the people cab related to. When there is imbalance on the physical aspect, all the internal organs are affected, and it starts reflecting on the self in the form of various diseases. The beauty of Yoga is that it gets the various body activities into ideal direction that assists the entire body to operate in harmony. Along with the physical aspect, emotional and mental purification is one of the yoga’s most significant attainment.

The approach is simple – If the mind is not healthy and uncontrolled, it reflects the same on the body. We are excited in the situation of pleasure and we become sad when it is a negative situation. Every thought in the mind affects the brain, nervous system and all other organs in the body. Yoga is to maintain equilibrium of the mind in any situation. This equanimity of mind is the ultimate objective of yoga – Awakening of self is yoga. Yoga is about self-inquiry and growth

The human body is made up of 5 basic elements of nature – water, air, fire, earth, ether. They represent the physical and energetic qualities of the human body and of the physical world. The ebb and flow of these five elements influence our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. When they are in harmony, we experience peace and good health. When they are out of balance, we can experience suffering and unhappiness. The awareness and understanding of these laws of nature allows us to bring them into a state of equilibrium through Yoga and meditation practices. Yoga compliments the presence of these elements and hence taps into the curative power the body possesses to naturally heal itself. Yoga is an antidote for all the health issues in the life. Every little or long deep breath you take is a healing pill that you give your mind and body

This is true especially post the Pandemic wherein the focus has shifted on emotional and mental wellbeing which is then reflected on your physical health. As Yoga is a therapy session, a work-in – mind it I am saying it’s a work in – as it is a therapy, meditation and physical postures all at the same time, this helps you in taking your longest journey which is the journey inwards.

There is a stance of Yoga practice that it works towards illness impediment thus stimulating and enhancing the quality of life by boosting the health. The practice of Yoga is blossoming and growing faster across the globe. In present era, Yoga is one of the most eminent and notable well-being application. It is a wide and eclectic application that encompasses each and every aspect of life. It is actually a way of living.

YOGA – A Science

Yoga is a science, that is, it is a framework of approach that directs us to intentionally link not only with the self but also with our lives. As Yoga is a science, there is no ethic or ideology linked to it. Like in scientific experiments, we have few procedures to follow and that would yield the result similarly Yoga guides us to do definite action and then to feel and sense the impact of that action, for example – if we breath in a relaxed manner the heart rate goes down and normalizes; if we focus on our breath, the thoughts slowly start reducing and we become calm and composed. Yoga is a complete package bundled in one – breath control, mindfulness, physical activity and mindfulness. It is also a spiritual practice attempting to link the individual awareness to the entire Cosmos making us understand that we are part of this Universe and not separate from it.

The scientific nature of Yoga was unveiled when Swami Kuvalayananda administered scientific experiments in Yoga in 1924. The organization Kaivalyadham Institute for scientific research on Yoga was established in Lonavala, Pune – India. The research findings eradicated several yoga misconceptions and unraveled the mystical sheath dealing with it. The principles of Yoga were related in biological terms – encompassing the anatomy and physiology aspect. The study this way aids in comprehension of the yogic mechanism and their application for the patient in detailed way. Once the basic structure and various functions of the body are known, it becomes easy to apply, understand the mechanism of the yogic practices as well as the effects of the same on the psychological aspect of the human body. Also, when the concepts are clear, it becomes easy to modify the techniques which can suit an individual. Tailoring of the asanas and the breathing practices becomes easier with it.

Once the results were visible, the popularity of yoga increased and many started becoming aware of the benefits. Numerous doctors and health specialists started recommending yoga as a wholistic approach not only to treat injuries and illness but also as an substitute to surgery in the cases that it can be applied.

Yoga practice is a well-researched ability to make positive long-term changes to not just the body but our brains too. Yoga is an inmost science incorporating numerous techniques to attain the unification of the body and mind to attain self-knowledge which when one has gives an individual the strength to deal with others.

The Indian Prime Minister (Mr. Narendra Modi) launched a YOGA DAY on 21st June which has been observed by United Nations General Assembly. Assigning a day for Yoga signifies the importance of Yoga that has been experienced by innumerable people and the way it is helping holistically. This day is celebrated in more than 170 countries like UK, Canada, China, USA etc. There are various Yoga activities that are planned throughout the day that not only enhances the Yoga awareness but also guides people on how and where to get started. The public has realized how Yoga increases the level of wellbeing and helps to make subtle but profound changes in the life styles of the people in a positive way.

Yoga develops positive attitude and promotes positive health. As an amalgamation of art and science, it provides entire human force with eye and mind to understand not only the human mind but also the various facets of the prevalence.

1.2. Management of lifestyle diseases and Psychosomatic disorders through Yoga

Succeeding the Pandemic and Covid, there has been manifold increase in the anxiety levels, stress, depression and psychological distress. The numbers are below:

Anxiety: 6.33% to 50.9%

Stress: 8.1% to 81.9%

Depression: 14.6% to 48.3%

Psychological distress: 34.43% to 38%

Yoga has been instrumental in working on the emotional and mental level and has got a definite potential to heal the people suffering from lifestyle disorders and stress that leads to further array of diseases and this is because Yoga extends both physical and mental health benefits for humanity across the ages.

Recent studies positively depict the outcome of Yoga and meditation on overall human healthiness on the various below areas:

1.  Endocrine disorders – Thyroid, Hormonal imbalance
2. Psychological diseases – Mental stress, anxiety etc.
3. Endocrine irregularity – Thyroid, hormonal imbalance etc.
4. Neurological ailments – Alzheimer’s disease etc.

Certain breathing practices like Kapalbhati, Anuloma Villoma, Bhramari or Pranayama are the best remedies to tackle respiratory issues (Behera M, Priyadarsini N, Mohapatra D, et al, 2015).

Yoga has helped in various disorders like post-traumatic stress and other stress related diseases (Wynn, 2015). Yoga approach is highly potent to diminishing mindfulness-based stress in patients that are fatigued due to cancer and its related symptom (Johns, Brown, BeckCoon et al. 2015). Yoga is literally a behavioural practice strengthening not only the physical aspect but also the breath and mindfulness thus assisting the psychological and biological adaptations in human population (Birde, Sohl, Wallston, 2016). Yoga has been instrumental for treating modern diseases like stress, obesity, diabetes, hypertension by increasing the p a r a s y m p a t h e t i c activity and reducing sympathetic activity (Cramer, 2015). There are reports that revealed yoga works directly on most important detox organs (pancreas, liver, kidney) to maintain the insulin resistance thus working on controlling Diabetes (Chandrasekhar, 2009). More scientific evidence is required to talk about the curative role of Yoga on Cancer, however, techniques like Yoga Nidra and some asanas along with breathing techniques are helpful in disruption of sleep cycle and fear within the patients of cancer (Smith, Pukall, 2009).

It is completely legal and right to say and also numerous studies have shown that Yoga is a complimentary healing for the majority of the serious illnesses.

Due to its positive impact on both mental and physical health, yoga and meditation are becoming more and more popular.

The practice of yoga allows us to fully manifest our innate potentiality, making it appropriate to refer to it as the science of infinite human possibilities. Yoga addresses every facet of the philosophy, psychology, and application of conscious evolution at once. Rather than just giving the theorems or the concepts, it actually acts as an instrument providing the required direction to feel and sense this magnanimity

YOGA – Beyond Physical Aspect

Yoga is not mere about physical postures, but what and who you are and what intention you set while performing these postures works on freeing the consciousness from the limitations of the conditional thinking. This awakens the infinite potential within oneself and connects one to the self which is the highest state of the BLISS. Studies depicted that the yoga class begins with a primary aim of physical fitness, but as the class progresses, they notice that it not only removes the clutter off the mind it also quietens the mind thus exposing us to the Universal language of silence. Once you get to thus state the change is reflected far away from physical arena and focused more on mental and emotional aspects. This is the phase of self actualization.

I have had many students who started practicing Yoga for physical treatment, but as they become more involved, practicing with awareness, the experience of the holistic impact on the entire body and the mind got them to embrace the Yogic science for reasons far beyond the physical therapy.

We cannot scrub our inner bodies – we need to learn the skills that cleanse our tissues, organs and mind and that is YOGA.

The various basic asanas dive much deeper than the physical aspect. Let us see how it does that:

Stretching asanas

Stretching increases joint range of motion, enhances blood flow, improves posture, and relieves muscular tension all over the body. The mental and emotional benefits that we gain from this are:

2.1.1 Stretching does not only opens up the physical body and the muscles, but increasing the serotonin levels that reduces stress which in turn creates mental clarity & self-esteem efficiently.

2.1.2 Everyone experiences stress to some degree causing muscles to become tense, once tense it tightens up and then resulting into discomfort and persistent pain. Stretching eases muscle tension, breaking the vicious cycle of pain and tension.

2.1.3 Due to opening of the upper body the clogged-up lungs are open easing the breathing process and making it deeper.

2.1.4 Two feel good hormones – Endorphins and Serotonin are released by our bodies when we stretch. Serotonin levels lower stress, which effectively improves self-esteem & mental clarity and Endorphins are in charge of activating the brain receptors that heighten pleasant emotions and lessen pain

2.2 Forward Bends asanas

The bends not only works on strengthening the spine, the legs but also stimulating the liver & the kidneys. The mental and emotional benefits that we gain from this are:

2.2.1 It inculcates the feeling of calmness as the space is created between the vertebrae in the spine which is the channel between your brain and rest of the body.

2.2.2 It is also a mean of surrendering to the Divine – so in situations that are not in our control we surrender with these bends.

2.2.3 Forward bends guides us to enjoy the journey as we move forward to touch the toes or just move in forward folds. It inculcates the feeling of being patient. A new job, a new relationship, a major move, or anything else that forces us outside of our comfort zone can occasionally feel uncomfortable at first but turn out to be the best decisions we could have made once we patiently move through it. Likewise, if we bend forward with a mind free from all negativity and we can start to let go of discomfort, impatience and fear as the heart is full of gratitude.

2.3 Backward Bends asanas

Apart from a nice stretch to the back, it opens our chest, shoulder muscles especially in this era wherein our necks are constantly dangling in forward movement with the cells in our hand. Also, as the lungs fully expand, it helps in taking more oxygen and we start feeling more energized. Below benefits are reaped other than physical ones:

2.3.1 The bends open the lungs, lift the heart and deepens the breath and when all these happens it gives is the courage to overcome our fears not only on the mat but also off the mat.

2.3.2 As the heart opens up, any suppressed emotions, unresolved trauma starts melting.

2.3.3 Backbends increase the body’s energy levels and release mood elevating hormones into the blood stream. At an emotional level, as the body arches up, the mind also does the same, making room in our lives for new emotions, experiences and feelings. It is a physical vulnerability that gives us the courage to become more receptive in our personal relationships as well as other areas of life.

2.4 Twisting asanas

By bolstering our spinal structure, these asanas enable us to become more flexible. By causing intraabdominal compression, it promotes the digestive system’s optimal operation. On releasing the twist, the digestive organs receive new blood that is nutrient-rich and oxygenated. Along with the most important detox organs like liver, pancreas and kidneys, spleen, liver and gall bladder are stimulated. Apart from physical benefits, below things are achieved:

2.4.1 It activates the most important detox organ – liver in the body, which helps in insulin release and balancing the sugar in the body.

2.4.2 Apart from making us physically flexible it also prepares us emotionally & mentally to handle any situations in our lives as our spine is a recorder, recording all the emotions. With the twists we shed all these unwanted feelings.

2.4.3 Although the human body is designed for diverse dynamic activities, if we do not remain conscious to maintain it at optimum level, it builds up stress and the body piles up with the impurities. A clean and health body would have an upsurge of energy that can be consumed to work on any disease or discomfort. The Yoga twists works on quietening the chattering minds by reducing the anxiousness and stress. The practitioner stays in the present moments building more positive approach.

2.5 Balancing asanas

While doing the balancing asanas, the gravitational center of our bodies is in line with the gravitational field of the planet. Balancing requires one’s constant attention as well as a steady mind. Regularly doing these asanas enhances the mental stability and concentration. It strengthens the entire lower body and the nervous system. The mental and emotional benefits are as below:

2.5.1 The cerebellum, the part of the brain that regulates how the body moves, is trained in all balancing asanas.

2.5.2 All the balancing asanas requires the entire set of the muscles in the body to collaborate. The nervous system and the brain coordinates for the same. These asanas enhance the posture and muscle coordination while bringing about physical and nervous balance and stopping unintentional movement.

2.5.3 The concentration needed to perform the asanas steadily cultivates balance and concentration on the emotional, mental, and psychic levels, reducing stress and anxiety.

2.5.4 It not only balances your body but also your emotions at all the levels – emotional, mental and psychic levels, and once the emotions are balanced, we gain control on our day to day lives. It also induces the feeling of being rooted and being strong irrespective of the outer conditions.

We see Yoga is the gateway to better spiritual and emotional health apart from being just physical. But we need to execute these postures with awareness and complete intention with the presence of the breath to experience these deep benefits.

Conclusion

Your body is speaking to you every moment of your life through the various sensations. The question is are you really that aware that you listen to it? Adopt Yoga to know yourself, to be aware of yourself and be mindful. Once this is done, your relationship with the self changes and this brings in great positive change in your relationships with others.

Yoga is a drugless therapy. Adopt it to bring peace, stability and satisfaction physically, relaxation and harmony in body-mind functions and positivity in all the relationships. It also has a preventive aspect that can be of great help to one and all to promote and maintain fitness, health and happiness throughout the life by guarding us against stress and strain.

The original, ageless science of the Self is Yoga – it is an essential practice for the soul, working through the medium of our body. It is all about self-inquiry and growth, it is not just looking good but feeling good. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This endeavor would not have been possible without the support of my Parents, Daughter, Husband and my in-laws. Gratitude to my students who trust in me and gives me an opportunity to share beauty and magic of Yoga with them. They are the ones who gives me DOSE – Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins in my everyday sessions.

Acknowledgements

This endeavor would not have been possible without the support of my Parents, Daughter, Husband and my in-laws. Gratitude to my students who trust in me and gives me an opportunity to share beauty and magic of Yoga with them. They are the ones who gives me DOSE – Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins in my everyday sessions.

References

Behera M, Priyadarsini N, Mohapatra D, et al. Alleviating Respiratory Diseases by Alternative Method– Yoga. Int J Pharm Sci Rev Res. 2015; 32: 250–253p. Art. No. 41.

Wynn GH. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Approaches in the Treatment of PTSD. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015; 17. Art. No. 62.

Johns SA, Brown LF, Beck-Coon K, et al. Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Persistently Fatigued Cancer Survivors. Psycho-Oncology. 2015; 24: 885–893p.

Birdee GS, Sohl SJ, Wallston K. Development and Psychometric Properties of the Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale (YSES). BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016; 16. Art. No. 3.

Cramer H. The Efficacy and Safety of Yoga in Managing Hypertension. Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology and Diabetes. In Press; 2015. doi: 10.1055/s-0035- 1565062.

Chandrasekhar R. Can Yoga Cure Diabetes? Health Administrator. 2009; 22: 40–41p.

Smith KB, Pukall CF. An EvidenceBased Review of Yoga as a Complementary Intervention for Patients with Cancer. PsychoOncology. 2009; 18: 465–475p.

Will Yoga help with WEIGHT LOSS? My answer – May be, but it will surely help you lose weight of your insecurities. It is about feeling good rather than looking good. If you ask 10 people who do Yoga as to what is Yoga you will have ten different answers as everyone has their own experience while in yoga.

M.M.Gore, 1984, Anatomy and Physiology of Yogic practices, New Age Books, New Delhi, India

Denise Rankin-Box (June 2015). Yoga being a science and not just an art Available: The science of yoga — what research reveals (elsevier.com)

FITSRI Yoga Benefits & Statistics Infographic. Page 5 Available: https://www.fitsri.com/ articles/yoga-benefits-statisticsinfographic

Deepak Semwal, Ashutosh Chauhan, Satyendra Mishra, Ruchi Semwal, May 2016, Yoga, Recent development in Yoga – A Scientific Perspective. Mumbai, India, Pages 3-4 (PDF) Recent Development in Yoga: A Scientific Perspective (researchgate. net)

Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, January 2011, Understanding the Science of Yoga. Mumbai, India, Pages 3-4 (PDF) Understanding the Science of Yoga (researchgate.net)

Examine the predictive prevalence of major depressive episodes (MDE), MDE with severe impairment, MDE with alcohol use disorder in relation to sociodemographic disparity and frequency of cannabis use.

Keywords:

marijuana, depression, cannabis, severe role impairment, alcohol use disorder (AUD)

Bio

Dr. Ismatara Reena, Ed.D, MBBS, CHES, serves as an Assistant Professor in the Health Promotion and Wellness Program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA. Her diverse research portfolio spans underrepresented groups, mental health literacy, social determinants of health, COVID-19’s effects on higher education, and health equity. With a passion for promoting wellness and addressing disparities, she contributes invaluable insights to the field. Dr. Reena’s work underscores her commitment to advancing knowledge and fostering positive change in healthcare and education. Her multidisciplinary approach and dedication to improving health outcomes make her a valuable asset to the academic community and beyond.

Abstract

Youth substance use is a major public health concern. Marijuana and alcohol, the two most common illicit drugs among adolescents are increasing being studied for affective risk. Despite the steady fall of teens substance use since pandemic, teens depressive symptoms elevated, and mental health condition worsened. This study investigates the association between adolescent marijuana use, depression, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) using data from the 2021 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Descriptive statices and binary logistic regression were used analyse the data.

The findings reveal that adolescent marijuana use is significantly associated with higher odds of lifetime MDE, past-year MDE, past-year MDE with severe role impairment, and past-year MDE with AUD. Female gender and White race followed by Hispanic have statistically higher marijuana consumption. Two out of five adolescent lifetime marijuana user had past year MDE, and 9% had MDE with AUD. A significant portion of adolescents, ranging from 63% to 75%, perceive moderate to heavy marijuana use as lacking substantial risks. A consistent and particular escalating odds is identified between past-year cannabis use frequency and the likelihood of experiencing MDE with co-occurring AUD.

Introduction

Marijuana and alcohol are among the most common form of psychoactive polysubstance use globally particularly among adolescents (Banks et al., 2017; Jones & McCance‐ Katz, 2019). In 2020, nearly 900,000 adolescents had alcohol use disorder and 1.3 million people had marijuana use disorder (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2022). Cannabis reforms such as decriminalization, medicalization, and legalization have had varied consequences youth in the United States, including some advantages and detrimental consequences on adolescent mental health (Hammond et al., 2020). Marijuana and alcohol alone or when used together has disproportionate population distribution (McHugh, 2019; Gajos et al., 2021; Pedroni et al., 2021; Siddiqui et al., 2022). Both substances are linked to a wide range of acute and long-term health hazards and repercussions (Aloi et al., 2019; Crocker et al., Marijuana and alcohol are among the most common form of psychoactive polysubstance use globally particularly among adolescents (Banks et al., 2017; Jones & McCance‐ Katz, 2019). In 2020, nearly 900,000 adolescents had alcohol use disorder and 1.3 million people had marijuana use disorder (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2022). Cannabis reforms such as decriminalization, medicalization, and legalization have had varied consequences youth in the United States, including some advantages and detrimental consequences on adolescent mental health (Hammond et al., 2020). Marijuana and alcohol alone or when used together has disproportionate population distribution (McHugh, 2019; Gajos et al., 2021; Pedroni et al., 2021; Siddiqui et al., 2022). Both substances are linked to a wide range of acute and long-term health hazards and repercussions (Aloi et al., 2019; Crocker et al., 2021; Pasman et al., 2018; Reece & Hulse, 2020).

Overall, a steady fall of substance use has been noticed among adolescents since the pandemic culmination, yet the upward trajectory of depression prevalence remains same among all demographics (Patalay & Gage, 2019). Higher marijuana consumption attributed to the discourse on cannabis reform can translate into a greater mental healthcare burden (Bodden et al., 2018; Mojtabai et al., 2016; Ssegonja et al., 2019; Twenge, 2020; Zuckermann et al., 2019). Converging evidence of robust literatures indicate the association of cannabis use to depression in adolescents (Chadi et al., 2019; Langlois et al., 2021; Weinberger et al., 2020), however the directionality is not clear. The relationship between cannabis uses and depression has three hypotheses so far: depression preceding cannabis use, cannabis-induced brain changes increasing MDD risk, and confounding factors (Gukasyan & Strain, 2020). In contrast, ample scholarly works have demonstrated the association of risk of depression with alcohol misuse.

However, the results of extensive population-based surveys show that depression brought on by solely drinking alcohol is not extremely prevalent. Studies have revealed that many cases that were initially diagnosed as alcohol-induced depression were later reclassified as independent depression (i.e., not substance caused), as the condition persisted even after a period of abstinence (McHugh, 2019).

Marijuana use can potentially lead to use of other substances including alcohol (Hines et al., 2020; Nugent et al., 2018; Ramlagan et al., 2021). A large number of adolescents in the U.S. are engaged in substance use according to recent national surveys (SAMHSA. 2022). In 2021, The percentage for marijuana vaping in the past month among current marijuana users was highest among adolescents. In 2020, Nearly 900,000 adolescents had alcohol use disorder and 1.3 million people had marijuana use disorder. In addition, 20.1 percent (weighted 5.0 million adolescents) had major depressive episode (MDE), and 14.7 percent (weighted 3.7 million adolescents) had MDE with severe impairment in various roles of life. Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, 2.9 percent (weighted 724,000 people) had both an MDE with severe impairment and an substance use disorder (SUD). Additionally, a concerning prevalence of depression effects like suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts among adolescents was observed. The estimates are derived from surveying in the subsequent year. This high prevalence raises the concern for outlining the predictors of depression related to substance use.

Although co-use of alcohol and marijuana and its associated risk of moderate depression has been studied several times in several demographics (Claus et al., 2017; Lipperman‐ Kreda et al., 2017; Thompson et al., 2021; White et al., 2019), the impact of cannabis use on MDE with alcohol use disorder (AUD) has not been studied enough. The relevance to identify the sociodemographic disparity is paramount importance to recognise target strata of population. With shifting cannabis legalization in the US, and alcohol being the second most common used substance, it’s crucial to investigate the link between adolescent cannabis use with adolescent with major depressive episodes and with alcohol use disorder and the pattern of population distribution.

The objective of the current study is to examine the predictive prevalence of major depressive episodes (MDE), MDE with severe impairment, MDE with alcohol use disorder in relation to sociodemographic disparity and frequency of cannabis use.

Method

This research employed a secondary data analysis approach, utilising data from the 2021 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The study included a total of 10,743 adolescent participants aged 12-17, drawn from the NSDUH database. The data were nationally representative of the United States population. The NSDUH conducted multimodal data collections throughout 2021, compiling information from households, non institutionalised group quarters, and civilians on military bases. Data were anonymized and available for public use.

The primary outcome measures were lifetime major depressive episodes (MDE), past year MDE, past year MDE with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and past year MDE with severe role impairment. All outcomes were binary dichotomous variables, with responses categorized as “Yes” or “No.” The NSDUH adapted discrete adolescent depression criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) to define lifetime MDE.

Past year depression was determined for those with lifetime MDE reporting a 2-week or longer period of depression in the past 12 months. Adolescents concurrently reporting alcohol abuse underwent assessments for alcohol use disorder. The Sheehan Disability Scale (Leon et al., 1997) measured the impact of a disorder on adolescents’ life, assessing role functioning in chores, relationships, and social life.

Adolescents were classified as having an MDE with severe impairment if their depression caused severe problems with their ability to do chores at home, do well at work or school, get along with their family or have a social life. Scores ≥7 in any domain indicated MDD with severe role impairment. Independent variable, cannabis use frequency was obtained by classifying past year cannabis use into four categories: non-user, mild user (1-11 days a year), moderate user (12-49 days a year), and heavy user (≥50 days a year) (Gukasyan & Strain, 2020).

Descriptive analysis characterized participant demographics and assessed the prevalence of cannabis use. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict the probabilities of experiencing lifetime major depressive episode, past year major depressive episode, major depressive episode with severe role impairment, major depressive episode with alcohol use disorder based on sociodemographic factors and cannabis use frequency. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) quantified the observed associations. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 26.0, with a significance cutoff of 0.05 and a 95% confidence level.

Results

Participants Characteristic

Table 1 presents sociodemographic characteristic of participants (N= 10743, weighted about 25 million adolescents) by marijuana use. Weighted column percents and unweighted n of the total sample adolescents who had lifetime marijuana use across various sociodemographic variables and depression outcomes including severe impairment and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Most of the adolescent participants with lifetime marijuana use are older adolescents (age 16-17, 63.9%), females (54.7%), non-Hispanic white (51.4%) followed by Hispanic (23.3%), with a total annual family income $50,000 or more (58.1) and are found to be statistically significant with crosstab chi-square analysis. In 2021, nearly 50% of adolescents who used cannabis experienced at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in their lifetime. Additionally, around 40% reported MDEs in the preceding year, with about 31% encountering MDEs associated with severe role impairment, and roughly 9% with co-occurring alcohol use disorder. All the depression outcomes including past year MDE with AUD demonstrated significant associations with marijuana use (p < 0.01).

Prediction by sociodemographic variables

The findings of the study (see Table 2) reveal significant associations between various demographic factors and the likelihood of experiencing depression outcomes. For lifetime MDE, adolescents aged 14-15 years exhibited a significantly higher likelihood (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.50- 1.89, p < 0.001), while those aged 16-17 years had an even greater likelihood (OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 2.19-2.74, p < 0.001) compared to the reference group (12-13 years). A similar pattern was observed for past year MDE, with higher odds for both the 14-15 years group (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.52- 1.96, p < 0.001) and the 16-17 years group (OR = 2.29, 95% CI: 2.02-2.6, p < 0.001). Concerning past year MDE with alcohol use disorder, the odds were significantly elevated for adolescents aged 14-15 years (OR = 4.75, 95% CI: 2.54-8.88, p < 0.001) and 16-17 years (OR = 7.56, 95% CI: 4.13-13.86, p < 0.001) compared to the reference group. Similarly, for past year MDE with severe role impairment, both the 14-15 years group (OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.66-2.23, p < 0.001) and the 16-17 years group (OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 2.03- 2.71, p < 0.001) displayed significantly higher odds.

For lifetime MDE, males demonstrated a significantly lower likelihood than female (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.27-0.33, p < 0.001), and this pattern persisted for past year MDE (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.27-0.34, p < 0.001). Similarly, for past year MDE with alcohol use disorder, male adolescents exhibited a markedly reduced likelihood (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.22-0.46, p < 0.001), as did for past year MDE with severe role impairment (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.26-0.33, p < 0.001).

In comparison with non-Hispanic white adolescents, the odds of lifetime MDE among African American adolescents were significantly lower (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.59-0.79, p < 0.001), and this pattern persisted for past year MDE (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.56-0.77, p < 0.001) and past year MDE with severe role impairment (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.57-0.81, p < 0.001). However, for past year MDE with alcohol use disorder, the odds were significantly lower only for African American adolescents (OR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.18-0.73, p = 0.004). In the Hispanic group, the odds of lifetime MDE were slightly higher (OR = 1.124, 95% CI: 1.01-1.25, p = 0.033), but there were no significant associations for past year MDE, past year MDE with alcohol use disorder, or past year MDE with severe role impairment.

For adolescents in families with an income of $20,000- $49,999, the odds of lifetime MDE were slightly elevated (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.02-1.38, p = 0.02) than less than $20,000 group. Although a similar trend was observed for past year MDE, it did not reach statistical significance (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.95-1.31, p = 0.19). There were no significant associations between this income range and past year MDE with alcohol use disorder or past year MDE with severe role impairment. In contrast, families with an income of $50,000 or more did not show any signifcant association with lifetime MDE (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.967-1.258, p = 0.14) or past year MDE (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.97-1.30, p = 0.11) or past year MDE with severe role impairment (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.98-1.37, p = 0.08). A statistically significant increase in the odds of past year MDE with alcohol use disorder (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 0.99-2.85, p = 0.05) has been observed.

Prediction by Cannabis use Frequency

Compared to those who never used cannabis, mild, moderate, and heavy cannabis users displayed progressively higher odds of lifetime MDE, past year MDE, past-year MDE with alcohol use disorder, and past year MDE with severe role impairment.

For mild cannabis users, the odds of lifetime MDE were substantially higher (OR = 2.89, 95% CI: 2.37-3.53, p < 0.001), and this trend persisted for past year MDE (OR = 3.14, 95% CI: 2.56-3.85, p < 0.001), and past year MDE with severe role impairment (OR = 3.22, 95% CI: 2.59-4.0, p < 0.001). Similarly, moderate cannabis users exhibited increased odds for all outcomes: lifetime MDE (OR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.98-3.41, p < 0.001), past year MDE (OR = 2.73, 95% CI: 2.05-3.62, p < 0.001), and past year MDE with severe role impairment (OR = 3.0, 95% CI: 2.22-4.04, p < 0.001).For heavy cannabis users, the odds were similarly elevated across all outcomes: lifetime MDE (OR = 2.95, 95% CI: 2.43-3.57, p < 0.001), past year MDE (OR = 2.91, 95% CI: 2.38-3.55, p < 0.001, and past year MDE with severe role impairment (OR = 2.99, 95% CI: 2.42-3.70, p < 0.001).

The study findings indicate a consistent and escalating association between past-year cannabis use frequency and the likelihood of experiencing major depressive episodes (MDE) with co-occurring alcohol use disorder among adolescents. Compared to individuals who reported never using cannabis, mild cannabis users demonstrated a substantially higher odds ratio (OR = 18.0, 95% CI: 11.2-29.04, p < 0.001) for past-year MDE with alcohol use disorder. This pattern continued for moderate cannabis users, with a dramatic increase in the odds (OR = 29.0, 95% CI: 17.4-49.0, p < 0.001). Heavy cannabis users exhibited the highest risk, with an even greater odds ratio (OR = 33.0, 95% CI: 22.5-50.24, p < 0.001).

Discussion

The Depression has been reported as a common affective adverse event in adolescent marijuana users.However, current literature remains divisive on the depression risk in adolescent marijuana users. Most literature (Bolanis et al., 2020; Chadi et al., 2019; Schoeler et al., 2018) we found showed that adolescent marijuana users had higher odds of depression even after adjusting for concomitant substance use, which contrasts with other studies (Gobbi et al., 2019) showing low risk association. Such duality of findings regarding the adolescent’s depression association with marijuana use raises the possibility that cannabis use may increase depression under certain conditions, such as other substance use, adverse childhood experience. Those conditions might not always be mutually exclusive. Our result showed greater odds of depression, depression with severe impairment, and depression with alcohol disorder in any frequency of marijuana use. This study uniquely contributes by utilizing data from a recent national survey with larger sample size and sampling weights that allow authors to approximate the young marijuana users on a national level.

This population-based study is the first, to our knowledge, to examine the if the frequency of cannabis use can predict depression, depression with severe impairment, and depression with alcohol use disorder (AUD) simultaneously during adolescence from recent NSDUH data.

On top of that, predictive probability of sociodemographic variables to depression outcome and sociodemographic and depression outcomes correlates of marijuana use have been explored (see Table 1 and 2). Our study has following main findings. Female gender and White race followed by Hispanic have statistically higher marijuana consumption while some most studies (Assari et al., 2018; Hamilton et al., 2019; Terry‐McElrath et al., 2020) reported otherwise. The gender gap was already narrowing over time (Hemsing & Greaves, 2020), and the racial sample size difference might play a role here for this finding. Significantly higher likelihood of lifetime and past year major depressive episode (MDE), MDE with severe role impairment, as well as MDE with alcohol use disorder (p < 0.01), were observed among adolescents with a history of cannabis use.

As for the subjective dimension to the cannabis consumption among adolescents, between 63% and 75% of adolescents view moderate to heavy marijuana use as not posing a significant risk, and 35% of adolescents consider acquiring marijuana to be quite accessible. As cannabis use frequency increased, predicted prevalence of lifetime and past-year MDE, past year MDE with severe role impairment, past year MDE with AUD increased significantly (p < 0.001). The moderate (12- 49 days a year) and heavy (≥50 days a year) cannabis users showed particularly elevated odds in relation to MDE with alcohol use disorder.

Overall, 13% adolescents (weighted about 3 million adolescents) reported lifetime marijuana use. Any frequency of past year marijuana use predicted both depression and depression with AUD in adolescence. As far as we are aware no studies have investigated associations from cannabis use to both severe depression and depression with alcohol use disorder simultaneously. Few studies have investigated depression to cannabis use (Hoffmann, 2018), cannabis use to depression (Hengartner et al., 2020; Lawn et al., 2022; Mustonen et al., 2021), cannabis and alcohol use to depression (Fleming et al., 2021), depression to alcohol and cannabis use disorder (Rhew et al., 2017).

Most studies in our literature search demonstrated that depression was associated with increased subsequent cannabis use, alcohol use or simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana (SAM) during adolescence. Our study extends the current body of knowledge by predicting depression with alcohol use disorder by increasing frequency category of cannabis use (mild, moderate, heavy use) among adolescents. Compared to studies that have investigated the bidirectional associations between depression and cannabis use simultaneously, our study had the advantage of also examining alcohol use disorder and was based on a representative sample of today’s adolescents.

Our study findings bring out the hypothesis in the table of discussion that depression precedes cannabis use, whereby adolescents may use cannabis to reduce stress or relaxation (Moreno-Mansilla et al., 2021). Research also shows that the therapeutic efficacy of cannabis to alleviate negative affect is largely short-term benefit rather it increases baseline depression in long term (Cuttler et al., 2018). While adolescents might be taking marijuana, the gateway drug as a coping strategy for alleviation of stress, it increases their likelihood to consume other substance use like alcohol (Borodovsky and Budney, 2018; Scheier & Griffn, 2021).

Limitations and Strengths

Dosage of cannabis use could not be known from the NSDUH dataset; hence, the frequency of use was taken as a crude estimate. This can cause the borderline data from categories of use severity, in some instance to be intermingling given that an adolescent may consume cannabis at very high amount attributed a mild user to moderate category. The self-reported nature of data, frequency of cannabis use data may be prone to response bias and potential underreporting. The diagnosis of alcohol abuse disorder or depression were not confirmed through clinician assessment or objective measures like urine drug screen tests. Furthermore, The NSDUH data do not allow for the determination of the chronological onset sequence between Alcohol Use Disorders (SUD) and Major Depressive Episodes (MDE) among adolescents aged 12 to 17, preventing the establishment of whether SUD preceded MDE or vice versa. The authors would also like to acknowledge the presence of potential confounders especially developmental environment related factors.

Despite those limitations, the study’s strength is the large, nationally representative sample of the U.S. adolescent population aged 12 to 17. The study updates and contributes to the existing knowledge base by providing information from a recent NSDUH. The research addresses a significant gap in the literature by exploring factors associated with depression, depression with severe role impairment, or alcohol use disorder. It also investigates marijuana use frequency as a predictor for depression with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

Conclusion

Our analyses identified use of marijuana as significant risk factors for all depression-related outcomes. Higher use of marijuana (moderate and heavy user) was also strongly associated with all depression outcomes, and the association with depression with alcohol use disorder was somewhat greater in magnitude than expected. Further research is needed to investigate the dose relationship between cannabis use frequency on depressive symptomatology with and without alcohol use disorder.

Misconceptions about marijuana safety and easy access might contribute to higher MDE rates among frequent users, necessitating further research on underlying motivation of substance use and youth sensitive corrective education. Clinicians should be aware that even any lifetime cannabis use in an adolescent suggests a higher likelihood of depression. Careful screening for depression and history co use of alcohol in an adolescent with any history of cannabis use should be investigated.

The limitations of NSDUH may constrain any deeper understanding between the cannabis user categories, nonetheless this work provides a starting point for further prospective research on the relationship between cannabis use frequency and affective disorders with and without polysubstance use in adolescence.

Acknowledgments

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-proft sectors.

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This study aims to understand the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on inner peace and happiness. The objective is to facilitate individuals towards cultivating inner peace and happiness in the new normal world.

Keywords:

Covid-19, Peace, Happiness, New normal

Bio

Dr. Monica Sharma is a senior Rajyoga meditation teacher who has spent the last thirty years in Gyan, knowledge acquisition. She has a B.com and two doctorate degrees in social services. Dr. Monica Sharma has dedicated the last twenty-one years of her life to social service in Tribal aira Gujarat Chhotaudepur and has achieve multiple awards.

Abstract

The coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has resulted in global societies encountering several changes. This ranges from the lockdown regulations, wearing personal protective equipment and technological progression. Many individuals soon became physically disconnected from family and friends alongside carrying out social activities they enjoyed, providing them with the happiness and zeal to face the challenges in life. This study aims to understand the effects of covid-19 pandemic on inner peace and happiness. The objective is to facilitate individuals towards cultivating inner peace and happiness in the new normal world, through a literature review. Results have revealed that numerous individuals faced loneliness and negative mental health challenges like anxiety and depression where they developed negative emotions, affecting their inner peace and happiness. They have been affected by daily routine disruptions, lack of physical social contact and economic challenges affecting physical and mental health.

Accepting physical change and altering the thought process through the power of the mind, is the first step to cultivating inner peace. The negative energy released into the world from negative information disseminated through media and social media, the struggle for power and accumulation of wealth has impinged upon human inner peace. Recommendations have been made to cultivate sustainable inner peace and happiness through daily meditation practices and continual learning.

Introduction

The coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has resulted in global societies encountering several changes. Governing bodies-imposed lockdown regulations to cease spread of the virus, where non- essential businesses and educational institutions were closed (Somani, 2020). Individuals were restricted to their own homes, while key workers supported the nation through their services. Many individuals were made redundant and suffered unemployment contributing towards financial hardships (Somani, Socio- economic Impacts of COVID-19: Facilitating Developing Countries Towards a ‘New normal’, 2021). To minimise the spread of infection, personal protective equipment became mandatory within public places, where individuals had to wear masks and gloves to stay protected.

In addition, to ensure social connectivity and business progression, technology was utilised to a greater degree enabling global connectedness. Many individuals soon became physically disconnected from family and friends, in addition to carrying out social activities that they enjoyed which provided them with the happiness and zeal to face the challenges in life. Global societies faced immense change, which then altered again when we entered a ‘new normal’ world (Somani, IMPROVING BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE NEW NORMAL.2022). Many practices have remained, for example the use of PPE within medical settings, and technological progression through the covid-19 pandemic has created mediums through which individuals can connect with family and friends, despite their residence. When everything occurs the way that individuals expect and like, they are in a comfort zone leading to feelings of happiness and a sense of inner peace.

However, in cases of disruption and unexpected challenges, many individuals feel that their inner peace and happiness have been affected. Inner peace can be defined as “a low-arousal positive emotional state coupled with a sense of balance and stability” (Sasson, 2023). While happiness has different definitions, it is typically defined as “an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment and fulfilment” (Cherry, 2022). It is linked to positive emotions and life satisfaction. According to the Aristotle the great historic philosopher, happiness is the one desire every human stives to attain, and all other desires are a means to attain happiness. His great philosophy suggests that there are four levels of happiness:

• Immediate gratification from comparison.
• Immediate gratification from achievement.
• Immediate gratification from making positive contributions.
• Immediate gratification from achieving fulfilment.

Happiness can be attained when a balance is found between excess and deficiency (Kelsey, Axner, Vrooman, & Tse, 2020), however when contemporary challenges like the unprecedented covid-19 pandemic presented itself affecting daily life of humanity globally, inner peace and happiness are affected.

Objectives

This study aims to understand the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on inner peace and happiness. The objective is to facilitate individuals towards cultivating inner peace and happiness in the new normal world, through a literature review.

Fig 1: (Liberto, 2022)

Results and Discussion

Daily routine disruptions

As the covid-19 pandemic created chaos, the daily routine of adults in employment and students attending educational institutions have been disrupted (Somani, Post Covid-19 Effects on the Future of Students in Higher Education, 2021). As governing bodies lifted lockdown restrictions, the world is attempting to reach a new normal. Therefore, numerous individuals have found the transition between working life prior to the pandemic and life in the new normal as challenging, particularly when it comes to productivity levels. This is because individuals that do not reach their goals, do not feel a sense of accomplishment which affects their happiness and inner peace. In many cases, to achieve goals, individuals sacrifice their sleep, health routines like exercising or recreational activities in the attempt to achieve their goals.

There is very little research conducted on the consequences of routine disruptions (McClean, Koopman, Yim, & Klotz, 2020). Daily routines can be disrupted by anything unexpected and simple within the day, therefore it is necessary to be flexible within our daily lives. Routines constitute towards the basic elements of life as they help individuals to conserve the energy which will contribute towards goal   attainment   during that day. However, when routines are disrupted, surplus energy must be utilised to that would have originally contributed to the daily tasks. Solving disruptions requires conscious thought and energy which contributes towards a less productive day. According to research even when individuals miss one cup of their regular morning coffee, employees commenced their day in a more mentally exhausted manner, and they were less calm than usual.

Due to this, a ripple effect was encountered during their day leading towards being less productive and less engaged. This was same of individuals that did not wake up on time, having their breakfast of challenges commuting to work (McClean S. T., Koopman, Yim, & Klotz, 2020). Human beings do not like change, however nature shows continuous change through the weather and different seasons without being disrupted. Hence, individuals need to learn that flexibility and critical thinking in the face of change is important and should not be factors affecting happiness and inner peace. According to research factors of gross national happiness in figure 1 includes community vitality, time use, standard of living, ecological resilience, cultural diversity, health, good governance and psychological and well-being.

Lack of physical social contact

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, individuals are very motivated to engage in attaining needs that are co
mplex. Hence, upon the fulfilment of basic needs, individuals are driven by their emotional and psychological needs. At the top of Maslow’s hierarchy in figure 2 it is evident that the need for self- actualisation or to achieve one’s full potential is the ultimate goal. It theorises that momentous human experiences and transcendent moments are where individuals feel more happiness, joy and understanding. In contrast at the base of the hierarchy are physiological needs, including the essentials like food, warmth, and rest. Above that are the safety needs which includes security and safety, then comes belongingness and love needs, which include intimate relationships and friends.

Before reaching self- actualisation individuals have esteem needs which include the feeling of prestige and accomplishment. Lack of physical social contact during the pandemic affected the needs of individuals all the way through the hierarchy. Particularly the basic needs and psychological needs due to job loss and redundancies and lack to physical contact. As we reside in a knowledge society, a larger proportion of individuals participated in the acquisition of knowledge through sort-term and long-term online courses. This provided a means through which individuals were able to fill skill-gaps to complete their employment roles efficiently and look for new employment positions (Somani, E-learning in Tomorrow’s Age, 2021).

This has been necessary due to the number of changes that has been made post-pandemic and the technological advancements. Hence, individuals need to ensure that their cognitive needs are fulfilled, so that they are well informed on the decisions they make in their personal or professional lives. Many individuals have recognised the need for beauty and aesthetics, therefore by enjoying music, arts and culture, individuals can achieve happiness. In a world where there is an array of distractions, individuals are curious to seek the true , beyond physical limitations with the aim to fulfil transcendence needs. That can be achieved through the practice of spirituality, helping others, and ensuring connectivity with nature.

Physical and mental health

The covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated negative mental health challenges and created more awareness (Somani, The Impact of COVID-19 on Human Psychology, 2020). All individuals have mental health, however there is good mental health enabling individuals to radiate at a higher vibrational positive energy. When negative mental health challenges emerge, individuals start to emit lower vibrational negative energy. Everything in this world is vibrating at a frequency, and this is the same for our thoughts which start to govern emotions, which consequently we emit into the world. Throughout the covid-19 pandemic individuals have been feeling heightened levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

This has been triggered through social, economic, and political changes and financial instability. The rise in cost-of- living post-pandemic facilitated by the Russia-Ukraine war, has impinged upon physical and mental health of individuals globally. Individuals residing in lower-socio economic areas are more at risk of the spread of infections and diseases due to a lack of infection control, reduced clean water and poor hygiene promoting poor health. In addition, the consequences of poor mental health have been proven to result in physical   health   challenges.    Hence it has been recommended to lower stress levels through regular exercise, eating a healthy diet and drinking the recommended amount of water which will fulfil the basic needs of attaining happiness.

Managing Emotions

When we encounter periods of change there is a tendency for individuals to overthink and over analyse situations. This act affects inner peace and hinders the psychological state of an individual and spiritual calmness, particularly where there are different stressors. When individuals stive to attain peace daily, despite the changes in physical settings, they are happier and content. They are more aware of their thoughts and cease themselves from jumping from one negative thought to another. Most individuals are experiencing negative emotions that have resulted in hurt, they play the events within their minds consistently and think about the words and actions of others. They keep re-living the pain that was experienced through the energy exchange between themselves and the other person.

However, everyone has the ability to generate their own thoughts and feelings should be accountable for the way they feel. Other people do not have the power to change the positive state that someone is in, nor do they have the power to replace them through negative emotions if the individual is emotionally strong. When an individual radiates energy at a high emotional level, and they are stable within their thoughts and feelings, the worldly influences or the negative energy of others cannot shake the individual. Instead, through compassion the individual seeks to understand the actions of another and empathises with them.

They understand that the other individual is hurt, hence feeling the negative emotions and projecting their feelings onto them. When the seeds of negative emotions start to germinate with an individual, it is important to know the route cause and maintain stability through knowing at they are a peaceful being. This includes being tranquil, serene, quiet and pose. According to Chris Shea “The pursuit of inner peace is more important than the search for happiness and success” (Moore, 2019). Many great teachers from Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi and the Dalai Lama believe that inner peace is closely related to happiness and have been advocates of inner peace. Hence within contemporary life, historic teachings can facilitate managing emotions towards finding inner peace and happiness.

Conclusion

Accepting physical change and altering the thought process through the power of the mind, is the first step to cultivating inner peace. The negative energy released into the world from negative information, disseminated through media and social media, the struggle for power and accumulation of wealth has impinged upon human inner peace. Within contemporary life, with the continuous change that we encounter, it is important to be at peace mentally and spiritually. We require appropriate knowledge and understanding to ensure that we are strong and resilient when we face challenges and adversity. Although there is a desire for individuals to reach self-actualisation, there is not a method through which this can be tested.

It is necessary for humans to cultivate peace opposed to harbouring feelings of stress and anxiousness, to attain clarity of thought and progress on the route of happiness. There is a need to be authentic and the covid-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for individuals within global societies to rediscover themselves. This was attainable through the   lockdown and an opportunity to continue this into the new normal world.   Within an ideal society, individuals can self- actualise and fulfil personal desires on the path to happiness and inner peace. Recommendations have been made to cultivate sustainable inner peace and happiness through daily meditation practices and continual learning. In addition, positive thinking affirmations and gratitude also help individuals lead a more fulfilled and happier life.

References

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This study aims to understand the effects of music on mental health and covid-19. There is an endeavour to recommend solutions to facilitate individuals towards improved mental wellbeing through music.

Keywords:

Covid-19, Mental health, Music, Society

Bio

Prof. Dr. Parin Somani

Prof. Dr. Parin Somani, Director: London Organisation of Skills Development, Independent Academic Scholar, TEDx Speaker, Educator, International Motivational speaker, Author, Writer, Banker, Humanitarian, Philanthropist, Multi-International Award Winner. 8 Doctorate degrees recognised 5times in World Book of Records, twice in India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, Karnataka Book of Records and Golden Book of World Records. Helps global societies in Education, Women Empowerment, Youth Development. Travelled 107+ countries globally. Published 41+ educational papers, newspaper/magazine articles, 19books, featured in 100+ videos, 177+ newspapers/ books. During COVID-19 she has educated 100,000+people globally, delivered research at Harvard University, invited by Governors of India.

Nurbanu Somani

Nurbanu is a postgraduate researcher at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, exploring the therapeutic benefits of music to promote health and wellbeing in older adults with late onset of vision loss. She is passionate to connect with people and bring joy into their lives by promoting music as an outlet for comfort and emotional expression.

Abstract

The coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has had numerous effects on global societies, including socially, politically, and economically. Social distancing regulations, school closures, mandatory use of personal protective equipment (PPE), amongst increasing financial burdens due to unemployment, have all contributed to a rise in societal mental health challenges. Listening to music can be perceived as an effective means through which mental health challenges can be alleviated, thereby contributing to positive wellbeing. This study aims to understand the effects of music on mental health and covid-19. There is an endeavour to recommend solutions to facilitate individuals towards improved mental wellbeing through music. A systematic literature review has been implemented within this study. Results have revealed the following factors: music and relaxation; music and inspiration; music and mood; music and expression. This study has deduced that that listening to music can have a positive impact on mental wellness as it can change emotions only if music is chosen correctly. Individuals feeling anxious or depressed tend to intensify their emotions by listening to depressing music, alternatively they can choose music to alter their emotions to happy and excited. Essentially music has the power to set the mood, create emotional changes promote sustainable mental health healing which can be utilised in the contemporary world post-covid-19.

Introduction

The coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has had numerous effects on global societies, including socially, politically, and economically (Somani, Post Covid-19 Effects on the Future of Students in Higher., 2021). Social distancing regulations, school closures, mandatory use of personal protective equipment (PPE), amongst increasing financial burdens due to unemployment, have all contributed to a rise in societal mental health challenges (NHS, 2020). Studies relating to students within higher education institutions revealed an increase in negative mental health impacts. This was due to worries about implications of being infected with covid-19, the rapid transition to remote learning, the impact on exam results and future employment prospect, access to appropriate

hardware and software to continue education and financial constraints. The negative mental health impacts include heightened stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness (Somani, The Impact of COVID-19 on Human Psychology, 2020). Research has suggested that one in six individuals are affected by common mental health challenges like anxiety and depression in one week within England (McManus, Bebbington, Jenkins, & Brugha, 2016). Results have indicated that approximately fifty-one percent of students are experiencing heightened anxiety and stress in comparison to January 2021 and approximately eighty eight percent of students believe that their higher educational institution is facing a mental health crisis (Meal, 2022).

Music is considered to be an integral component of the lives of individuals and a contributing element to identity. Individuals generally listen to music daily in the form of background while doing other activities like studying, working, household chores, sports or shopping etc, or intentionally. Although the music is not the dominant focus while it is playing in the background, music is carefully chosen to match cognitive and emotional needs of individuals for the situations (Ziv & Hollander-Shabtai, 2022). For many years music has been utilised as a tool to cope with the challenges and victories of life. Listening to music can be perceived as an effective medium through which mental health challenges can be alleviated thereby contributing to positive wellbeing. Figure 1 illustrates the how playing and listening to music works in several areas of the brain.

When individuals listen to music the brain releases chemicals like dopamine which is associated with feelings of pleasure and also oxytocin referred to as the love hormone. In addition, there is moderate research available to suggest that cortisol, the chemical released in the brain when individuals experience stress, can be reduced through listening to music (Adler, 2020) which suggest music has an effect on mental health.

Objectives

This study aims to understand the effects of music on mental health and covid-19. There is an endeavour to recommend solutions to facilitate individuals towards improved mental wellbeing through music. A systematic literature review has been implemented within this study.

Results and Discussion

Music and relaxation

Healing using sound is historically believed to be a medium through which attempts were made to cure mental disorders in ancient Greece. Over time, music has been utilised to facilitate working faster, become more productive and create barriers against evil spirits. In addition, research has revealed multiple health benefits to individuals including decreasing stress levels and improving health and immunity. When experiencing symptoms of negative mental health challenges like anxiety, stress, and depression it is important that individuals learn to relax due to the potential consequences of negative mental health impacts which can lead to physical health problems and in extreme cases death (Somani & Saraswathy, Sort Stress & Stop Suicide, 2021). Thus, methods through which music can be used to relax individuals can include:

• Meditation with music and voiced instruction
• Sleep music that has been devised to relax the mind
• Positive affirmations with music

These can all be administered alone, or with others a classroom situation, on video with live streaming, social media videos or downloading a mobile application. Meditative music consists of a cathartic effect which can improve moods, relax the mind and body. Sounds including nature sounds, stringed instruments and the piano have been proven to help individuals relax (Nortje, 2020).

Music and inspiration

According to a brain health survey carried out by AARP music consisting of  3,185  adults it was  reported that despite listening to musical performances, background music or music recordings, there was a positive impact on negative mental health diagnosis like anxiety and depression (Adler, 2020). Music is believed to improve intelligence, increase an individual’s ability to focus and heighten mental health. In addition, music can increase self confidence and improve the immune system.

Research has revealed that music meditation can inspire individuals and has numerous health benefits including:

• Reducing stress
• Decreasing depression and anxiety
• Improving memory function
• Reducing blood pressure
• Reducing pain
• Decreasing cholesterol
• Reducing chances of stroke and heart disease

Utilising music as a therapy, can increase relaxation, decrease stress and inspire individuals towards researching their goals. When comparing music to taking prescription drugs to decrease anxiety levels prior to a surgery, research has found that thirty minutes of therapeutic music has able to reduce anxiety and contribute to pain reduction (Quach & Lee, 2017). Music can evoke positive emotions and promotes the brain’s reward centres. Individuals can experience this through dancing to music, singing or even chanting, writing songs, playing a musical instrument, or even just listening to music to relax or meditate. Music has the power to inspire individuals towards achieving their goals and turning their negative moods into positive energy, inducing positive emotions and creating a transit between negative mental health challenges and good mental health. Making and listening to music promotes individuals to become more creative, this can be utilised to improve moods and vibrate at a higher emotional energy level. This leads to self motivation facilitating individuals to accomplish their personal and professional goals.

During the covid-19 pandemic numerous individuals in society utilised music to help themselves overcome challenges and cope with the covid-19 restrictions. Within a survey that was conducted during the covid-19 pandemic a question was asked to the population “Did music help you with any of the following during the pandemic?” Figure 2 illustrates the results that 77% of individuals revealed that music cheered them up, while 72% of people felt that music reduced their stress levels, 67% felt that music altering their moods, while 59% of people used music as a distraction from negative emotions and thoughts that were arising.

Music and mood

Music can be used as a tool to relax individuals and lift emotional vibrations linked to moods. Some students utilise music to facilitate retaining information during exams as they believe it to improve their concentration levels. Within the United States approximately 1 out of five people find it difficult to asleep (Helsestart, 2023). Hence relaxation music can facilitate individuals to relax into a deeper sleep and help change their mood. Music can be perceived as a form of escape taking them into a happy place. As individuals we experience an array of different moods which mirror our emotions and are projected through non-verbal communication and facial expressions. Figure 3 highlights many of the different emotions that humans feel through the wheel of emotion.

When individuals listen to familiar music, there is a release of the chemical dopamine in the brain which causes the brain to respond more strongly to situations. In contrast unfamiliar music can create brain stimulation as individuals enjoy the music they are listening to and become used to learning it. Binaural beat music utilised in subliminal and ambient music has been proved to improve feelings of anxiety and boost confidence levels. The mind can become shaper and confident through listening to Alpha waves that range between eight to fourteen Herts. When individuals are feeling negative emotions like anger, music has been proven to release these feelings through listening to music that can be viewed as angry as a method through which the negative emotions can be processed. Therefore, it is not surprising that individuals experiencing feelings of depression are more inclined to listen to music that reinforces their feelings. Individuals that ruminate a predictive trait of depression will usually be attracted to music that intensifies their emotions associated with depression (Garrido & Schubert, 2015).

Music and expression

Listening to music enables individuals to express their emotions and creative skills without talking. It allows individuals to communicate their thoughts and complex emotions through non-verbal communication and via various forms of expressions like playing a musical instrument or expressing feelings through dance. Releasing emotions through music, contributes towards positive mental health. When individuals are feeling fearful or nervous, by listening to isochronic tone music, it is possible to alter the brain state towards happiness and confidence. This is because the brain is syncing into a new frequency consisting of single tones beating at regular intervals that are spaced evenly (Healthline, 2020).

Music therapy is deemed as a holistic and creative approach to healing, simultaneously it facilitates positive and constructive strategies to cope with challenging situations.

Many studies have revealed that by listening to classical music, the mind can focus better as a tempo consisting of sixty beat per minute can increase processing information in the brain. In contrast electro dance music has been suggested to sharpen focus during studying (Reachout, 2022). Listening to music can facilitate social connections and reduce feelings of loneliness because there is a realisation that emotions are shared and can be expressed with others who can understand. This can include connecting with like-minded musicians, attending concerts, or sharing music via technology, emotions are being shared and expressed. Music can form and change behaviours as releasing negativity can contribute towards positive conversations and actions as individuals resort to acting with calmer minds, in contrast to acting through clouded judgment when they are overcome with negative emotions. Research has indicated that individuals experiencing depression are drawn to listen to music that reinforced their negative feelings because most of the time they are unable to choose music to help them feel better (Wilhelm, Gilllis, Schubert, & Whittle, 2013).

Conclusion

This study has deduced that that listening to music can have a positive impact on mental wellness as it can change emotions only if music is chosen correctly. Individuals feeling anxious or depressed tend to intensify their emotions by listening to depressing music, alternatively they can choose music to alter their emotions to happy and excited. Essentially music has the power to set the mood, create emotional changes promote sustainable mental health healing which can be utilised in the contemporary world post covid-19.

Healthcare professionals have commenced utilising music therapy, with the endeavour of helping to support individuals who are aiming to regain control over their mental health wellbeing. Thus, it is evident that music has multiple effects on mental health if used in the correct manner. When individuals decide to listen to songs or music that is upbeat, it has the power to make individuals feel happier emotions. However, over the last fifty years gradually the music made and produced, has become angrier and sadder which can make finding songs transiting individuals to a happier state more difficult, in turn contributing to mental health challenges (Napier & Shamir, 2018). It is advisable to create a list of “happy songs” to help navigate out of the looming negative emotions that can arise, hindering mental health. Music is a tool that can be used for individuals to deal with the uncertainty present in a continuously changing world. Listening to music can heighten emotions, change feelings and behaviours when utilised in the right context. Music can increase social connectedness and used as a medium through which societies and cultures can be brought together during times of distress.

Recommendations

Social awareness should be created on the benefits of music on mental health. Recommendations to practice techniques on active listening concentrating on the music, noting feelings, associated memories and changes within the body in relation to noting the urge to get up and dance or in contrast slow the heart rate down. This will facilitate individuals towards taking control, allowing the music to empower and change feelings from a negative to a positive. Individuals can also utilise technological advancements to listen to a variety of music genres across multiple internet connected devices, and personalised playlists. This will subject individuals to familiar music that comforts individuals, in addition to evoking positive memories and associations. During moments of unhappiness, depression, or anxiety it is recommended to choose and listen to upbeat music that makes individuals want to sing or dance. These are deemed to release stress and contribute to physical exercise and brain stimulation.

References

Adler, S. E. (2020, 06 30).

Music Can Be a Great Mood Booster. Retrieved from AARP: https://www.aarp.org/ health/brain-health/ info-2020/music-mental-health. html#:~: t e xt=R esear c h%20 shows%20that%20music%20 can, of%20the%20str ess%20 hormone%20cortisol.

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(2020, 12 11). MUSIC THERAPY AND THE ENDLESS BENEFITS. Retrieved

from BCAT: http://www.bcat.info/ life -in-arts-therapy—the – bcat- blogstop/music-therapy-and-the- endless-benefits

Garrido, S., & Schubert, E.

(2015). Moody melodies: do they cheer us up? A study of the effect of sad music on mood. Psychol. Music, 244–261.

Healthline. (2020, 02 28).

Do Isochronic Tones Have Real Health Benefits? Retrieved from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/ isochronic-tones

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Global Insomnia Statistics in 2022 & 2023. Retrieved from Helsestart: https://www.helsestart.no/news/ global-insomnia-statistics

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College Students More Concerned About COVID-19 Than Ever, New Survey by TimelyMD Finds. Retrieved from TimelyMD: https://timely.md/ college-students-more-concerned- about-covid-19-than-ever/

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A Verywell Report: Music Helped Most of Us Get Through the Pandemic. Retrieved from Verywellmind: https:// www.verywellmind.com/verywell- report-music-helped-us-through-the- pandemic-5181803

Napier, K., & Shamir, L. (2018). Quantitative Sentiment Analysis of Lyrics in Popular Music. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 161–176.

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Post Covid-19 Effects on the Future of Students in Higher. International Journal of Social Science And Human Research, 831-834.

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Snderstand the effect of job loss on the mental health of employees during covid-19. Recommendations are made to ease mental health challenges faced by individuals.

Keywords

Covid-19, Employment, Job loss, Mental health,

Bio

Pinki is a UNDP Project Youth Employability Services counsellor. She is an advocate for women empowerment, youth development and girl child protection programs. She is also a consumer Rights champion and Education champion helping the underprivileged within society. She has helped towards restricting the dowery system particularly in the Indian State of Haryana and its surrounding areas. Pinki believes that health is wealth and participates in yoga and meditation classes. She has attended numerous conferences, seminars and workshops in different fields with the endeavour to help make valuable changes in society.

Abstract

Employment is important to accumulate wealth, to enjoy a good quality of life and a means through which individuals can contribute towards economic growth and societal development. During the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic decisions were made by international governing bodies to implement lockdown measures. This meant all non-essential businesses and organisations underwent physical closures. To ensure the operation of businesses to generate revenue to pay employees and be sustainable, there was a transition to online platforms. During this process many employees faced redundancies and complete job losses. This study aims to understand the effect of job loss on the mental health of employees during covid-19. Recommendations are made to ease mental health challenges faced by individuals. A review of literature sources is conducted in this study. Results have identified that job loss can have the following impact on mental health: Psychological impacts like an increase in anxiety, depression, loneliness, low self-esteem; suicidal thoughts and behaviour patterns. These can be due to financial stresses, inappropriate working conditions to find another employment position or inadequate skills restricting employment opportunities. Steps should be taken to ensure individuals take a positive approach to seeking a new job showing self-compassion, ensuring the maintenance of a healthy diet and good routine including sufficient sleep and exercise. This will contribute towards positive mental health and facilitate employment prospects.

Introduction

Employment is important to accumulate wealth, to enjoy a good quality of life and a means through which individuals can contribute towards economic growth and societal development. During the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic decisions were made by international governing bodies to implement lockdown measures (Somani, Our World Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020). This meant all non-essential businesses and organisations underwent physical closures. To ensure the operation of businesses to generate revenue and continue paying employees, there was a transition to online platforms. During this process many employees faced redundancies and job losses. Within the United Kingdom, 1.3 million people lost their jobs due to covid-19 pandemic between March 2020 and January 2021 (Rodrigues, 2022). The workplace is continuously evolving and comprises of a myriad of roles and opportunities for individuals. The role an induvial is employed into often evolves and job insecurities can prevail. However, a large proportion of employed individuals feel a sense of financial security and stability due to financial independence. Fifty-five percent of employees and seventy percent of graduates reported that employment provides them with a sense of identity which is linked to self-worth, this increases to (Bond, 2021). Thus, when employment is taken away suddenly, individuals have a lot to contend with. Within employment, individuals are frequently faced with challenges that need to be overcome. This can be an intellectually stimulating experience if it is not conducted with immense pressure. Individuals can work in teams to learn from each other and overcome challenges together, and this promotes skill development, In the event of job loss, individuals loose involvement with their colleagues and the opportunity to meet new people. Spending a significant portion of time within the work environment, interaction with colleagues can turn into long lasting friendships and opportunities arise to learn about yourself and the world. However, during lockdown many of the opportunities that individuals attained with working in face-to-face environments were lost.

Objectives

This study aims to understand the effect of job loss on the mental health of employees during covid-19. Recommendations are made to ease mental health challenges faced by individuals. A review of literature sources is conducted in this study. Published literature including journals, books, websites, and articles have been searched and utilised within the findings of this study.

Results and Discussion

Results have identified that job loss can have psychological impacts like an increase in anxiety, depression, loneliness, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and negative behavioural patterns can all impact a high proportion of individuals. There are several reasons related to this including financial stresses, inappropriate working conditions to find another employment position and inadequate skills restricting employment opportunities.

Psychological impacts

When individuals have a stable income, they are financially independent which facilitates them towards reaching high comfort levels. This allows them to plan and execute their financial endeavours, have a sense of financial stability which leads to a positive impact on mental health. However, when individuals lose their employment positions suddenly, they can undergo a sense of shock which can have negative mental health implications. Although job loss can present individuals with subjective experiences and alterations in income, the associated mental health impacts can differ between individuals.

Therefore, an individual that loses their employment position may feel threatened and immerse themselves in a situation that only they perceive as dangerous. When an individual feels that they are facing financial threat, they are identified with the feelings of fearfulness and anxiousness pertaining to their current and future financial situation (Marjanovic, Greenglass, Fiksenbaum, & Bell, 2013). Thus, it is not surprising that financial threat is linked with anxiety, depression, negative impacts on mood, suicidal thoughts, and complete burn out (Iksenbaum, Marjanovic, Greenglass, & Garcia-Santos, 2017). Figure 1 illustrates the mental health continuum model which highlights symptoms from healthy mental health expressed through the colour green, reacting which is in yellow, injured which is in orange and ill which is highlighted through the red colour. Within figure 1 solutions to promote mental wellness within each category is illustrated. There is an intention to promote recognition and encourage individuals to recognise the symptoms and engage to conversations with the intention to seek professional help if required (Chen, Chang, & Stuart, 2020).

Financial stresses

A dominant factor associated with negative mental health implications relating to job loss is financial stress. The prevalent solution to financial hardship within societies is to take out a loan and incur debt. Upon the inability to pay the money back, individuals face severe financial strains and hardship. According to research, individuals experiencing a financial strain may be at a twenty- fold higher risk of attempting suicide compared to individuals who have no financial hardships  (Cohut, 2020). This is because a significant risk factor for attempting suicide is financial strain (Elbogen, et al., 2020). Multiple studies implemented during the covid-19 pandemic highlighted negative mental health implications due to financial stresses (Wilson, et al., 2020) (Somani & Saraswathy, Sort Stress & Stop Suicide’., 2021).

Inappropriate working conditions

Working conditions are vital to productivity particularly during the covid-19 pandemic. Research has indicated that approximately 46.6% of the overall population within the United Kingdom conducted some, or all their work from home. 86% of those individuals reported that they worked from home due to the covid-19 lockdown regulations. Figure 2 illustrates the number of hours individuals worked from home in April 2020 (Cameron, 2020). An individual who carried out any of their employment work at home is referred to as the homeworker. The calculations for more, less, and same working hours is based on the difference between the individual’s usual and actual working hours within a week.

For individuals to work efficiently from home, they require the adequate hardware, software, and internet connectivity (Somani, Managing Mental Health at Work during Periods of Uncertainty., 2022). In addition, a conducive working environment is important to ensure individuals can concentrate on the work that they are carrying out. The inability to complete tasks from home, in addition to other distractions within the home environment can impinge upon job retention rates. The requirement for skills development for employees to continue working can be difficult to acquire from remote locations resulting in added stress and negative mental health impacts, thus restricting employment opportunities.

Conclusion

This study has found that there is a negative impact on the mental health of employees that lost their jobs during covid-19. This is consistent with previous studies which have indicated that there is a positive relationship between economic hardships and psychological wellbeing, (Cuellar, Mark, L, Sharfstein, & Huskamp, 2020). Negative mental health symptoms have included depression, anxiety, and panic attacks largely experienced due to loss of income during the covid-19 pandemic. Pre-existing mental health implications are heightened, and job insecurities promote negative mental health challenges.

Steps should be taken to ensure individuals take a positive approach to seeking a new job, showing self-compassion, ensuring the maintenance of a healthy diet and good routine including sufficient sleep and exercise. This will contribute towards positive mental health and facilitate employment prospects. Recommendations are made to ensure policymakers should provide sufficient information on how to manage finances and save funds. In addition, societies must be education on dissociating the stigma related to mental health challenges. This can be initiated through collaborative attempts between governmental and non- governmental organisations to raise mental health awareness within local support groups, online and via face- to-face interaction. Organisations should have measures in place to inform employees what happens in an event of unemployment, at the same time employees should always ensure they have a contingency plan of other employment opportunities. Financial implications are a large contributing factor to negative mental health symptoms, therefore it is recommended individuals save or invest their finances to ensure that they remain financially stable. In addition, it is recommended that individuals invest in skill development to acquire more knowledge for prospective employment opportunities.

References

Bond, K. (2021, 03 02). How can we stop basing our self-worth entirely on our careers? Retrieved from Metro: https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/02/ how-can-we-stop-basing-our-self-worth-entirely-on-our-careers-14170368/#:~: t e xt=With%20 h a r d % 2 0 g r a f t % 2 0 s o % 2 0 intrinsically,ten%20when%20 looking%20at%20graduates.

Cameron, A. (2020, 07 08). Coronavirus and homeworking in the UK: April 2020. Retrieved from Office For National Statistics: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/coronavirusandhome-workingintheuk/april2020

Chen, S. P., Chang, W. P., & Stuart, Self-reflection and screening mental health on Canadian campuses: validation of the mental health continuum model. BMC Psychol .

Cohut, M. (2020, 09 08). Financial hardship is a top risk factor for suicide attempts. Retrieved from medical news today: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/financial-hardship-is-a-top-risk- factor-for-suicide-attempts

Cuellar, A., Mark, L, T., Sharfstein, S., & Huskamp, H. A. (2020). How to Mitigate the Mental Health Care Consequences of the COVID-19 Financial Crisis. Psychiatr. Serv, 1317–1319.

Elbogen, E. B., Lanier, M., Montgomery, A. E., Strickland, S., Wagner, H. R., & Tsai, J. (2020). Financial Strain and Suicide Attempts in a Nationally Representative Sample of US Adults. American Journal of Epidemiology, 1266-1274.

Iksenbaum, L., Marjanovic, Z., Greenglass, E., & Garcia-Santos, F. (2017). Impact of Economic Hardship and Financial Threat on Suicide Ideation and Confusion. J. Psychol. Interdiscip. Appl, 477–495.

Marjanovic, Z., Greenglass, E., Fiksenbaum, L., & Bell, C. M. (2013). Psychometric evaluation of the Financial Threat Scale (FTS) in the context of the great recession. J. Econ. Psychol, 1-10.

Rodrigues, G. (2022, 10 11). Unemployment. Retrieved from centreforcities: https://www.centreforcities.org/unemployment/Somani, P. (2020). Our World Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. LangLit, 29-35.

Somani, P. (2022). Managing Mental Health at Work during Periods of Uncertainty. . Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Studies, 1046-1052.

Somani, P., & Saraswathy, R. V. (2021). Sort Stress & Stop Suicide’. Bengaluru: St. Mother Theresa University.

Wilson, M. J., Lee, J., Fitzgerald, H. N., Oosterhoff, B., Sevi, B., & Shook, N (2020). Job Insecurity and Financial Concern during the COVID-19 Pandemic Are Associated with Worse Mental Health. J. Occup. Environ. Med, 686–691.