kolkata people need to step out of the isolation in homes a comfort zone that many have discovered during the pandemic and return to normal life and socialising to prevent onset or worsening of cognitive and other health issues alzheimers experts warned on the eve of world alzheimers daynilanjana maulik the secretary of the kolkata chapter of alzheimers and related disorders society of india ardsi that provides support and care to persons with dementia said the lack of social engagement in the past twoandahalf years had negatively impacted the mental and physical health of peoplesocial interaction acts as a stimulus to keep the brain cells active stepping out also helps but we have got so attuned to the new habit of staying home that there is huge reluctance to return to the normal and leading a social life this is causing harm to everyone the condition of those suffering from cognitive issues and others who had mild signs of cognitive disorders have deteriorated because they havent stepped out of home and interacted with people even caregivers who need to step out every now and again for their mental well being have not done so she pointed outneurologist amitabha ghosh said the absence of social interaction that leads to a sense of loneliness has not helped the cause social interaction is a huge stress buster meeting friends brings joy the absence of it can lead to a sense of loneliness and stress buildup staying at home may have been advised in an emergency situation but it is not good for mental or physical health he said doctors including general physicians need to encourage their patients to resume normal activity at the earliest he addedgps that toi spoke to said the aversion to step out has led to health issues getting neglected with problems since people are not leaving their homes they are not realising some of the problems they would otherwise face and take remedial health measures the doctors pointed out adding that what may appear to be a minor problem now could contribute to high risk factorspeople need to realise the quality of life and how we live is more important than how long we live each family has its own challenges it is important to strike the right balance between caution and pragmatism and return to prepandemic life said maulikjyoti sethi whose husband was diagnosed with alzheimers during the pandemic was reluctant to leave her house but is glad now that she heeded her childrens advice and did soi learnt to manage an alzheimers patient during the pandemic but i becamehomebound after retiring from the airline industry i started an independent travel business i enjoyed meeting people and working my husband and i had an active social life and would eat out twice a week but since he was diagnosed with alzheimers on july 10 2020 i became too caught up at home that is till my children said i needed to continue with my life it