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Oct10

Looking after your mental health during the pandemic. Psychological tools won’t change reality but will help your wellbeing

By admin - Anxiety,Pandemic COVID-19, Confinement,Uncategorized

Article published in the OPINIÓN section of El Periódico de Cataluña https://www.elperiodico.com/es/opinion/20200918/salud-emocional-pandemia-articulo-connie-capdevila-8118661

The pandemic is omnipresent, marking the news, our conversations, and our relationships: rebound, social alarm, a new lockdown, economic crisis… It is a fact that drains our energy and generates fatigue. We go on with our lives in a general state of discouragement and it seems that this nightmare has no end. Obviously, we cannot change reality, but, from a psychological point of view, we need to strengthen ourselves, both personally and collectively. The way in which we manage the losses and opportunities that the current crisis presents us will define our experience and how we will face everything that has yet to come.

Psychology provides tools to help us accept the reality that we have to live with and carry on with it in the best possible way. This short self-survey will help us identify red flags: Am I often in a bad mood? Am I more tired? More bored? Do I feel like eating more or less than usual? Am I sleeping poorly?

And now, let us analyze what we can do to mitigate the impact of all this on our mental health. Human beings have innate reactions to danger, whether it is tangible and observable, or invisible, or imagined. The human nervous system is prepared to detect safety and danger, integrating the responses that come from the brain and the body. When we connect with our loved ones, their voices and facial expressions make us feel calm and safe. That is why the pandemic, by making us avoid or restrict social contact for fear of contagion, also creates a challenge to our nervous system.

Everyone knows that the concept of ‘trauma‘ is basic in the world of psychology and that it also applies when we talk about a pandemic. To overcome trauma, we need to feel alive in the present, rather than reconsolidate the memory of what we have lived. Trauma can cause emotional and behavioral dysregulation, while causing immobility and isolation, a depressed physical state in which we feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. A traumatized person perceives the world as dangerous and threatening and, therefore, has a tendency to attribute meanings to a given situation that do not correspond to reality, which can be specified in beliefs such as “I have no way out”, “I don’t I deserve…”.

Feeling fear is adaptive. It helps us protect ourselves. Therefore, we do not want to create a resistance to fear, and neither do we want to suppress nor control it. Instead, we want to observe moment by moment what happens to us and gain awareness of our internal experience: the sensations of the body, the images that the mind brings us, our behaviors, feelings, affections and meanings we give to them.

To overcome the current situation and minimize its emotional cost, you have to spend time each day creating seven ‘moments’ or ‘spaces’, which, according to Siegel, would be the ‘nutrients’ that will help you achieve optimal mental health. The moment of concentration focused on professional or personal goals. The moment of internal reflection, that is, paying attention to our feelings, thoughts, sensations, images, which helps to integrate them. The moment of connection with people, which activates and reinforces the relational circuits of the brain. The moment of playfulness, creativity and new activities, which promotes new neural connections. The moment to connect with the body in movement and to enjoy what we do (dancing, walking, running, playing sports, stretching on work breaks), which promotes mental, physical and emotional well-being. The moment of doing nothing, of relaxation, of letting our thoughts flow, without feeling guilty, which helps to recharge our minds and bodies. The moment of sleep, because seven to nine hours of quality sleep help consolidate what we’ve learned, and we recover from the experiences of the day. When living these ‘moments’, it is imperative that we keep in mind three basic pillars that are among the best predictors of general well-being: paying attention, awareness and kind intention in what we are doing. These simple things, in relation to nature and culture, will contribute to making us feel happier and healthier.

We know that the 2008 financial crisis increased mental disorders by 15%. Now, when it seems to us that there is no end in sight for the pandemic, it is more important than ever to be aware of how it can change us and face it with optimism. Using the simple tools that research gives us will not change reality, of course, but it can help us live better on day-to-day basis.

Sep19

Mantener la salud emocional durante la pandemia

By admin - Pandemic COVID-19, Confinement

May3

Psychological care and facing the pandemic.

By admin - Anxiety,Pandemic COVID-19, Confinement,Uncategorized

Most of the negative effects come from the imposition of restrictions to freedom: voluntary quarantine is associated with less psychological discomfort. Read some practical advice.

Article published by dr. Connie Capdevila Brophy in El Periódico de Catalunya – Tribuna

https://www.elperiodico.cat/ca/opinio/20200327/consells-psicologics-coronavirus-article-connie-capdevila-7908254

See translation below.

If each crisis, as they say, brings its own opportunity, the coronavirus one offers something from the psychological point of view. To begin with, it will help in finishing with the social stigma that psychological care has had for a long time. This crisis also has a handful of collateral effects over the mental health of the population. While there have been previous investigations of the psychological consequences of quarantine during other infectious disease outbreaks, such as SARS, Ebola and MERS, we find ourselves, and this cannot be over-exaggerated, in an unprecedented situation. These investigations, conducted in small groups, special installations and a self-isolation environment, show us that symptoms of post-traumatic stress, confusion and anger are usually the first to appear. The intensity of these manifestations depend largely on: the duration of the quarantine; the fear of being infected; the frustration and the boredom; the fear of not having sufficient medical material or adequate information; the danger of suffering economic losses; and the possible stigmatization of those that suffer the disease. Some investigators found that these effects usually end up being long-term.

The majority of the adverse effects come from the imposition of restrictions on freedom: a voluntary quarantine is associated with less psychological discomfort and fewer complications in the long term. Obviously, it’s still too early to count on conclusive studies on the coronavirus case, but if we apply the lessons of the existing investigations, it is wise to potentiate the solidarity inside communities during the confinement and to extract the positive aspects of the experience.

For everyone it will be important to be conscious of how we are perceiving the situation of confinement and uncertainty. Particularly people who suffer from phobias, panic attacks or generalized anxiety, tend to have repetitive thoughts. Put simply, sentences that start with a “what if …” and contain ideas of catastrophic scenarios, such as illness, death, misfortune, economic or job loss… These are sentences that anticipate what is yet to happen for which there is no evidence that this will be the outcome. We are talking about a tendency to worry obsessively ahead of time. These thoughts generate anxiety, as do thoughts that start with “I should …” which promote stress and should be changed for “I want to …”. Furthermore, the act of ignoring the physical and psychological signs of stress, believing they will disappear by themselves, contributes to increasing the anxiety.

This kind of emotional uneasiness causes a physical and psychological deterioration, that can end up taking people to the threshold of mental disorders. In the light of this difficult situation, the Junta del Col·legi Oficial de Psicologia de Catalunya (COPC), has published in their web a set of recommendations to promote the mental well-being of citizens.

Today, it makes sense to remember the words of doctor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO: “The world is accepting the concept of universal health coverage. Mental health must be an integral part of universal health assistance. Nobody should be denied access to mental health care because she or he is poor or lives in a remote place.” During the crisis, this point must be emphasized. Consequently, it is necessary to normalize and broaden access to psychological care, underutilized in our country. While the majority of European countries broadly have a higher ratio of professionals per inhabitant (in short, Europe has triple the number of professionals in psychology), in Catalonia, and the rest of the state, we still have a long way to go.

Connie Capdevila Brophy, PhD. Clinical psychologist. Board member of the Col·legi Oficial de Psicologia de Catalunya.

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Looking after your mental health during the pandemic. Psychological tools won’t change reality but will help your wellbeing

Mantener la salud emocional durante la pandemia

Psychological care and facing the pandemic.