[ad_1]
Much of the year, with the exception of a brief summer relief, has been shackled by the coronavirus epidemic and it seems that that will not change for the moment. How long does the human psyche last if you have to worry about your health and your existence for months?
We have hardly encountered a global pandemic in our lifetime. This year’s disaster struck us unexpectedly, unprepared. We had no relevant experiences or solution scenarios. We had to change our previous way of life in many ways. Think of lagging community programs, digital education, extra work in the workplace, or simply losing a job. As we faced it, we did not know how long it would take to avoid or mitigate it.
Mental effects are available in various forms, such as loneliness, loss of control, anxiety, and uncertainties about the future. Unknown situations are anxiety themselves, such persistent uncertainty, unpredictable vision that affects not only our mental state but our health as well.
Although fear is a basic emotion, it also depends on the individual to what extent the current situation wears them mentally. However, the appearance of negative thoughts, stress or excessive anxiety can also be reduced in many cases with psychological techniques.
Epidemiological rules narrow our personal social relationships and limit the possibility of active leisure activities. Can they be replaced by digital channels and platforms, or is it inevitable that our mental health will be damaged, so to speak, during an endless epidemic?
Not everything, but online contact can pay off a lot. However, different rules and labels apply to digital operation. Although it can handle information transfer or certain social support functions, it cannot reproduce physical contact, proximity, or a significant part of communication, such as, for example, a concert experience or a lagzi atmosphere. Those who, due to their age or financial means, do not have the appropriate quantity and quality of technical equipment and the knowledge and experience to use them, are at special risk.
We have already experienced a curfew in the spring, we will be forced to close again at the end of the year. Is there any experience from the moment of the first wave that can now help you cope with another mental strain?
We are now beyond the initial shock, and we may not be updating the news every hour. We have taken the first steps to reorganize our day to day and adapt to the situation. During the second wave, we can translate many things into our everyday coping methods of the spring period. However, the current situation is also different than at the beginning of the year.
It is a common experience that designing a home system, a fixed system, can add up to a great deal of work.
We can continue to maintain the new forms of social support and community responsibility that will be developed in the spring. Examples are suddenly formed online groups, online joint meetings, various volunteer offers.
The holidays are approaching, and in many people the feeling of loneliness can intensify, which can only be aggravated by the coronavirus epidemic. How can we help those with mental illness or those who are left alone with their problems now?
With attention and communication. Let’s get to know each other. Many services have also strengthened their accessibility online, from a variety of forms of movement to theater performances and working online from home. Many of the psychologists are also freely available for difficulties associated with the epidemic. It is also important that authentic professional information and techniques are available rather than pseudoscientific content.
For example, the initiative of the volunteers of the Psychodiacs Foundation, the Deep Air Project or the online platforms of the Psynapsis-Budapest Psychology Days aimed at disseminating psychological knowledge as widely as possible also set this goal. They regularly share information and tips about their social interfaces that can help them get through this difficult time.
What surveys have been conducted so far in the context of the mental state and epidemic situation, and what are the lessons learned from this?
Knowing the nature of the virus, the epidemic, and people’s behavior and reactions to the situation is key, so research is being conducted in many areas of the world, from virology to various behavioral sciences and economic analysis. Whether it’s vaccine research, mathematical modeling of the spread of the epidemic, or surveys of reading and book-buying habits during quarantine.
There is also a lot of research in the field of psychology to scientifically understand the phenomenon, be it about mood and state of mind, the tendency to wear a mask and walk away. I participate in the work of various research groups. During our projects, we seek the answer to how respondents experience the closed quarantine situation in the spring. How do their emotional and mental states change, or what changes has the change of place caused in the field of leisure exercise and sports activities?
In terms of family and private life, is the epidemic more likely to strengthen human relationships or destroy them? What is more characteristic?
Seeing many examples is that closeness can strengthen and deepen the relationship, but there is no doubt that this lasting union can also be a breeding ground for tension, friction and conflict. In the same way that we cannot hide the escalation of domestic violence under the rug. The difficulty, the form and the root of the problem also determine the solution. That is, if a greater degree of patience towards the other is sufficient, a solution to the conflict and the situation that caused it, a change in communication, or a more serious intervention or measure may be necessary. The same duality can be observed among those who have turned away from each other as a result of the situation.
The fundamental question is whether physical distance also means social distance. For this reason, for example, in the case of establishing relationships, relationships with less stable foundations or work groups, it is advisable to pay more focused attention so that the relationship is not emptied or reduced to compulsory topics and basic tasks.
If we open up this question further: can the coronavirus, so to speak, help foster a sense of social belonging, solidarity with each other, or, on the contrary, can it only exacerbate conflicts?
We need to strengthen the cohesion of the community, and the situation can help, but it can only work optimally if you think in terms of the system.
We can also do a lot on an individual level if we follow the rules in the interests of others and our own, are courteous, or support our immediate environment with smaller tasks and offers.
At the same time, solidarity must become a value at all levels of the organization, be it a corporate task force, a helping profession, or government solutions.
There are also opinions that the coronavirus can stay with us for four to five years. How long can it be mentally tolerated, either by the individual or by a society, which must constantly exist within epidemiological limitations?
Adaptation, adaptation to the new situation, resilience are key in this matter. Many of the old modes of operation are unsustainable and we do not have a full impact on external conditions. When we are not able to change the external circumstance that poses a threat or stress situation, within a closed period, it is advisable to focus on the factors that we can control and regulate. For example, to organize our lives, to strengthen our coping potential. You need to be able to recognize when a paradigm shift is needed, either at the individual level or more comprehensively.
Every day people die from the virus, we hear and read poignant numbers, data. How can this news be processed emotionally? Are we not afraid of becoming more and more indifferent when hearing tragedies?
You can also combat indifference with conscious news consumption. We are exhausted by the information that floods us in great quantities, the articles have less and less informative value for us, we have to reach and maintain our attention with more and more intense stimuli. That’s what the most dramatic shows, the most sensational headlines, or the most spectacular commercials are all about. Really important things can easily get lost in this type of communication noise. We need to learn to calm this noise within ourselves and pay attention to the essentials.
Book cover: Isza Ferenc / Index
[ad_2]
