Maslow's pyramid after the pandemic

Do you think the pandemic has changed the order of your needs? During confinement, did you see that your priorities were different? Y... Does Maslow's pyramid sound familiar to you?

The pandemic has reached us all, whether we wanted to or not. And with that we have had to go around how to fit our needs, as if we were looking at a kaleidoscope and let's turn to see which is the image that best suits our new reality.

• Related article: "Abraham Maslow: biography of this famous humanistic psychologist"

Maslow and his pyramid of needs

Maslow, a psychologist and one of the founders of humanistic psychology, spoke long ago that all people we have needs that are arranged in a hierarchical way, and that they will lead us to act in a certain way in order to satisfy them. He ordered them in 5 blocks that, from smallest to largest, would be the following.

1. Physiological needs

These would be those most basic for survival of a more biological nature, such as food, drinking water, breathing, rest, reproduction or homeostasis.

2. Security needs

This category would include physical security, employment, resources, family security, health, morals and privately owned.

3. Membership needs

Also known as social needs, according to Maslow perhaps less basic. Would friendship, affection and sexual intimacy.

4. Recognition needs

At this level they would find self-recognition, self-esteem, respect, confidence and success.

5. Self-actualization needs

It would be the highest level, the cusp, and this category would include potential development, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance of facts, problem solving, and lack of prejudice.

What does Maslow's pyramid tell us about our needs in a pandemic?

Maslow told us that to get to complete a higher need we first had to have satisfied the previous oneIn other words, without having covered the physiological and safety needs, we could not satisfy the affiliation needs. But later, it was seen that it is not necessary for some needs to be covered for others to arise.

The pandemic, and in particular the confinement, has made many of these needs more urgent than others, that some could not be covered, or it has challenged us to change the way we satisfy them.

We started with the most basic, the physiological, which were the first to be launched just before confinement. We just have to remember the empty food shelves or the controversial stockpile of toilet paper. If we use Maslow as a guide it seems logical: people try to stock up on the basics to live in an unprecedented situation that we did not know.

Once the most vital needs were met came the need for security, for protect our health using gels, masks, keeping distance, etc. But unfortunately many people saw their security needs greatly affected, either because they passed the virus and their health was It was greatly affected in the short and long term, either because they lost their job or entered the high-profile EREs. The employment situation It also affected family security, resources and property, so many families have seen their lives change 180 degrees.

If, on the other hand, you have been more fortunate and the basic and security needs have been covered, surely affiliation needs (meeting friends, chatting, sharing, and making plans) came up strongly During this period we had to be at home, and you had to resort to video calls to see and relate to many of your loved ones. And afterwards, things didn't get any easier, since there were still restrictions to see friends and family.

Of course, summer and Christmas were a challenge not to jump into everything we needed madly, and where health had to be put first before affection to be sure.

At this point, many people began to feel that their lives had certain deficiencies at other higher levels, and they were inclined to delve into their needs for self-realization, going on to rethink their relationships and their situations of life with the aim of seeking a change for the better, and this has been noted in an increase in the use of services psychological.

And now that?

And now that we can say that we are gradually coming out of this pandemic, Where are you on the pyramid? What do you need right now? Have you perhaps had to reorganize your priorities because your situation has changed?

Of course, we are all clear that the pandemic has not left us indifferent. You may have done a review of your values ​​or have seen that your priorities have changed.

Continuing with Maslow's pyramid, the most basic needs seem to be covered again. However, reestablishing the second level of needs (those of security, especially related to work and health) is going to be the most costly.

When it comes to work, the outlook is diverse and full of uncertainty: it may be that you are unemployed and the way forward is to keep looking. Or that you have to reactivate your business after the losses; or that you have to readjust and return to the office after more than a year of teleworking.

At the level of physical health, although the vaccines are already here and there is a glimpse of the return to normality and the removal of the masks, there are probably many people who will still feel that uncertainty and protective instinct weigh more and It will take time for them to return to normality, to physical contact and to eliminate all prevention and hygiene measures.

We cannot forget about our mental and emotional health and its care, because perhaps it is one of the needs that is emerging the most in this progressive recovery of the “new normal”.

Before COVID-19 and its multiple consequences, people had faster rhythms, we carried out activities that are not possible in a pandemic, we saw our friends more frequently and in other circumstances, etc. But After the mandatory stoppage we have had to sit yes or yes with problems or discomforts that we had not attended for a long time, or with some new emotions, feelings or situations to which we have to adapt.

For sure, reconnecting with our family and friends is one of the most desired needs and that we are being able to resume. Being able to see each other, make plans, share, hug (how much we have missed it!)... At this point it is important that each one can review how they are doing and what is the appropriate pace to contact again.

That is, instead of planning or attending a meeting with many people, as before, you may need to go slow down if you feel overwhelmed and have only a few friends left for a walk outside, for example. It is important to resume social relationships but even more important is to do it in the most adjusted and respectful way with oneself.

And self-actualization?

You may have noticed that we have not talked about the last level of the hierarchy, the so-called level of self-realization, already that as Maslow said, only once we have covered the lower needs, will they arise and we can meet the superiors. And it seems that, in this case, the pandemic has kept us very busy trying to reorganize, adapt and survive at more basic levels.

It is true that certain questions began to sound like, for example, who do I want to be when all this is over? Or, what are my priorities or what is most essential for me? But these questions derived in many cases from a feeling of emptiness or loss of what we had before, and from the fact of having more time with oneself to be able to observe oneself.

It is possible that as security and social needs are met, and we will fill those gaps again, we are in a better disposition to take up these questions from another angle, not from lack but from the need to grow.

Despite the commotion that this pandemic has caused, which almost turned the pyramid upside down, we have been facing adversity, adapting to the new and unexpected. The famous resilience and the search for new ways to do and supply what we need.

We have seen that some of these needs that Maslow spoke about have been revised during the pandemic or have been more pressing than others as the situation progresses or changes. Right now, when we are starting to get out of it, we have to check them again with conscience and patience.

• Stop to feel how you are, check yourself. Hear what you need.
• Take into account your context, your environment: what is your situation now?
• Respect and accept your rhythm: advance little by little and progressively.
• Enjoy what you go back to.
• Acknowledge your work and your progress.
• And finally, ask a professional for help if you need it.

Are you interested in having psychological assistance?

On TherapyChat We are aware that after the mandatory break, we have modified our needs and we have had to sit yes or yes with some new emotions, feelings or situations to which they had to adapt.

Perhaps mental health is that pending task that you have been delaying for a long time but that you can not do it anymore. If you are looking for support in this regard, at TherapyChat, we have a great team of experts who can guide you so that you can achieve your best version.