Waiting For Covid-19

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Increasingly, in practice, I am faced with the panic caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the feeling that these are still flowers.

Let's see how Covid-19 causes panic attacks and other mental problems? And what to do with it?

The psychological problems caused by the pandemic can be divided into two groups: expectation of illness and consequences of the disease … And you can catch both!

First, let's figure out what is dangerous expectation of illness?

These are already old, familiar factors that create anxiety disorder:

- social isolation;

- lack of physical activity;

- informational pressure;

- life in a confined space;

- the uncertainty of the future.

Waiting for illness can easily trigger Anxious-panic or Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The quarantine conditions in which all of humanity lives are built on the principle avoidance … There is no cure for the disease, let's avoid it! In such stressful conditions, the psyche will very soon begin to panic with any attempt to avoid Covid-19. How it works?

For example, searching for symptoms on the Internet, airing a room, measuring temperature, checking the sense of smell with repeated repetition can cause:

- incomprehensible sensations; lack of oxygen, difficulty breathing, febrile body temperature, and even a cough.

- mental scanning of the body and its processes; breath control, temperature measurement, smell test.

- constant doubts and questions. Am I really healthy? Did I wash my hands well? Is it a clean object?

And here it is already important to protect yourself not only from the virus, but also from a mental disorder. What can be done besides sports, walks, information hygiene?

The usual cure for fear "Avoid avoidance" does not work here! It will turn out to be anti-quarantine heresy. All the same, it is not worth walking without a mask in an epidemic, not washing your hands, attending crowded events.

To avoid falling into the trap of your own fear pay attention to your personal attempts to get rid of anxiety and health checks. For instance:

deep breathing

Meditation is certainly a useful thing, but fear has large eyes and deep sighs. Deep breathing oxygenates the blood, which can cause tachycardia … You better calm yourself down breathing in a square - inhale at the expense of 4 and exhale also at the expense of 4.

measurement of temperature or oxygen level

These treatments can quickly turn from anxiety relief to compulsive action reinforcing fear. Make a schedule of these procedures and stick to it.

taking medications and vitamins

Self-medication is a scourge of our time and post-Soviet countries, but with our medicine, sometimes you cannot do without it. Notice if your self-medication is creating feeling of soreness? After all, you need to treat only the one who is sick.

hand washing

This is a completely separate question! Compulsive hand washing - frequent, prolonged, fatigue and anxiety-causing - this is the most difficult type of obsessive-compulsive disorder. And if you are carried away by this, then it is better to immediately contact a psychologist who works with OCD.

Usually health checks and trying to avoid illness and fear lead to the opposite result. If you feel that you cannot cope and everything that you do has the opposite effect, contact a psychologist. Fear is insidious.

How can you protect yourself from fear? After all Covid-19 this is a real danger and without quarantine in any way. The main medicine that has been neglected in society lately is - Optimism!

Exactly optimistic view everything that happens will help to survive the pandemic, quarantine and other hardships. Optimism is not a sign of stupidity, but a sign of high emotional intelligence.