[ad_1]
Fear and anxiety are not the same
A person can feel two similar feelings: fear and anxiety. The two feelings are apparently very similar: they both face the future and communicate a potential danger. However, according to the psychotherapist Eugenijus Laurinaitis, fear and anxiety can be distinguished by an important characteristic.
“In case of fear, the danger is known and perceived. For example, fear can arise if a person knows that a bandit with a knife is standing around the corner and can attack him. On the contrary, in case of anxiety, the danger is unknown, unclear as a coronavirus, a person does not see it and does not understand what they can do ”, explains the specialist the difference between fear and anxiety.
These two feelings also differ in that a person who feels fear and knows that danger lurks can avoid it. For example, if there is a known malice standing in a corner with a knife, a person can bypass that corner and thus avoid danger. However, an avoidance strategy will not help you overcome anxiety – without knowing what danger lies ahead, it cannot be avoided.
“Fear is related to the outside world and the real factors that exist there, and anxiety is the psychological state of a person that arises from their own internal conflicts,” says the psychotherapist.
© DELFI / Kirill Chekhovsky
Eugenijus Laurinaitis
And how to control the growing anxiety? According to E. Laurinaitis, the best way is a clear vision of reality. The specialist affirms that to combat anxiety it is important to rely on facts because anxiety arises from ignorance.
The interviewee also highlights that during the pandemic, psychologists and psychotherapists admitted a record number of patients whose main problem was anxiety disorders.
The possibility of losing a stable income is worrisome
The first survey of the Anxiety Index was conducted in the fall of 2020. This study sought to learn the opinion of the country’s population about anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic. A little later, half a year later, the survey was repeated to find out what changes had taken place in a pandemic society, and respondents were asked additional questions.
Here, residents were asked what worries them most during the quarantine period. As it turned out, residents are concerned about serious illness, unemployment, death, as well as permanent loss of income and family disasters.
Anxiety about constant loss of income and unemployment appears to have increased the most in the first half of the year, with the number of respondents increasing from 19 to 26 percent. These most frequently identified factors concern people with secondary and basic education.
© Shutterstock
Associative photo.
Respondents were also asked about other concerns: loved ones and personal health, financial insecurity, as well as additional restrictions and a change in situation due to personal plans. As the warm season approaches, many more Lithuanians are concerned about possible bans on visiting foreign countries, four times more than in autumn.
Anxiety persists even during the release of the quarantine.
Although the release of quarantine restrictions should reduce anxiety, it is still lacking in society during this period. What are Lithuanians worried about during the quarantine release?
There are several reasons for concern: that we will not return to normal life for a long time (56%), that new varieties of COVID-19 will appear (48%) and that travel bans will continue during the warm season. (30%); There are also concerns about vaccine side effects (28%) and that COVID-19 will require consistent vaccination (23%).
The residents were also asked about their future plans and, more precisely, how they promise to behave in the event of a significant reduction in the number of patients and restrictions.
Most of the respondents answered that they still do not promise to travel this year, up to 58% said so. surveyed. 23% plan to travel, visit family and friends. population of the country, respondents are metropolitan residents, representatives of the highest income group.
[ad_2]
