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Nepal Teen Leaders has organized a panel discussion on career counseling for the +2 passed students. It was held on June 20 at Presidential College. Panelists Dr Estroy Pokhrel, head of business of Gyapu Market Place Abhimanyu Sharma, Chemical Engineer Nischal Baniya, Chairman of Presidential College Kshitiz Puri, and CA Nischal Maharjan shared their professional journey to the participated students and held a Q&A session.

This program was supported by the Vibrant Institute of Medical Education and AOC, Academy of Commerce.

Question

I am a 33-year-old working woman. I am not married but in a relationship. I tend to give more time to my work rather than to my loved ones or myself. This has affected my relationships with my partner, friends and family members. Consequently, I find myself lonely and to cope with this, I give myself even more work. I absolutely love my work and enjoy that part of my life very much. But at the same time, I feel I’m missing out in my personal life. Please help. -A workaholic 

Answered by Kapil Sharma, Counseling Psychologist, Hudec Nepal

You seem to be aware of the reason for your predicament. You admit that you have turned into a workaholic as a part of coping mechanism. But it also seems that your work-related stress has invaded your personal life and relationships.

You need to learn to balance your work and life. For this, the first thing you can do is setting goals, limits and boundaries at work. This will help you get more organized. Right now, you are unable to organize and set a boundary between your personal and professional life. The second thing is to focus on self-care, by allocating time for yourself.

Doing these things can get confusing, so what you can do is list out all your tasks, prioritize them and assign times to do them. You don’t have to give equal time and energy for each task. Focus where to invest your time based on urgency and importance. Also, learn to say ‘no’ to tasks that you cannot make time for. Many of us have the habit of saying yes to everything, only to later be racked with guilt and regret not being able to say no. Remember, it’s important to make time for oneself and prioritize self-care. 

A healthy lifestyle is essential to cope with stress and to find work-life balance. Eat well, get enough sleep, listen to uplifting music, include physical activity in your routine, and have some self-relaxation time. Try making your hobbies a part of your routine, be assertive, and develop a support system at work and home.

If your life feels too chaotic to manage and you still feel trapped in a vicious cycle of work-guilt-work, we are here to help you. Talk to professionals and take advantage of available services.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Friday unveiled a budget of Rs. 25.41 billion, giving priority to infrastructure development.

Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol presented an estimated budget and program of Rs 25. 41 billion for the fiscal year 2022/ 23 in the municipal assembly.

This is Rs 6.46 billion more than the budget of the current fiscal year.

The metropolis had allocated Rs 18. 95 billion in the current fiscal year.

Deputy Mayor Dangol said that the metropolis has allocated 49.57 percent of the total budget for infrastructure development. The metropolis has allocated Rs 11. 88 billion for infrastructure development.

Nepal reported 43 new Covid-19 cases on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 853 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 32 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 703 people underwent antigen tests, of which 11 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 14  infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 181 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 13.78 points to close at 1862.06 points on Friday.

Similarly, the sensitive index rose 2.81 points to close at 364.90 points.

A total of 3,541,537 units of the shares of 223 companies were traded for Rs 1.15 billion.

Likewise, all the sub-indices saw green in today’s market  except for Mutual Fund.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2.65 trillion.

Afghanistan does not have enough medical supplies to treat the injured from an earthquake that killed 1,000 people, a senior official said on Friday, as authorities ended the search for survivors in remote southeastern mountains, Reuters reported.

About 2,000 people were injured and 10,000 houses were partially or completely destroyed in the early Wednesday earthquake, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, a spokesperson for the disaster ministry, told Reuters.

"The health ministry does not have enough drugs, we need medical aid and other necessities because it's a big disaster," he said.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck about 160 km (100 miles) southeast of Kabul near the Pakistani border, in a region of arid mountains dotted with small settlements that has was often contested over Afghanistan's decades of war.

Poor communications and a lack of proper roads have hampered relief efforts in a country grappling with a humanitarian crisis that deteriorated sharply after the Taliban took over last August as US-led international forces withdrew.

The disaster is a major test for the hardline Islamists, who have been largely isolated; shunned by many because of worries about human rights and cut off from much direct international assistance because of sanctions.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates all said on Thursday they planned to send aid. Supplies from Pakistan have already crossed the border, according to Reuters.

India, which has a strained relationship with the Taliban, said it had sent 27 tonnes of supplies on two flights to be handed over to international aid agencies.

Haqqani said the search for survivors had been called off, some 48 hours after the disaster struck.

"The search operation has finished," he said.

He did not elaborate on why. People have been pulled alive from the rubble of other earthquakes after considerably more time.

Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.

In 2015, an earthquake struck the remote Afghan northeast, killing several hundred people in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan, Reuters reported.

The decision made by the Secretariat meeting of the party held on June 5 to reshuffle the ministers has pushed the CPN (Unified Socialist) into a grave crisis.

At a time when the differences have been exacerbating within the party, Health Minister Birodh Khatiwada among other ministers and lawmakers submitted an eight-point attention letter to Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal on Friday.

Along with Khatiwada, Urban Development Minister Ram Kumari Jhankri, Tourism Minister Prem Ale, Labour Minister Krishna Kumar Shrestha, lawmakers Krishna Lal Maharjan, Gopal Bahadur Bam, Bina Budhathoki, Niru Devi Jairu, Dhan Bahadur Budha and Pushpa Kumari Karna Kayastha signed the letter.

They have demanded that the party call the Parliamentary Party meeting at the earliest.

In the letter, they expressed their dissatisfaction saying that the list of the proposed new ministers is non-inclusive. They even said that the party treated them like criminals.

The Unified Socialist had appointed five ministers on October 8 for six months. But, a dispute has surfaced in the party even though a proposal to reshuffle the ministers was submitted to the Prime Minister after eight months.

Sri Lanka's economy has "completely collapsed," Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Wednesday, as the crisis-hit nation faces an increasingly dire situation that has left millions struggling with fuel, electricity and food shortages, CNN reported.

"Our economy has faced a complete collapse," Wickremesinghe told Sri Lanka's Parliament, adding the government was seeking help from its global partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stabilize the economy. 

But Wickremesinghe warned the island nation of 22 million was "facing a far more serious situation" beyond the shortages.

crisis in seven decades, after its foreign exchange reserves plummeted to record lows, with dollars running out to pay for essential imports including food, medicine and fuel.

In recent weeks, the government has taken drastic measures to cope with the crisis, including implementing a four-day work week for public sector workers to allow them time to grow their own crops. However, the measures are doing little to ease the struggles faced by many in the country. 

In several major cities, including the commercial capital, Colombo, hundreds continue to queue for hours to buy fuel, sometimes clashing with police and the military as they wait. 

Trains have reduced in frequency, forcing travelers to squeeze into compartments and even sit precariously on top of them as they commute to work. 

Patients are unable to travel to hospitals due to the fuel shortage and food prices are soaring. Rice, a staple in the South Asian nation, has disappeared from shelves in many shops and supermarkets, according to CNN.

This week alone, 11 people have died waiting in queues for fuel, according to police officials. 

Wickremesinghe, who took office days after violent protests forced his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign, appeared to place the blame on the previous government for the country's situation in his comments Wednesday. 

"It is no easy task to revive a country with a completely collapsed economy, especially one that is dangerously low on foreign reserves," he said. "If steps had at least been taken to slow down the collapse of the economy at the beginning, we would not be facing this difficult situation today." 

Last week, Sri Lanka's power and energy minister told reporters the country had only enough fuel stock to last five days.

Sri Lanka has mainly been relying on neighboring India to remain afloat -- it has received $4 billion in credit lines -- but Wickremesinghe said that too might not be enough.

"We have requested more loan assistance from our Indian counterparts. But even India will not be able to continuously support us in this manner," he said, CNN reported.

The next step, he said, was to strike a deal with the IMF.