Experts advised how to survive the quarantine crisis: don’t say a single sentence to yourself and give up alcohol completely

It also affects people with mental illness.

Psychologists now offer advice remotely, for example, by phone, online, or by message.

When asked how quarantine will affect patients in a psychiatric hospital, the director of the Vilnius Republican Psychiatric Hospital prof. Arūnas Germanavičius said that there are two aspects of this phenomenon.

For one thing, the environment in which people live does not help people with mental disorders recover. On the contrary, their environment is often toxic and as a result they go to the hospital, the professor explained.

“In a sense, they even feel more secure when contact with loved ones decreases. On the other hand, there are people who really need to keep in touch. We have a department of child and adolescent psychiatry. I understand that knowing and supporting loved ones is very important, but such circumstances make us wonder if we do not pose a threat to other people, “said the director of Vilnius Psychiatric Hospital.

We all feel anxious

Psychologist and psychotherapist Agnė Matulaitė said that people today are particularly concerned that they cannot control the future.

“We hope to have a predictable and controlled future in the western world, in some countries all the meetings are planned even a year before. You want to have confidence. We face the well very clearly when we realize that control is just an illusion”, said the psychotherapist.

Therefore, he said, it must be recognized that we all feel anxious now. And it is completely natural.

“It just came to our attention then. And then people have problems, like an increased desire to control the environment, in which case they are really experiencing a storm right now. We should normally talk that this is normal and what can we do to step step by step. Because research shows that if we outshine people in numbers, there is great panic, people turn to their old injuries. Which makes it much more important to say what each of us can do. Better to talk about positive cases. We need to find a hero in ourselves, what each of us can do, “A. Matulaitė shared his advice.

In the presence of a virus, and especially when it is an invisible enemy, our conscience looks for a scapegoat. So, according to a psychologist, during stress, people seem to slow down the brain’s thinking zone a bit, and one type of animal thinking begins to work.

“So when we don’t have something to be angry about, we get angry about something else, like the complainer. It’s very important not to forget to breathe, calm down, and allow your brain to work again. Thought can be controlled and It is a great opportunity to do it ”, encouraged the psychologist.

It is important to remember some rules.

A. Matulaitė mentioned the main things that would only worsen mental health right now and what really shouldn’t be done.

“Don’t try to tell yourself, just don’t panic, relax. Don’t say those words to your loved ones, either. Second, limit the following of news as much as possible. Surely the world won’t collapse if you don’t learn about another disease ( …). Avoid seeing it on big screens so that it is only a small part of what you are seeing. Such information can bombard even a completely healthy person, “said A. Matulaitė.

Even a simple 10-second focus on your deep breath can help, says the psychologist. She advises trying to breathe and calm down so that you feel the heart slow down, the extremities freeze, which means the body calms down and looks like it is preparing to sleep.

Another simple psychological exercise is to take a piece of paper and draw a large circle on it, then number all the statements that concern you.

“And then put them together: what depends on me, in the center of the circle, what does not depend on me, on the outside of the circle. In this way you will see what you can control and what you cannot. By the way, one should not be afraid to go out where there are no people, because nature itself is relaxing. In spite of everything, spring will still come, “said A. Matulaitė.

Prof. Arūnas Germanavičius added that a person’s group behavior determines a lot, therefore everyone should reconsider what we are doing wrong.

Remember, this is not social isolation

“When it comes to people with mental disorders, reduced contact and isolation have a profound effect on both people with depression and people with psychosis. “Studies have shown that when a person is completely disconnected from the world, from light, sounds and external senses, that person can develop psychotic disorders, such as hallucinations, misconceptions, within a few hours,” said the professor.

Self-isolation can have a particularly negative impact on people who already have a mental disorder, and it can also help develop even new mental disorders.

“Therefore, it is very important that people keep those contacts, but keep them at a distance. You should also maintain physical activity. We need to get outside, “said A. Germanavičius.

Also, according to the teacher, it is very important to avoid those things that cause anxiety. It is a large quantity of coffee, a sweet drink. Alcohol should be avoided entirely, and it is advisable to seek pleasure or relaxation in another way. For example, listening to music, watching movies.

“If the anxiety is so great that it becomes difficult to concentrate, plan our actions, we no longer want to eat due to anxiety, these are signs that it is out of control. In this case, it is necessary to turn to psychologists for help, “said A. Germanavičius.

Agnė Matulaitė added that it should be understood that this is not social isolation, it is physical isolation and encouraged not to stop communicating by phone.

According to the interlocutor, when a small group of people closes in a space, sooner or later, there is always the feeling that things are getting boring. But according to the psychologist, in case of success, after a while, the family becomes a team that plans the next day together.

“Of course, self-isolation is a huge challenge for families. Now all of our problems become like under a magnifying glass, that must be remembered,” advised A. Matulaitė.