Tips to Avoid Pandemic Despair

Guidelines and recommendations to keep feelings of despair at bay during the pandemic.

Every major crisis has both a material and a psychological impact on the population, and the coronavirus pandemic is no exception.

In this sense, many people feel that the situation is beyond them, and emotional imbalances linked to the pandemic appear. emotional imbalances linked to a feeling of despair and anguish appear..

Of course, feeling anguish and stress in such a context is not something bad or necessarily problematic, but a natural reaction to what happens when many things we took for granted are no longer so. But many times this psychological state becomes part of the problem, because it keeps us in a state of hopelessness that paralyzes us and prevents us from finding solutions and applying them. In this article we will see what to do in those cases.

How do problems of despair arise in the face of the pandemic?

The sources of stress and distress in times of coronavirus are many, but the following stand out:

- Fear of losing job or income. - Fear of contagion - Fear of losing health or losing loved ones - Uncertainty about the social, political and economic transformation of the country - Discomfort with the compulsory measures implemented to prevent infection - Social isolation

Among all these elements, the fact of not knowing what will happen stands out (since the lack of information on relevant issues associated with crises is often interpreted from a pessimistic point of view), the stress of having to adapt to a more adverse economic reality, and the experiences of fear or loss generated by the effect of the generated by the effect of the virus itself. These are problems that no one counted on a few months ago, and that force us to "position ourselves" both in our personal and professional lives, making efforts to adapt to a new and very complex reality.

Faced with the idea that in situations like this, mistakes can be expensive, it is easy for psychological rumination to appear.This is the tendency to think over and over again about the same thing, even though it causes us discomfort. This phenomenon goes hand in hand with anxiety, which keeps us in an almost constant state of alert even though it does not necessarily make us more efficient in tackling our problems (in fact, it often has the opposite effect, paralyzing us through indecision).

What to do?

The most efficient and effective way to manage the negative emotions resulting from the COVID-19 crisis consists of see a psychologistThis is possible even with mobility restrictions thanks to the online video call therapy format. However, beyond psychotherapy there are also a number of habits and small routines that you can incorporate into your daily life to prevent or mitigate the anxiety problems associated with the pandemic. These are the most important ones.

1. Establish a schedule and print it out

Having a schedule that includes the main blocks of activities for every day of the week is very important for structuring your daily habits. is very important to structure your habits and make a good time management..

In addition, it is recommended that you do not limit yourself to having it saved on a computer, but print it once or several times so that you can put it in places in your home or workplace where it will be visible. This will act as a reminder of what you need to do and will also help you to keep in mind your short and medium-term goals, so you will be more focused on them.

2. Establish a separation between work and private life.

Knowing how to clearly define which are the moments and places to dedicate to work and those composed of leisure time and domestic and family responsibilities is basic to maintain a good emotional balance.

The key idea of the previous section, having a timetable, helps a lot in this, but this is not enough. It is necessary to be actively involved in preventing professional dynamics from "infiltrating" the hours of the day that we should be devoting to anything else. Otherwise, you will be more exposed to obsessive thoughts linked to your work.

3. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness exercises help to keep anxiety and intrusive thoughts at bay, and they are very easy to learn. You can incorporate these practices into your daily life both as a break in your workday and before going to sleep, for example, to bring you to states of calmness and orientation.For example, to bring you to calm and goal-oriented states at points in the day when staying in a state of paralysis and loop thinking might bring you more problems.

4. Exercise at moderate intensity to unwind

Regular exercise sessions will not only keep you fit, but will also make you more resistant to anxiety and help you release tension. It is best to schedule at least two aerobic exercise sessions per week, between 40 and 60 minutes.

5. Practice relaxation techniques before going to sleep.

These techniques will help you to go to the cape having disconnected from possible recurring thoughts that often lead you to a state of anxiety or worry.. For example, you can dedicate 5 to 10 minutes to controlled diaphragmatic breathing or Jacobson's progressive Muscle relaxation.

6. Establish preparation rituals for when you go to sleep.

It is very important to sleep well and enough hoursTo do this, it is best to adopt habits that do not expose us to the temptation of "a few more minutes" doing anything else when it is time to get into bed and turn off the light.

Therefore, keep in mind that before that part of your day you should have approximately 20 or 30 minutes of preparation in which you will perform actions whose sole purpose is to allow you to go to sleep with everything done: brushing your teeth, changing the sheets, turning off the computer, closing the patio door, etc. However, it is advisable that among these activities are not those associated with your work life, because otherwise you will probably start thinking about work at the least appropriate time for it.

7. Keep your agenda up to date

It is important that you write down in your agenda all those tasks that, no matter how small or seemingly trivial they may seem, are part of your responsibilities.

That way, you will always have a clear idea of your objectives for the next few hours.. Keep in mind that thinking mainly about what you can and/or must do in the short term will help you avoid falling into the despair of thinking only about the big tasks that must be done in the medium and long term, which can paralyze you due to the intimidating power of these responsibilities seen as a whole. It is necessary to try to "break them down" into small elements in order to go slowly but surely.

Would you like to have professional psychological assistance?

If you are going through bad times and you notice that it is difficult for you to maintain a good emotional balance, contact our team of psychotherapy professionals.

In Cribecca Psychology we work serving people of all ages both through psychotherapy for individual patients and through couples therapy and family therapy, as well as from neuropsychology. You can have our help in our psychology center located in Seville, or through our online therapy service.

Bibliographical references:

• Dickson, K.; Ciesla, J.A.; Reilly, L.C. (2011). "Rumination, worry, cognitive avoidance, and behavioral avoidance: Examination of temporal effects". Behavior Therapy. 43 (3): 937-959.
• Kasper, S.; Boer, J.A. & Sitsen, J.M.A. (2003). Handbook of depression and anxiety (2nd ed.). New York: M. Dekker.
• Kendler, K.S. (2004). Major Depression and Generalised Anxiety Disorder. FOCUS. 2(3): pp. 416 - 425.
• Papageorgiou, C.; Wells, A. (2001). Metacognitive beliefs about rumination in recurrent major depression. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 8(2): pp. 160 - 164.
• Persson, P.B. & Zakrisson, A. (2016). Stress. Acta Physiologica, 216(2): pp. 149 - 152.
• Settipani, C.A.; Kendall, P.C. (2013). Social functioning in youth with anxiety disorders: association with anxiety severity and outcomes from cognitive-behavioral therapy. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 44(1): pp. 1 - 18.
• Sylvers, P.; Lilienfeld, S.O.; LaPrairie, J.L. (2011). Differences between trait fear and trait anxiety: implications for psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(1): pp. 122 - 137.