For today’s Mental Health session, we have Ms. Shivani Sharma who is going to talk about the various sources of stress and anxiety and how to overcome them.

Ms. Shivani is a Certified Practitioner, CBT, and DBT Practitioner, Life and NLP Coach. Her hobbies include tarot card readings. She has been a spokesperson in various health-related events.

Earlier she used to work in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, but now she has her own website called Rear View Wellness wherein she counsels people, conduct various workshops, and also train students.

During the pandemic, she has been a great help for counseling patients on coronavirus and its effects.

Let’s have a look at various aspects of life that we can change or modify from negative to positive.

COVID Crisis -

There are 3 key factors that help to determine the level of stress in the uncertain situation ahead of us -

First, predictability, we have to analyze how predictable the current situation is in front of us, second, controlling, after you have predicted the certain situation, comes the part of taking control over it, and lastly, we should check how important the situation is for us.

A perfect example of this is the COVID. Why?

Well, first, no one knows when or how the COVID situation is going to completely wither off from our lives, secondly, there is no permanent control over it, even the vaccines are not 100% effective, and lastly, it is important for all of us to take the necessary precautions in order to be safe and healthy.

Coping techniques -

What are some of the ways one can cope up with stress and anxiety?

Taking it Slow — One of the things that can help to cope up with stress is to take up anything you wish to watch, listen to, write, as a means of distraction.

Nothing will give you an instant effect, so be patient and take your time with it.

Understand the cause of your negative emotions, once you find out the source, you can automatically stop it from ruining your mind.

Even meditating helps a lot to overcome stress and anxiety, listening to music or dancing, do anything which makes you happy.

Negative thoughts — One can indulge in negative thoughts at any point in time. Here are some ways that can help you overcome them.

The first thing you should do is to check how realistic your negative thoughts are, sometimes we get negative thoughts that are not at all realistic but a projection of your mind.

One of the ways you can trigger your negative thoughts is by putting blame on yourself, instead of doing that, console yourself and others around you with positive words and vibrations.

You can also focus on different things, like exploring different fields of interest, for which you thought you didn’t have time earlier and now you do, this will distract your mind from the negative thoughts.

Career — Since everyone is home nowadays for more than one year, the career growth of both school-going children and college-going has been adversely affected.

However, there are ways you can help them to not be frustrated at home. For, school-going children, you can set up their routines, for studies and various activities, but try to be lenient about it.

You can also practice some activities with them at home, like, sharing food, maintaining discipline, and for fun, making cards for their friends, or grandparents.

For college-going students, try to be patient with the guidelines maintained by the government as much as you can.

It is also important to be safe and healthy, all the schools and colleges nowadays are planning to create as many online classes as possible so that you don’t miss out on anything, even the exams are happening online.

Being practical, be patient with whatever guidelines your college directors have laid on, for it is important that you don’t go out until the situation has been completely waived off.

Support — When it comes to emotional support for your loved ones, how is it that you can be there for them even during quarantined?

Through virtual reality!

As we know how advanced technology has been these days, so apart from texting your friends or family members in quarantine, you can play games with them online, video calls them, watch a movie together and chat about it on the side, provide food at their house, anything which you can do virtually and you feel might uplift their mood is best.

However, one should never forget about themselves too, so it is important that you monitor your physical and mental health as well.

It is important that you take care of your mental health and those around you as well.

These pandemic times have been quite hard on all of us, and nearly everyone has developed severe depression issues.

It is quite essential that we try to be as calm as we can, once you are calm down, you can try and create a positive vibe or atmosphere for those around you.

Since we can’t be of any physical help these days, we can try and console our friends and family virtually.

One of the best things one can do without taking a lot of stress or pressure on yourself is reading, that is why these two books are highly recommended for you to read, in order to relieve your stress — The Silent Patient and the Subconscious Mind.

Join our exclusive community for senior living and connect with our loving community members — www.facebook.com/groups/lifeafteryour60

Mental Wellbeing after 60 — Life After 60 was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

One of the most common health issues among every age group is that of gastritis, which can be caused due to excess consumption of alcohol, regular usage of pain killers, stress, and other diseases.

Joining us today is Dr. Shikha Gupta, who will enlighten us about gastritis, and how we can cure it with the help of naturopathy.

Dr. Shikha is a Yoga and Naturopathy Specialist working with her own founded clinic called HIW Holistic Clinic — Health is Wealth. She has 19 years of experience in this particular field and is based in Lucknow.

Gastritis -

It is one of the most common diseases one can have, it is an acute disease which if not treated properly can become chronic.

However, since it is such a common thing to occur, you can easily treat yourself without any medications.

One can get gastritis by eating unhealthy food, taking a lot of stress, having an irregular diet and lifestyle. Having a well-balanced diet, a good lifestyle, and becoming calm are few remedies that can stop the occurrence.

It’s just like Dr. Shikha Gupta says “If good immune system is a drug of COVID 19, then Naturopathy is paramount”.

Constipation-

Are constipation and gastritis related?

Constipation occurs when the previous food gets stuck in your rectum and we take digestive medicines like Esafgol or Trifla because we feel that our stomach is getting indigested.

Naturopathy works on the root cause of the problem, firstly it is checked how constipated a person is, whether they are applying pressure or is it natural, the second step is to ensure that there is no burping or indigestion to the patient.

Constipation if exists for a longer period of time, is converted into gastritis, gastritis, if stays for long, is converted into acidity, acidity converts into colitis if the medicines are not working properly, and if colitis is not resolved then it converts into ulcerative colitis, these all are causes of stomach cancer too.

Diet -

If you are having acidity, try to make sure that you are not having constipation, work on your constipation first and not acidity.

The diet that you should not intake while having acidity is oily, deep-fried, spicy, and hot. You should even stop taking milk tea, cold drinks, and bakery products.

What you should rather take is fruits like coconut, you can drink coconut water, or soak the coconut overnight and make coconut milk in the morning, or just eat the pieces of coconut as it is too.

Other than coconut, dates, pomegranate, ripe banana, and little cold milk are highly effective too, all the cold food will help your body relax.

Lifestyle -

Your lifestyle affects the inside of your body, which many people may not know.

Apart from taking a proper diet, sleeping patterns should also be improved to avoid the case of constipation.

Nowadays, all young adults sleep quite late at night, and by not getting proper 8 hours of sleep, your body starts affecting in various ways, since it requires sleep too.

Just like there is a time frame for breathing exercises that are beneficial for your lungs, there is also a time frame for your large intestine, disturbing the time frame will irritate your body and cause constipation.

That is why it is important to follow the correct lifestyle and avoid such things from occurring.

Naturopathy -

In naturopathy, if a person is constipated, a raw fiber diet like salads or fruits is suggested to eat throughout the day.

But, when a person has gastritis, raw food should not be taken, and instead, hot and cold fermentation is useful wherein you use cold towels or hot packs as guided by the doctor.

Apart from this, enema for seven days and kunjal are also given to the patients which completely clears out the intestine and helps in the process.

When your intestine gets cleaned, vegetable soup, fruits, and raisins are suggested to eat throughout the day, in intervals.

However, if you start eating spicy food or drink tea, after seven days and do not follow proper dietary management, you will again feel constipated, you have to change your diet completely in order to avoid having constipation, or gastritis.

Conclusion -

One can go for either naturopathy management or medicinal management.

We all know that if we intake medicines they provide relief but after a few days, the problem again arises, which is why it is recommended to go for naturopathy as it combines natural techniques like hot and cold fermentation, mudpacks, for relief from constipation or gastritis.

Naturopathy really works well, and is the best solution for concerns inside your body, because we all know nothing is better than natural beauty. Natural, ayurvedic, medicines, yoga, meditation, is what keeps a mind, and body, healthy, and calm.

Join our exclusive community for senior living and become part of our healthy living group— www.facebook.com/groups/lifeafteryour60

Gastritis in seniors — Life After 60 was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Managing your finances especially during old age can be really tough for some people, that is why we at Helpee bring you the best advice on Finance for Seniors that might be for your benefit.

We have CA Mr. Ajai Kumar Mishra who will be telling us about managing money and how we can invest our recurring incomes.

Mr. Ajai has experience of 23 years in the field of Finance, and Accounts, he is currently practicing in Varanasi in the fields of Practitioner, Editing, and Consultancy.

Let us look at some tips with which we can help manage our income and make investments for a bigger run too.

Medical Health Insurance Plans for Seniors -

Many people worry about the healthcare plans for the elderly, whether or not they are available for them.

However, there are various healthcare plans made specifically for older people, but they are somewhat expensive, due to the higher risk of disease.

The best way one can go through investing in the healthcare plans for the elderly is to choose a plan before the person completes 61 years of age.

The benefit you get from choosing this plan is that after 61 years of age, insurance companies provide you with a co-payment option, (which can be disabled if you don’t want it), the option states that whatever amount is due, 20% of it will be borne by the insurance company, but apart from this option the plan comes with 100% claim by the company.

If you buy an insurance plan of ₹5Lakhs then you get an option of capping or non-capping for individuals, if you take the capping option, then you can get the claim of a specified amount, but, it is better to go for the non-capping option as with that you can get the insured amount you want to.

With capping, there is less flexibility both for individuals or with their spouse, and non-capping has more flexibility in both.

Growing money for Pensioners -

For the growth of the money, aka savings, there are plenty of options for investment all depending upon the amount of risk the owner can take.

For options, one might go through fixed deposits (but the return one will get is quite low), NSC (the interest rate of this was fairly good earlier but has reduced now) however, there is quite an interesting plan you can opt for with NSC, of deposing an additional income for a period of 10.5 years, and after that period you will get doubled the income.

The last option is the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, affiliated with the Government of India, wherein the interest rate is higher than the previous two, but it comes with a limitation of putting ₹15lakhs only.

Investing in Crypto Currency or Stock -

One of the digital benefits most people get nowadays is by investing in cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, or the stock market, but is this feasible for the elderly too?

Yes, senior citizens can invest in the stock, but again it comes with some risks.

Investments taken under the guidance of an expert are a feasible choice, however, trading is not at all recommended for senior citizens.

Cryptocurrency is also not advisable for the elderly as it is complicated, and a lot of money can be lost.

Tackling Frauds or Criminals -

Everyone nowadays is getting targeted by scam companies where we end up losing all of the money.

The major age group that gets targeted are senior citizens, and with them losing up all the money, it becomes a worrisome topic.

The best ways to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you, especially the elderly, is to always secure your ID and password, do not give it to anyone else, do not give your OTPs without having the proper knowledge as to where it is required, it is recommended to use a safe domain for all your transactions.

You should follow all these steps as these are the ones hackers gain benefits too.

Before making any investments, read the whole document carefully twice or thrice, or before purchasing anything, always go through the term policies, this is the best way to get rid of it.

To conclude, there are several medical health insurances made especially for the seniors where one can invest for a better future and gain benefits.

Earlier insurance companies were providing the insurance plans for just 1 year, but nowadays every company has extended their plans for 2, 3, or maybe 4 years ahead.

One thing to keep in mind is that investments should be made for long-term usage, don’t go for daily or recurring income, as it is not recommended and the higher interest rate would only be possible in long-term investments.

One should plan their retirement well in advance, in order to obtain higher income with benefits.

Join our exclusive community for senior living — www.facebook.com/groups/lifeafteryour60

Financial tips for seniors — Life After 60 was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

One fine morning, my grandmother gave me a call while I was at work. She wanted to know her bank details and card number. As the custodian of her banking tasks, I couldn’t give it outright without investigating what she needed this information for. As I was in a meeting, I promised to get her banking sorted a bit later in the day.

A few minutes later, she gave me a call again saying that it was urgent and could not wait. So, I had to excuse myself from the meeting and sort this out for my grandmother.

I asked her the details regarding the pending bank transaction. She replied that the bank had called her to update their bank details for a special grant for seniors. And I said that was a great idea and asked her what the name of the bank clerk and the phone number so I could speak to them.

She replied that the call came from a private number and she would get a call at 3 PM again in the afternoon which sounded a bit off. So, I decided to go ahead and drive to her place and assist her in person.

At around 3:10, we got a call from a private number from a young lady who had a pushy sales driven tone. So, I took over the conversation from my grandmother and put the phone on loudspeaker.

The lady at the other end asked to read out the card number with the expiry date. This was the last straw and I had to raise my voice and take over the conversation. She quickly hung up the phone and I was in utter shock that If I hadn’t taken up the responsibility of my grandmother’s banking details, she would have been scammed outright.

When we began Helpee, one of our main concerns was to protect seniors and educate them on the emerging and evolving number of scams out there.

We decided to tie up with our own network of Helpee Hands who had the knack for technology and training. We created a couple of training programs and hands-on training manuals to get seniors more aware and empowered. These compilations of training modules are available at Helpee Digital.

To get an idea of the issue, let’s go through some of the most common scams and see how seniors are prone to these -

1. Banking Related Scams

This is the most common scam reported in India with seniors being targeted at a very high rate. Scams such as this are extremely dangerous as it robs seniors of their hard earned cash.

Helpee founder Suman Choudhary can attest to this as he faced such a scam not too long ago. He was lucky enough to intervene at the right time when his in-laws were right in the middle of an infamous banking scam.

The scam had people operating as bank officials to offer seniors a much better rate on their savings, and in the process stealing card information along with the OTP number for transactions.

One of our core services at Helpee is Helpee Digital which is a program that trains seniors with all the essentials of avoiding scams and securing their banking details with extra protection. The program also focuses on how to approach any such instances to recognise genuine officials from scammers.

Even though there are plenty of videos and articles regarding how to avoid scams, we understood that seniors require hands-on training and one-on-one sessions to get a clear understanding of the latest technology. Hence, we highly recommend a Helpee Digital session for you or your loved ones.

2. Technology & Internet Scams

Internet scams that target seniors are a well organised and are a choreographed set of communications that force seniors to abide and pay such scammers.

This type of scam is quite effective with seniors as most of them are not aware of the technology and the internet. Scammers often target seniors with a trojan pop up, email or a direct phone call alarming them off a potential virus infection.

What amazes us about such scams is the constant updates and well written scripts that target the vulnerabilities of seniors.

Such scams flourish on the fact that seniors are more willing to listen and trust people if they have an authoritative tone of voice.

Helpee team member Bharat Pandey recognises the sophistication of such scams and has partnered up with tech enthusiasts to narrow down on terminologies related to such scams. He has compiled this list of baits into a training module which our Helpee Hands train seniors either in person or over a couple of phone calls.

3. Investments -

Investments are not scams per say but they are often schemed at uninformed or financially illiterate seniors. To be honest, we often fall for investment schemes as much as seniors do, but what separates us is that seniors have a substantial amount of bank savings.

A couple of years ago, my father introduced me to an investment consultant that he befriended. He was a well spoken and financially savvy person who had sold my father on his high yielding investment portfolio. I was interested as the returns were very high but due to lack of funds, I had to decline the offer.

Months later, my dad informed me that he lost a substantial amount with the and warned me to stay away from the consultant. Alarmed at the amount lost, I asked my dad why he didn’t stop when he saw a recurring pattern of losses accumulated. He replied that the consultant kept pressuring him to wait until positive returns.

My father is an educated man but he still fell for such a scheme which leads us to identify such investments that target seniors who have funds saved up.

A new and emerging trending scheme is crypto currency and the wild returns it promises. Our team decided to speak to the digital experts and financial advisors to plan out a program for seniors that quickly identifies such digital investment schemes.

If you would like to understand more about digital currencies and banking, book a session on Helpee Digital to get personal sessions from professional Helpee Hands who can educate you on the wild west that is digital investments.

4. Sweetheart Scams

Not as common in the west, sweetheart scams are slowly rising in India with seniors flocking to social media and the internet. Sweetheart scams are effective on seniors as it gives them a rush of adventure and connection with a person they meet online.

Single seniors are at most risk with scammers taking advantage of their vulnerabilities. Most cases of such sweetheart scams on social media end up in blackmailing huge sums of money.

Seniors can also reject pleas from family members and go ahead with the scam as they become addicted to the communication highs.

To tackle such scammers, family members must keep a close eye on vulnerable seniors.

Our Helpee Social was launched to address this issue of lonely seniors seeking engagement. Our close knit and growing community of like minded seniors help to bring purpose and a better quality of life.

Joining Helpee Social is quite simple. Sign up on Helpee and start meeting new people, join events, participate in celebrations, host activities and more.

5. Free Vacation

Have you ever received a free vacation offer either at the entrance of the supermarket or via an email? You’ve probably ignored it as it sounds too good to be true.

Seniors are more prone to such scams as they are excited at the opportunity of travel. Such marketing campaigns are designed in such a way that it becomes impossible to get out once you sign up.

We’ve had senior members in our families sign up for such an event . They receive a well written email brochure of the vacation along with a confirmation call. Seniors are thrilled at the images and conversation with the company rep that they agree to meet them at a said meetup point to claim their free vacation tickets.

What awaits them is a highly orchestrated sales pitch to sign up for a monthly subscription with a travel agency to claim the free offer. The sales pitch is designed in such a way that the subscription prices are broken into days rather than months to make the contribution amount look small.

We are currently seeing an evolving trend in these spams targeted at seniors and we highly urge anyone that are looking for prizes to rethink and consult with loved ones.

All of these scams, spams and schemes can be explained well with hands-on training in the latest technology by our trusted Helpee Hand. Feel free to book a session on Helpee Digital for just R.S. 450 per hour.

P.S. Don’t forget to join our social community at Helpee Social by simply signing up here.

5 scams & spams targeted at seniors was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

What we learned during the Covid-19 pandemic is that digital communication will be the norm with Governments and businesses relying on digital social platforms to broadcast important messages.

Gone are the days when vehicles with loudspeakers roamed the streets to announce messages during a crisis. Even newspaper readership is on the decline and so are businesses using letters to inform critical information to their customers.

What I noticed when I came back home for vacations is that the elders in my family particularly my 72 year old uncle and 80 year old grandma waiting for weeks on end to get help with bank payments, mobile recharges done and getting cash from the ATM.

This was disheartening as they knew such systems existed but the lack of technical know how and fear of making errors stopped them from trying these digital modes of communication and payments. So, I decided to spend some time with them and see if I could show them the basics.

I was in awe at how quick they were able to pick up the process. It only took me a couple of minutes to get them started on these digital payment platforms and also give them a couple of tries to get their confidence levels up. All it took was just a little bit of time and patience from me to get them self reliant.

Digital communication will continue to evolve and seniors are particularly left out due to technological illiteracy. Our team at Helpee wants to replicate this on a larger scale. It only takes a couple of minutes of your time but learning such digital technologies will help them gain more freedom and be able to live a more comfortable life.

Our team sat down and compiled a few essential digital communication platforms that will make your lives easier. If you require further assistance on a one on one training, feel free to post a request on Helpee to get a dedicated Helpee Hand to train you or your loved ones.

If you are senior citizen or know someone who will benefit from these digital essentials, please share this with them or alternatively book a Helpee Hand from your local community to assist them in person.

Here are some of the digital essentials that will help you out —

WhatsApp -

Among the hundreds of messaging applications, WhatsApp still dominates with its easy to use interface and ability to make phone calls much like your native phone dialer.

Step1: Let’s set up your WhatsApp by downloading the mobile application from the Google Plays tore or the Apple Appstore.

Step 2: Once you have installed WhatsApp, open the app to enter your phone number in the space allocated.

WhatsApp will send you an OTP which will automatically confirm your phone number.

Step 3: Enter your username and upload a photo on WhatsApp to personalise your account.

Now you are all set to send messages and phone calls to your contacts for free over the internet.

Sending a message on WhatsApp is quite easy. Click on the message or chat icon on the bottom right corner to select a contact. Start typing a message with the keyboard and click send.

If you still find it difficult to set up your WhatsApp account or want to learn more advanced features, book a Helpee Hand today at www.helpee.in

UPI Payments -

Unified Payment Interface allows us to make money transfers to others via our mobile phone. This is particularly useful to elders as they don’t have to travel to a bank to fill out transfer forms.

Among the different UPI payment gateways, we prefer BHIM but you are free to choose Google Pay, Paytm or PhonePe.

Let’s look at how you can set up a BHIM account to get your digital transactions taken care of.

In order to start UPI transactions with any payment app, you first need to register your mobile number with your bank account.

If you have registered your mobile number, let’s download the BHIM app from the Google Playstore and get started.

Once you open the app, select the language that comfortable for you as we will be dealing with some text input fields.

If you have double sim cards in your phone, select the sim phone that is registered with the bank account in the next step.

Set up a 4 digit password to secure your BHIM account.

Select your bank from the list of banks provided

Once you’ve selected your bank account, set your UPI pin by providing the last six digits and expiry date of your debit card.

If you have multiple bank accounts, you can follow the same procedure and link these accounts to your BHIM app.

Now that you’ve created your BHIM account, let’s make that first transaction.

There are 3 ways you can transfer money via UPI -

1. Entering the VPA (Virtual Payment Address) of the receiver

2. Bank account and IFSC of the receiver

3. Scan the QR code of the receiver

Pay bills or recharge your mobile phone -

Since we have set up a BHIM app, let’s look at another UPI app — PhonePe to recharge your phone and pay other bills. If you feel intimidated or confused with the process, Helpee is always here to help you take you the process in person. Post a request on Helpee or give us a call anytime to book the closest available Helpee Hand.

To begin, download the PhonePe app from the Google Playstore or Apple Appstore.

Once you open the app, verify your mobile number with an OTP that will be sent to you once you register.

Enter your name, email and set up your 4 digit pin to secure your PhonePe account.

After creating your PhonePe account, click on create a new VPA (Virtual Payment Address) and select your bank.

Fill your bank account details and confirm the details to get started.

Let’s recharge your mobile phone with PhonePe. Go to the Recharge and Pay section to select Mobile Recharge.

Enter your phone number in the text column.

You can now enter the amount to recharge or select from the list of plans available.

Click on BHIM UPI and enter your BHIM secure pin to complete the transaction.

We hope these quick and easy to follow steps can help you in getting your digital communication and payments sorted. Our team will have interactive videos coming up on our website and social platforms. So make sure you give us a follow on our Helpee Facebook page.

Digital essentials for seniors was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Our diet today has become increasingly inflammatory. We are consuming calorie-rich foods that are loaded with artery-clogging trans fats combined with starchy carbs that leads us to develop chronic conditions in life.

Elders are particularly at risk with these food types as their age defines their metabolism, immunity and general well being.

The key to ‘longevity’ is very basic — your diet needs to consist primarily of natural unprocessed foods, drink an adequate amount of water and remember to breathe properly.

We at Helpee have decided to combine a list of superfood drinks that have been proven to boost your health to live a stronger and healthier life.

High Protein Anti-Oxidant Smoothie -

Protein is critical for elder’s ageing body as it processes protein less efficiently and require more of it to sustain muscle mass, proper functioning of organs, bone density etc.

A quick easy to digest protein smoothie is an excellent starter to your day. It’s easy on your stomach and gives you a refreshing feel in the morning.

Ingredients-

1. A banana or cup of berries of your choice

2. An orange peeled

3. A cup of greens (Spinach, kale, chard or bok choy)

4. Two teaspoons of hemp powder

5. Add water as necessary

Directions-

1. Place everything in a blender

2. Blend on low setting until everything turns smooth

3. Serve as it is or with ice for that additional refreshing taste

Want a Helpee Hand to prepare your morning health routine. Post a request now and get connected with Helpee.

Natural Lemon Detox-

Our bodies have the ability to naturally detox every few weeks. As we age, the natural detox takes time and may not be as effective as when we were younger.

Our Helpee team loves to drink a special lemonade blend every now and then to get that energy boost and help eliminate toxins from the body.

Ingredients-

1. A lemon, lime or preferred local citrus fruit

2. A pinch of turmeric powder

3. 1/8th of ginger finely grated

4. Honey to taste (optional)

5. Stevia or alternative sugar-free sweeteners if required

Directions-

Mix everything in a blender. Add ice if required for a refreshing taste. Best time to drink this concussion is in the morning on empty stomach or in between meals to aid digestion.

Fruits and Nuts Shake-

Walnuts and almonds are anti-inflammatory and contain essential fatty acids as well as rich in fiber. Seeds such chia and flaxseeds contain a massive amount of nutrients required to help with your skin, hair and nails. Let’s blend a super shake to replace one of your meals with a dose of goodness.

Ingredients-

1. Banana or berries of your choice

2. 2 Tablespoons of chia or flaxseed

3. 1/8 cup almonds or walnuts chopped or powdered

4. Add almond or rice milk to appropriate levels

Directions-

1. Blend in medium or high till everything is smooth

2. Add ice if required

3. Additionally leave the shake for ten minutes if you want to have it as a pudding.

Holy Tea-

For centuries herbs and spices have been used as medicines. It’s only recently that deeper studies have confirmed the medicinal properties of chemical compounds that prevent oxidative damage to our cells.

Holy basil or Tulsi is one of the most used ingredients in Ayurvedic medicine. The chemical compounds present in the plant tends to reduce uric acid levels which in turn reduces pain from inflammatory conditions.

Ingredients-

1. Holy basil leaves

2. Green tea leaves

3. Honey or Stevia to taste

Directions -

Brew your holy team with the leaves submerged in hot water and let it steep for five minutes. Add honey or sugar-free sweeteners to taste.

We hope these quick and easy power drink recipes help you or your elderly loved ones become healthier, stronger and happier.

Helpee is on a mission to help India one elder at a time. Join us on our journey to create the best platform to help our elders. You can help us by becoming a Helpee Hand, share valuable information on our Facebook page or connect your elderly loved ones with the Helpee platform.

Please send us photos and messages about the recipes to be featured on our social networks.

4 easy to make drinks to look and feel younger was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This year has been quite traumatic for a lot of us with the pandemic crippling daily life to a standstill. The government imposed lockdowns has left billions into a perpetual standstill. Inspecting the Global Economic Prospect , I was appalled to see the forecasts of a 5.2 contraction in Global GDP. This eventually will trickle down to industries, demand, supply and eventually employment.

When we talked to some of our new Helpee Partner sign-ups, we were disheartened to see the number of people facing redundancy, shorter working hours and self-employed people being not able to find work. We have discussed this topic in detail in our Helpee fortnight blog.

What particularly alarming is the decline in consensus growth projections since 1990 as illustrated by the graph below -

However, among budget cuts, layoffs and downsizing, businesses have surprisingly increased their marketing budgets. A part of this increase in budget has to do with the need to retain customers to survive the harsh market conditions, but it also has to do more with building and increasing brand value.

A CMO survey conducted between January and July indicates that marketing budgets have risen to the highest levels in the survey history. A huge chunk of this is attributed to spending on digital-only platforms as people have been restricted to their homes.

At Helpee, we believe that the best marketers will be upping their marketing budget than cutting it down to find opportunity in these adverse times. It might be quite paradoxical to think of increasing budget during such uncertain times, but historically looking at recessionary periods as an opportunity to increase brand value when you have long term goals in mind.

So, now that you have gained some understanding and hopefully some confidence to kick start your marketing campaigns, let’s look at some of the ways that you can use Helpee to run some of your marketing activities.

One of the first marketing activity we realised was the opportunity to get brand reach through placing flyers and posters in high traffic areas prone to queue (Especially the pandemic induced queues). We had an impactive flyer ready through our in-house design. However, you can post a request on the Helpee app to get someone to design a flyer for you. You would be surprised by some of the talents in your local neighbourhood.

Once you have a flyer or poster ready to go, place a request on the app to get someone to distribute or stick them in high traffic areas. Make sure you post the request with a measurement task request such as taking photo proof of the areas where the flyer is placed.

Secondly, you can further your reach of brand campaigns through strategic shares of digital marketing materials. There are numerous ways you can utilise these activities through the Helpee app. One way we found effectiveness is through placing a request for sharing digital posts through WhatsApp statuses and sharing social media posts. You can request for photo proof through asking for screenshots of their statuses or shares.

There are numerous other ways you can utilise the Helpee app for your marketing activities from hiring Helpee Hands as temporary marketing people to executing guerrilla marketing ideas.

There is a wealth of talent and local manpower in your community. Find and connect with them with the Helpee app. We would love to hear if you have any marketing ideas that you would like to execute through the Helpee app.

Help is never too far away with Helpee. Get help on demand when you need it in real-time. Be part of our journey to become India’s first ‘Help-On-Demand’ service by giving us a follow at our social networks -

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Twitter

Medium

Using The Helpee App for Your Marketing Activities was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The covid-19 pandemic has disrupted economies to crippling levels. Markets are currently operating on safe-mode. The real damage from the pandemic is yet to follow. Most of which will trickle down to industries, demand, supply and employment.

Company earnings are expected to decline due to reduced customer footfall, vendor defaults, operational obstructions, supply and service restrictions. Furthermore, unemployment is expected to rise globally to an all time high. The reduction in salary and working hours will add to the ‘working poverty’ among people already struggling.

Amidst the global slowdown, hyperlocal services seems to be on the rise and growing steadily. A study on the growth of hyperlocal services in India predicted that revenue growth for hyperlocal market will be at 41% in 2020 compared to previous years. According to Ken Research, the Indian hyperlocal market will exceed 2,306 crores in 2020.

The surge in use is attributed to the growing urban population centers in India and the increased use of smartphones. However, there is also a clear problem particularly in urban areas to find reliable people to get tasks done that require deeper engagement.

This prominent gap in the market along with the availability of local manpower has always been overlooked.

A major aspect of the Helpee platform is to provide users with real connectivity to verified Helpee partners through a one stop solution. It makes it easier for our users to find real time reliable help on demand. Along with the availability of full time customer support and safe online payments makes it convenient as well as the ease of use for people living in urban India.

We talked to our Helpee partners who’ve joined the platform recently. Almost all were in specialized positions that were redundant due to the pandemic. They used to work in cinemas, cab services, housekeeping, courier. Many of them now are willing to take up hyperlocal jobs and freelance work to overcome the crisis. Some of them would much prefer to continue this mode of gig work if it provided them the adequate earnings and freedom.

Experts predict a major shift in employment preference towards hyperlocal jobs. We see an increased supply of manpower and a clear gap in the market for hyperlocal services that requires deeper engagement. India used to be an informal market and with the advent of digital technology and policies, we can see the country shifting towards becoming an organized market place.

Helpee founder Suman Choudhary feels that to build trust for such services, the person should be from the local community. They should be present in that geographical area to accept the live tasks posted on the platform.

Being local allows a Helpee partner to become better at operational efficiencies and a possibility to cater to the same user multiple times while building trust among them.

When we look at the Indian economy and the dynamic marketplace, it is an excellent place to pilot and scale such services. The dynamic marketplace also allows for customization based on target demographics according to the geographical sector. Suman predicts such a model will not only work in the country but will become a standard in the years to come.

Hyperlocal services & the future of employment. was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We are currently entering the initial stages of a global recession that is eerily closer to the ‘Great Depression’. Investment bank, Morgan Stanley expects a deep depression in 2020 due to the global economic slowdown, worldwide pandemic lockdowns and low oil prices.

A deep recession means that it takes longer for economies to bounce back. As the economic impact trickles down to the masses, it becomes harder for people to meet their expenses.

While some may find the recession grim, others look at it as an opportunity to reset and seek avenues of growth.

I remember the 2009 recession quite clearly where a bulk of jobs that were lost in retail, automobile, travel and printing. My friends often had to look for jobs that were out of their level of expertise such as education, utilities, financial services and even in law enforcement.

Out of all these sectors, education seemed to be stable in any economic conditions. A lot of traditional jobs are being replaced due to digitization in the workplace. So, there is always demand to upskill in these changing markets.

Some employees have already begun recession proofing their careers by constantly learning. There are a lot of methods to upskill or learn new technologies whether by joining an online class, or using on-demand education services like upGrad, Udemy or task based platforms like Helpee.

Finding optimism during hard times

For a lot of optimistic individuals, recession presents itself as an immense opportunity to find their place in the marketplace. A factor to consider is the ‘Gig Economy’ that rose sharply during the last recession has empowered many to take up full or part time self-employment.

The Gig Economy has become the favoured mode for many due to the massive layoffs experienced in the 2009 recession. There has always been a pattern in the rise of gig work during times of economic slowdown. People began to supplement their work or at times even replace their full time employment to freelancing.

According to Edison Research, the top gig employment includes -

1. Driving for cab services like Uber and Ola.
2. Content writers, web designers and musicians.
3. Working for task based apps such as Helpee or UrbanClap.
4. Renting out spaces for co-work or Airbnb.
5. Tutors.

Industry experts have pointed out people who are multi-talented and adaptable to change are least affected during an economic crisis.

The gig economy is fulfilling a need in the marketplace and the wider society with changes in consumer behaviour, evolving market and also the pursuit of working independently.

Businesses born out of economic downturn

Some of the world’s largest companies were born out of the recession. Companies such as FedEx, Microsoft, Salesforce, Disney, IBM etc. were all conceived during or right after various recessions throughout the years.

Savvy entrepreneurs often disrupt industries to find new alternative methods for ‘price-sensitive customers’ by providing platforms such as Airbnb and Uber. These unicorn companies were established during the last recession and were possible due to the founders upskilling themselves on the latest technologies.

Almost any entrepreneur or business can survive an economic slowdown. The key is to understand the needs of the market and the customer. The market landscape is quickly changing with increased demand for digital goods and self-employment tools.

So, for people who are planning to start businesses during the recession,

1. Find a solution for the current market scenario,
2. Look for opportunities where the current market can’t provide,
3. Provide alternatives to hard choices that customers deal with,
4. Help your customers and communities by providing a platform or cost effective solutions.

Enhancing your skill set

Technology jobs are increasing in India despite the economic slowdown. According to the American Worldwide Employment Search Engine, India had a spike in technology jobs created from 5% to a whopping 31% in just 2019.

It is essential to create an ecosystem for skill development. We at Helpee believe that learning doesn’t have to be a long term commitment with extensive training and lessons. Some skills require 2–3 sessions to get you started on the pathway to self-learning. Let’s look at some of our users and how they have used Helpee to connect with freelance tutors from the community.

Anand (40) who owns a distributorship of a leading brand wanted to learn free-to-use analytics tools. He posted a request on the Helpee app and was instantly connected to a community member who had vast knowledge on the subject. The session was basic level with a combination of a couple of online and in-person classes. At the end of the exercise, Anand was skilled on a valuable asset which he uses everyday for his day to day business reporting.

In another instance, Ajay (28), a back end software developer for a mid size software company requested to teach him the Adobe Photoshop tool to upskill himself towards his goal of becoming a more holistic developer. He has been trying to learn the basics from YouTube videos but had difficulty in some of the steps involved. So, he decided to post a request on the Helpee app to see if there was anyone willing to demonstrate some of the complex steps involved.

The rise in non-tech gig’s

If you are not a techie, there are plenty of other avenues for you. The rising ‘Gig economy’ has created demand for multiple skills such as tutoring, babysitting, elderly-care, repairs, installations, event DJ’s and more. Registering yourself on task based apps such as Helpee and UrbanClap can provide you with a continuous line of gig work throughout the year.

One of the popular requests we get on Helpee are users seeking tutors for their elderly parents on how to use a smartphone, laptops and email. There is a huge demand for elderly education in the country due to the rise of digital-only services.

Why ‘In-person’ tutoring still matters

Skills like learning a musical instrument, elderly education, hardware tools etc. requires in-person demonstration where online education platforms and video sessions fall short on. There are a number of education providers over the internet that can train you but they all lack an essential element — the human connection.

I asked some of the users on why they opted for Helpee rather than video tutorials or sign up for an online course. Most of them replied that the ‘Personal Tutoring’ was one of the main factors for them to choose this method. They found that they were more confident in being able to practice with an in-person tutor than an online demonstration.

When you tutor someone in person, there is a higher chance of them being able to grasp the subject or the tool with confidence. You get a more personalised experience by overcoming learning obstacles.

The lack of face-to-face interaction hinders input from the trainer and also limits the transformational power. People may also face self-discipline issues when it comes to sticking to the online classes.

As the world evolves and becomes ever complex, the ones who are open and adaptable to change survives. You have the opportunity to learn and earn at the same time during this slowdown and get valuable skills that will catapult you once the economy begins to get back on track.

How prepared are you for the recession? was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Thanks for taking the time to read our article and giving us a follow. This means a lot to us here at Helpee as we value each one of our audience on an individual basis. We hope to connect with you and do send us a message describing a little bit about yourself.

Thank you for following us was originally published in Helpee on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.