Anxiety in the face of the coronavirus crisis: interview with ITAE Psicología
We must not lose sight of the fact that, in addition to the containment measures, the risk of collapse of the health system, the risk of contagion and the economic vulnerability, the coronavirus crisis also favors the emergence of other types of problems: psychological discomfort and the risk of developing disorders emotional.
To better understand the keys to this phenomenon, on this occasion we interviewed the team of mental health experts from ITAE Psychology.
- Related article: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"
Anxiety and the COVID-19 crisis: interview with ITAE
ITAE Psychology is an entity made up of a team of psychologists and psychiatrists specialized in problems of stress, anxiety and poor regulation of emotions. They carry out both face-to-face sessions in Madrid and Barcelona and also online sessions by video call. In this case, they talk to us about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our way of experiencing anxiety, a very frequent type of discomfort.
These days there is a lot of talk about the medical emergency situation to which we are subjected, but we must not forget that there is also a psychological crisis. What are the most common signs that, when manifested in a person, indicate that the situation is too much for them and that they need professional help?
The situation becomes susceptible to professional help when the person observes that she cannot stop thinking about the problem, and when negative thoughts about the situation or about the future are so recurrent that they “hijack” your mind.
Also when the person has stopped satisfying one or more of their basic needs, that is, eating or sleeping, since which would indicate that the problem is overcoming it since it affects areas that the person needs to have a minimum base of welfare.
Likewise, they would be signs of the need for professional psychological help when, especially in quarantine, the person cannot maintain their attention for a minimum of time in pleasant or enjoyable activities that precisely allow you to distract yourself, for a few moments, from the situation external.
Is the anxiety caused by the coronavirus the result above all of fear of the disease, or is the uncertainty generated by the economic slowdown and the quarantine situation more important?
Both concerns are recurring these days. It depends to some extent on the specific situation of each one, and personal characteristics.
There are people who may have a tendency to worry about illnesses, or what would rather be a greater fear (greater than the general population) of losing physical health or even dying from a physical illness, who are now possibly more affected by the possibilities of exposure to the virus and suffering from the disease.
We also find cases of people with a close relative who is infected, who are much more "in tune" with the subject and are more prone to anxiety.
On the other hand, we also find a high level of people who experience anticipatory or catastrophic negative thoughts due to uncertainty about the future.
The change in economic conditions for the worse added to the experience of confinement can generate a lot of anxiety. Both due to the interpretation of a present or future threat (with thoughts such as "there will be less work, I will have less money, I will not be able to pay the rent...") and due to difficulty to manage the symptoms of anxiety by not being able to perform activities that, possibly, were previously carried out to reduce these symptoms (sports, outdoor leisure, etc.).
And what habits can we adopt to protect ourselves from anxiety in such a situation?
There are several habits that it is essential to incorporate into our range of strategies to manage anxiety in these circumstances. We can start by becoming aware of what is happening to us, that is, listening to ourselves more. Whether it's realizing that we have more anxiety one day than another, observing our thoughts, physical sensations or our emotions.
All this is important information to know how we are reacting in these circumstances. In most cases we do not pay attention to how we are, so it is difficult to do anything to solve it at first.
In addition, it can also be very useful to have the habit of expressing what is happening to someone close to us, a friend, a relative. Telling what worries me, bothers me or saddens me is a good way out of emotional discomfort.
On the other hand, it is very useful to be able to create “problem-free” spaces in which we enjoy some activity, in alone or with the family, and this allows us to escape momentarily from the circumstances, to be able to recharge energy emotional. Of course also practicing physical exercise and maintaining a good diet constitute an essential basis for health, also emotional.
What are the psychological mechanisms that favor anxiety to be maintained over time? Does the bombardment of information on television and the Internet contribute to this?
Anxiety is an emotion, and as such it is temporary. When it is maintained over time it is because we "feed" it. With which any external or internal stimulus that is related to fear will maintain anxiety for longer. Of course, externally, we have the bombardment of information by any means of communication.
The brain is faithful to what we dictate and if it receives worrisome information or we interpret it as worrisome, it will activate all the physiological mechanisms of response to a danger, manifesting itself in symptoms of anxiety. It also happens that, without needing to receive information from outside, we can maintain anxiety ourselves by being continually hooked on negative thoughts.
Here the underlying mechanism is an excess of attention on the same thoughts, thinking that we have no control over them and that we cannot "let them go". Hence, the acceptance and distraction of thoughts is a more effective strategy to reduce signs of anxiety.
Given the confinement, it is possible that the problems of coexistence intensify. What recommendations can families follow so that anxiety and irritability do not cause more problems in this regard?
For families it is important that they maintain a routine, first of all, that it provides that pleasant sensation of order (whether there are small children in the family or not). Likewise, more than ever, it becomes essential to practice assertive communication skills.
Conflicts in coexistence are common, and more so now, which requires that all family members establish ways to expose and solve them. For example, agree on a day and time when all family members can talk about how they are and what they need so that conflicts can be prevented or if they already exist they can be discussed.
Although when a conflict occurs it will be vital that it is not managed "hot" since the intensity of the emotion will not allow dialogue, but it does a time is specified in which the subject will be resumed, already “cold”, thus avoiding the accumulation of problems and this standing up to the “ball of fire effect”. snow".
Another highly recommended aid is to generate leisure time with the family and at home, since the experience of positive joint spaces tends to act as a catalyst for (accumulated) tensions and fosters affectivity and healthy communication among all members of the family family.
If a global pandemic similar to this one occurs again in a few years, will we be better at managing the negative emotions that this produces in us?
That will depend on the resources that we put into operation in the current situation. If we use the context in which we are currently living to our advantage to learn about ourselves and improve ourselves, surely we have acquired emotional management mechanisms for life and, although no future situation is predictable, we will have more tools to make forehead. This is enhancing our resilience.
It is possible that this extreme situation is teaching us lessons that we all receive, and no matter how small learning, having gone through this situation helps us to adapt to future adverse circumstances, as another pandemic.