This Is How Your Head Works: The Best Guidance From A Psychotherapist In A Crisis

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

I, like everyone else, experienced fear and fright. Rapid change. You need to figure out how to restructure your work.

Now I am leading an international research project, and it is in full swing. I advise clients from countries where the coronavirus reigns supreme. Questions remain that require solutions outside the home.

The latest TV broadcasts on Pryamaya, TSN, Hromadsky radio made me think about how we can cope with anxiety, taking into account the international experience of our colleagues.

Thoughts that cause anxiety and fear

When we understand our feelings and can name them, then we have 70% coped with the situation.

Thoughts in the form of fear rush into our heads and buzz there like annoying bees. What are they? Let's face common fears.

• "I can get sick with coronavirus and die …"
• "I don't feel safe …"
• "I am afraid to survive depression in self-isolation …"
• "I am worried that I will lose my job and there will be no money …"
• "I am afraid that the quarantine will drag on for two years …"
• "I will lose my business …"
• "I will not be able to pay the loan because of the dollar rate …"
• "I started to feel depressed, and I don't know what to do about it …"
• "I don't know how to protect myself from coronavirus …"
• "I feel that I am not in control of the situation …"
• "I am afraid that the food will run out, and I will have nothing to feed the children …"

Why do we feel anxious?

We are experiencing uncertainty

There is a lot of confusion. How many people in Ukraine will get sick? How will the pandemic affect the economy? But there is also clarity, a safe zone. During the game, my children, when they understood that they would not run away, raised their hands above their heads and said: "I'm in the house!"

We know for sure: methods of prevention; how to take care of your well-being; what to do during quarantine. Continue for yourself what exactly you know else! We also know that as of March 15, there are only 27 coronavirus cases in Hainan, as opposed to several thousand cases per day in mid-February. We know this for sure.

We are not experiencing panic, we are now experiencing anxiety and anxiety

Don't screw yourself up, especially with the media. I don't see people panicking. Yes, there is fear and fear, but this is not panic. This is important to distinguish. In a panic, a person experiences an influx of strong emotions and begins to act without a definite direction. Fear is always objective. Fear is accompanied by a mild shock when we feel threatened by our being.

When we understand our feelings and can name them, then we have 70% coped with the situation

We are adapting to new conditions

This is stressful. My children switched to online education. The school management quickly reorganized, and now they are studying, and did not go on early holidays. Sometimes children are indignant: "Why are there so many tasks … There is not enough explanation …"

We continue to live, but in a different way.

We realize our social responsibility

We take care of ourselves and others. This is great.

Essential markers when you need help

It is important to realize that it is natural to be stressed in the face of a threat that we cannot control. Anxiety is always about the fear of being destroyed, dying, disappearing.

1. Bodily manifestations. You may feel twitching in your body. Or a feeling of tightness in the chest.
2. Breathe heavily. The feeling that something terrible is about to happen.
3. Emotional depression. I don't want to see anyone. Feeling of emptiness.
4. Physical symptoms: poor sleep, lack of appetite, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, feeling unreality, distraction, emotional instability.

If you have these symptoms associated with anxiety about the coronavirus, then it is important to seek professional help

When the situation is uncertain - like the current situation with the coronavirus, a troubled mind can easily overestimate the real threat and underestimate our ability to deal with it.

How to deal with anxiety in the situation of the coronavirus pandemic?

1. Ask yourself what you can control and what you can't. For example, you can monitor self-care, personal hygiene … Excessive demands on oneself give rise to fear, and a lot of fear gives rise to panic.
2. Create a daily, weekly, and monthly routine. This is something that you can control … This will help to have structure. Think about how you can work online.
3. Create a circle of support for yourself if you live in particularly dangerous places. A client of mine from Italy says that they are terrified, but at the same time she has someone to talk to and talk about her feelings. External support is important.
4. Don't be left without contact. Communicate. Many online support groups are currently being formed. Join them. Don't feel like you can handle everything alone. One of the reasons why China has turned the tide with the virus so far is collectivist culture. Remember the 27 infected.
5. Monitor your sleep and your emotional state. You have to deal with the pandemic at work, at home. But you need resources to get the job done. If you are exhausted, do nothing. I always tell clients: take a rest, gain strength and then resolve your issues.

6. Practice joy. Martin Seligman and Mihai Csikszentmihalyi have been researching people who came out strong from stressful situations for 30 years. One of the secrets is learning to think positively regardless of the conditions. Think about the good in your life for 8 minutes every day. Try to relive these positive moments over and over again.

   One client in the United States from a state where the coronavirus has spread strongly said: "When I think about having children, my life, a loved one, it gives me a lot of support."

7. Stay watching the news … Believe me, everything cannot be controlled and the world will definitely not collapse in 4 hours. The world before us was millions of years and will be after. Constant viewing of the news creates only a visible effect of controlling the situation, in fact, the brain paints completely destructive pictures.

   Use only trusted sources of information. For example, moz.gov.ua or www.who.int. Do not surf the sites and do not artificially raise the alarm. Limit your social media browsing as well.

8. Last thing. Our perception depends on our thoughts and experiences. We are selective about information. We do not exactly notice something, although we think that we know everything. This has been proven in many studies.

   Remember the illusions of perception of Müller-Lyer or Ponzo, the Necker Cube. For example, in the United States, 58% of Republicans and 29% of Democrats believe that "the threat of coronavirus is exaggerated." Why? We resist new information. We do not notice her.

An open way of communication between government and ordinary people minimizes stress. Silence, mitigation of the facts of the real threat from the coronavirus - increases stress and panic. Lack of open communication leads people to seek additional information from non-traditional sources, and this increases anxiety.

These findings are supported by studies conducted in 2016 after the emergence of the Zika virus. If leaders react too emotionally or discount a real threat, it creates distrust and stress. A good example is the speech of Angela Merkel in her address to her people. The speech does not deny a real threat, on the contrary, it truthfully speaks of the complexity of the situation, and at the same time says that the government will take care of providing food. Such a message evokes confidence and a feeling of concern for one's health.