Fear and anxiety, two symptoms of the coronavirus

We are facing a global health crisis, as well as a crisis of fear and anxiety. It is very important to be able to understand how these two symptoms work in a situation as special as the one we are experiencing.

Of course, it is difficult to measure, describe or predict an emotion, since each person experiences it in a different way. different under certain circumstances, depending on your previous experiences, your learning, and situation concrete.

Emotions play an adaptive role to ensure our survival. All emotions are valid and there are no positive or negative emotions; for this reason it is important to express all kinds of emotion, since retaining them can cause major problems. Here we will see some Keys to Managing Anxiety and Fear Linked to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

First I want to define fear: it is an emotion linked to an unpleasant sensation that arises from the perception of a risk or danger, real or imagined. Also, fear is related to anxiety.

Anxiety is an anticipatory reaction of the body that appears involuntarily and keeps the nervous system in a state of high activation before internal stimuli (thoughts, memories ...) or external (sounds, sensations on the skin ...) perceived as threatening. In addition, it goes hand in hand with somatic symptoms of tension.

• Related article: "The 7 types of anxiety (characteristics, causes and symptoms)"

Managing fear and anxiety in the face of the coronavirus

Of all the primary emotions, the most important is fear, since helps detect danger, and if we do not detect it we do not survive.

For example: if we are in a bar having a drink, and suddenly a person comes in with a gun firing shots, the first thing that will happen to us is to be afraid of this real situation. But if we are in a bar and we imagine that someone could enter with a weapon, surely what we feel is anxiety, which is an anticipatory response to fear. And we are going to experience an anxiety crisis.

In this case, given the situation we are experiencing these days, there is a real threat that is the virus called COVID-19, or better known as “Coronavirus”, but we decide how to live it. For example, if we decide to spend all day watching the news on television, we are in a constant state of alert, over-informed, and therefore, we do not talk about anything other than the virus.

In this scenario, we are going to find a negligent activity, and that means that we are going to be much more likely to get sick, due to the fact that the threat is constantly in our head.

On the other hand, there is the real fear. A fear in which we are facing something with great ignorance, but that does exist. It is something new for everyone and we react as we can.

Therefore, in light of what is happening worldwide, from PSiCOBAi we want to provide some advice so that, despite fear, we can live a little more calmly and with less anxiety:

1. Plan daily routines

Isolation takes away the notion of time and space that are essential for our psyche to be balanced.

2. Be in communication with our loved ones

Not see them physically, it does not mean not being able to continue relating through calls and messages, and thus share what is happening to us

3. Do not neglect our appearance and personal hygiene

Being in our houses does not mean abandoning ourselves or being in pajamas all day

4. If necessary, ask for professional help

To cope with this situation, where we are faced with something unknown, many times we do not know how to act and how to control our emotions. Therefore, it is important to ask for help in time.

5. Maintain a good diet, and complement it with physical exercise

As has been shown, physical exercise favors the release of endorphins, which contributes to maintaining both physical and mental well-being.

• You may be interested: "Psychology and Nutrition: the importance of emotional eating"

6. Accept the emotions and feelings that we are going through

It is very important not to deny them, since it is proven that those who develop a level of acceptance develop a lower level of stress and anxiety.

7. Using humor is very important

It always helps us to cope in the best way a distressing situation

8. Keep active

Not staying in bed and isolating ourselves from everything and everyone.

9. Inform yourself from official sources without over-informing us

The over-information the only thing that is going to generate in us is to raise the levels of anxiety.

conclusion

It is clear that to beat this virus, we are all together. For this, it is essential that each of us find ourselves in good mental and physical health. If you are interested in contacting our team of professionals in PSICOBAi, Accede to this page.