Javier Elcarte: "We have built a fallacy of control and security"

It is difficult not to associate the SARS-CoV-2, also called simply "coronavirus", to malaise in almost all its forms.

Frustration at not being able to lead a normal life given the restrictions on movement applied by governments to avoid contagion, concern about the possibility of already having the virus in our bodies without realizing it, fear of not having washed our hands as much as we should in such a context, etc

However, beyond this discomfort based on short-termism, there is another set of unpleasant feelings that are projected towards the future, and that have to do with the uncertainty about what will happen in the coming months and even in the next years. The lack of certainties and information in this regard is a reality to which we must learn to get used to; and before this, psychologists like our interviewee today, Javier Elcarte, have a lot to say.

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Interview with Javier Elcarte: the need to manage uncertainty in the face of COVID-19

javier el carte is a psychologist specializing in psychotherapy and neuropsychology, as well as President of the Society Spanish Bio and Neurofeedback and Director and founding member of the Vitaliza center, located in Pamplona.

Throughout more than 20 years of experience dedicated to Psychology, this professional has seen how the logic of anxiety and emotional imbalance work in crisis situations. Therefore, in this case we will talk to him about the uncertainty associated with the coronavirus pandemic and its implications. psychological, as a result of the interviews carried out with Elcarte in his monthly section on Radio4 / RNE by Silvia Tarragona.

In your opinion, what are the aspects of this social and health crisis that remind us every day that we are living in very different times from what we understand by "normality"?

Actually, the question pretty much answers itself. I think we should ask ourselves the opposite... is there something we have to live in right now that reminds us of the past "normality"? There is no activity, neither human, nor training, nor labor, and much less social, that has not been affected by the pandemic. Social distancing, even more accentuated after the mandatory use of the mask at all times and places, interferes with all our activity as human beings.

In human beings it is social by definition, and our brain is related biologically speaking, therefore, this aspect is basic and unequivocal when it comes to becoming aware that we are living in times far removed from what we understand by "normal".

Can it be said that, in general, given the lack of information about what will happen in the When it comes to issues that we consider important, human beings tend to adopt a different point of view. pessimistic? That is, to focus on what we can lose.

The human being needs certainties, our brain seeks control, explanation, understanding. However, I am not very much in favor of the concept of pessimism. I always remember that "a pessimist is an experienced realist."

But outside of topics, the lack of information regarding vital aspects of our existence, what it produces, and the I refer to official surveys regarding this pandemic, there are exponential increases in fear, frustration, anger and hopelessness. Which, in turn, prolonged in time, as is already happening, leads to depressive symptoms. And of course, once depression, the clouds can only be black... and now we only see all the bad things that can happen.

In what ways can uncertainty facilitate the onset of anxiety disorders?

Uncertainty has been throughout history consubstantial with the fact of being human. Until not so long ago, one could die from a thousand and one infections or bacteria and subsistence almost always hung by a thread, life expectancy was much lower and only the most powerful. Vulnerability before the fact of death was so evident that, in his smallness, the human being was supported by more symbolic and intangible certainties, above all religion.

Little by little we have built a fallacy of control, security and well-being both at the level of health, work and subsistence that the pandemic has shown to be fragile and unreal. Our bubble as a society, made of Bohemian glass, has burst under the impact of this invisible enemy. The alert has been activated in all of us. The enemy can be our friend forever, the neighbor. The virus lurks in any corner or surface. My job may disappear. There is no illusion, no project. Our computer is on all day on high alert and ends up melting down. Anxiety is always secondary to alertness, lack of control, fear and uncertainty.

And how can this lack of information affect family relationships? For example, not knowing very well when it will be possible to be in direct contact with loved ones who are especially vulnerable to problems respiratory problems could perhaps give way to taboo topics, such as openly assuming that they could spend several months in a situation of relative isolation.

Uncertainty will obviously have more devastating effects depending on how painful the situation is. And perhaps there is no more painful event than having a loved one at risk of illness or death and not being able to accompany or fire them in your case.

Geriatric residences are a clear example of this suffering, where isolation, and the impossibility of not being able to contact the loved one, have resulted in pictures of such hopelessness, especially on the part of the elderly isolated in their bedrooms, that one does not know if this will not have caused so much havoc in terms of mortality that the person himself virus.

Taking into account that not everyone is very clear about the measures to take to minimize the risk of contagion, in the case of children and girls, to what extent can receiving conflicting messages about what to do to adapt to the context of pandemic?

The boy or girl's brain is in full development, and what we plant in them now will leave an indelible mark on their adult life. I do not believe that there is currently another institution where the sanitary rules of masks and distancing are met with more rigidity and commitment than in children's schools.

The teachers are in a terrible position. The boy or girl is receiving notions in the sense that her behavior can be deadly for another human being, that they are responsible, if they remove their mask, for others to die. This produces isolation in the child's mind, fear and introversion.

Both in early childhood, where the social model is absorbed almost by osmosis, and in the adolescent stage where the social bond fundamentally develops, isolation will end up settling in their minds and behaviors. And if we add to this the proliferation of entertainment with new technologies... the panorama of human and social distancing is terrifying.

What can be done from Psychology to help people manage uncertainty?

Psychology can and should do a lot. Perhaps we are one of the keys to alleviate this widespread discouragement and frustration. Beyond I mean the always necessary and beneficial treatments of fear, anxiety, depression and other morbid correlates secondary to the pandemic situation that we are living.

After all, psychology teaches above all to face and manage in a mature and functional way what life throws at us. And in this case, life provides us with a total and complete emergency situation, of global fear and uncertainty at the level of the entire planet. Exceptional situations require exceptional solutions and responses. Today it is urgent to equip human beings with perhaps already unlearned tools of resilience, acceptance and coping with illness and death.

In short, what gives this interview its name, the management of uncertainty. Psychoeducation, desensitization of irrational fears, strengthening of cognitive and behavioral strengths and above all, in my opinion, the calm and calm awareness of an inevitable situation but which, like everything, it will happen. In this sense, the Vitaliza we are intervening with especially in the development mindfulness therapeutic, taking full attention as a basic tool for managing uncertainty, with more than hopeful results.