SELF-CARE IS NOT SELFISH by Sikuma Rai

Roji Maharjan, 25, did not have a fixed daily routine before the COVID-19 lockdown was first imposed. Maharjan is a psycho-social counsellor and researcher. As lockdown continued she worked from home but soon realized she needed to reorganize her life. “I needed a separation from professional time and personal time,” says Maharjan.

Maharjan began doing mental wellbeing exercises on herself to cope up with the lockdown period and found that it helped her. She now begins her day with mindful meditation, journaling her emotion, and helping her younger with online classes. Rest of the day, she provides free group and individual online counselling sessions, which Roji and her team started during the first lockdown. In these sessions, she assists people experiencing mental health challenges related to the current pandemic situation. mental difficulties in dealing with the current situation.

She believes that you can help others only when you have taken care of yourself, and the pandemic has helped reinforce that belief.

Multimedia and Text: Sikuma Rai: @sikuma_rhiannon

Edit: Mallika Aryal @mikaness

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