Years pass by, but we keep on registering our times in some form or the other. A glimpse of what people are thinking in 2022 can be seen in this year's word chosen by the Oxford University Press - goblin mode. Before the year is over let's examine this word. Maybe even find a way to live in the new year!
Last month, a doctor couple came to get their 17-year-old daughter's counseling done very worried. The parents told that the daughter has been very smart, studies in ninth grade, speaks a little less but is otherwise cheerful and sociable. Here for a few weeks she neither goes to school, nor studies, nor takes bath. Just spends the whole day lying on the sofa.
‘Doctor, we are very worried, seems like there are symptoms of depression.’ When I wanted to talk to the daughter by making the parents sit outside, she took a deep breath and spoke to me in English – ‘They are overreacting. I am just in Goblin Mode' Although I am quite active on social media, this term was completely new to me. He explained to me with great interest- 'Aunty, people have given so much importance to work, creativity, beauty, performance in their lives that we are getting angry with them.
'Many of our generation have made the choice that we do not need to live up to the same lofty ideals as other people. We can live as we want, wake up whenever we want, sleep whenever we want, do or not do anything, we have no goals, no restrictions, we want to live a smooth life without any tension. People call us lazy, disorganized, dirty, smelly, aimless, slacker, disorganized, all these things. But why don't they understand that this is our lifestyle.
I was shocked to hear all this from him. Now I understood the meaning of 'goblin'.
Change took the form of rebellion
This way of living, in a way, can be considered a product of the pandemic. One was then free to not care about appearance or living in a socially acceptable way. There was a 'stay at home' attitude. Later on, the opposite way became popular on social media, leading a well organized life, presenting oneself neatly and elegantly. People's complaints had started forming due to the social and economic conditions. The pandemic didn't take time to spoil but it did take time to recover, just during this 'goblin' rebellious attitude started raising its head. The more there was mention of an organized lifestyle on social media, the more the blogs of 'Goblin' would have gathered praise. The result can be seen in the fact that the word was chosen as the 'Oxford Word of the Year'. It got 93 percent votes.
What does the human incarnation of 'Goblin' look like?
'Losing the whole day on the couch or bed, watching a web series on mute, constantly fingering social media, eating whatever is served on the plate straight away, walking around in pajamas and without looking in the mirror, Randomly bringing packaged goods from the store near the house and then watching TV or mobile lying in the house.’ This is just an appearance. You can get to see more forms of it.
Depression
Are we now happily going to drown considering this 'goblin' as an ideal? I discussed with many people. His reply was, 'No ma'am, this lifestyle is all about the relaxed.' Still, 'Goblin Mode' didn't appeal to me. Karmanyevadhikaraste… Karma is life, we grew up amidst this echo of Gita, even when we went abroad to study psychology, we found that one of the biggest signs of a healthy human mind is its enthusiasm for work. One of the main symptoms to recognize depression is withdrawal from work. In such a situation, we can understand how dangerous it can be to create a trend of 'Goblin Mode'. The person who is suffering from depression and he or his friends, family members understand that it is only in goblin mode, then he will not get the right treatment.
Who doesn't want to relax
There is an 'inner goblin' in all of us who just wants to have fun. He constantly provokes us to disobey any rules, regulations and restrictions. Goblin mode may have originated as a reaction to the stress of excessive social media exposure, but we cannot give the remote of our lives to the 'goblin' within us.
If there is action then there is health
Apart from Shri Krishna, many psychologists of this era tirelessly contemplated and researched on the primacy of Karma. Whether it's Viktor Frankl or Martin Seligman, all associate purpose, purpose in life, with mental health and happiness. Life is difficult but in the midst of these difficulties life can be made worth living. Psychologists say that life is meaningful only in doing work continuously with your discretion, by keeping harmony of mind and intellect.
It is certain that living a stressful life and expecting too much from yourself under extreme pressure from society or social media is equally harmful. But its solution is also not that we should stop living life by succumbing to the trend like 'Goblin Mode' and give it the name of lifestyle.
Identifying yourself, setting goals for your life according to your talent and interest and working committed to achieve them is not a bondage but the essence of life. While doing this, your mind should not be neglected, physical, social, economic, mental and spiritual health should also gradually improve, such a 'holistic mode' of lifestyle should become a trend forever.
