Fear of returning to work after confinement.

A form of unexpected emotional distress that can arise in the pandemic crisis.

The exceptional situation in which we find ourselves due to the coronavirus pandemic is problematic, among other things, because it makes it necessary to adapt to a changing reality in which many variables come into play.

Many people have difficulties in dealing with situations for which there are no precedents in recent decades; until a few months ago, practically no one considered what to do in a context of confinement due to the risk of contagion.

One of the problems that can arise is having to manage a sense of fear of returning to work as the de-escalation process as the de-escalation of confinement takes place. In this article we will see what to do in such a situation.

Fear of returning to work after deconfinement: a complex problem.

In a situation of economic crisis, to have emotional problems linked to the labor scope turns out to be especially painful. That is why those who feel fear, insecurity or even anguish at the thought of being back at work may feel that the situation is beyond themThe context is already convulsive enough, and to this must be added an emotional disturbance that affects the way in which one performs professionally.

Fear can arise from different causesthe expectation of facing a lot of accumulated work, the fact of feeling that the risk of dismissal is near, the fact of exposing oneself to other people, etc. Sometimes, what is scary is the idea of not being able to postpone indefinitely everything that has to do with work and pretend not to think about what is going to happen in the professional and economic sphere of our lives.

On the other hand, another complication that goes hand in hand with this problem is the fact that those who suffer from it in their own flesh tend to feel misunderstood.

After weeks in which the general mood has been one of wishing to be able to go out freely and reopen business as usual, feeling anxious about the prospect of returning to work seems eccentric, or even a sign of weakness, of too delicate a nature. However, emotional imbalance does indeed exist, emotional imbalance really does existand there are reasons to take it seriously wherever it appears.

What to do?

Here are some tips you can follow if you think you suffer from fear of returning to work at the end of the pandemic confinement.

1. Maintain discipline in sleep schedules

It is very important to do everything possible that anxiety does not make us sleep less than our body needs.. This will increase our predisposition to develop more psychological problems of emotional type, and in addition, in a matter of a few days of having few hours of sleep, it will significantly affect our performance.

Set yourself a schedule to know at what time you should be in bed with the light off, and follow it in a disciplined manner. In addition, for a few hours before that time of day, do not expose yourself to situations that maintain a high activity in your nervous system: neither exercise, nor expose yourself to a lot of light or a lot of sounds, if possible.

2. Practice relaxation exercises

To keep fear, anxiety and related emotional states at bay, it is very useful to practice relaxation exercises. It will only take you a few minutesYou can find audios that serve as a guideline both in Youtube videos and in mobile applications.

3. Practice exposure exercises in the imagination

One way to deal with situations that frighten us is to close our eyes and recreate in our imagination what it is like to expose ourselves to what we fear. The best thing to do is to first do some rehearsals to practice the way in which you will imagine everything as vividly as possible.Then, imagine situations that generate more and more anxiety, following a difficulty curve that gradually increases.

4. Take care of yourself

If our body is not well, our emotional balance will not be either. Exercise moderately to keep your mind active and able to "disengage" from those fears, and eat well so that your body is better able to cope with stress-generating situations without suffering great wear and tear.

5. If you need it, see a psychologist

Each person is different, and some may need the personalized help of a psychologist to follow their case.. The good news is that psychological disorders linked to anxiety are relatively easy to treat.

Do you need the help of a psychologist?

As we have seen, the fact of feeling fear at the return to work contains many variables and is a complex phenomenon.

Therefore, if you notice that in your case these tips are not enough, you think that the situation is beyond you and you need professional support from a psychologist, please contact me. Soy psicólogo especializado en el modelo cognitivo-conductual y puedo ayudarte a desarrollar tus habilidades de gestión emocional; atiendo tanto de manera presencial como a través de sesiones online por videollamada. Para ver mis datos de contacto, accede a esta página.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• American Psychiatric Association (2014). DSM-5. Manual diagnóstico y estadístico de los trastornos mentales. Madrid: Panamericana.
• Barlow, D.H. (2000). Unraveling the mysteries of anxiety and its disorders from the perspective of emotion theory. The American Psychologist. 55 (11): pp. 1247 - 1263.
• Nestadt, G.; Samuels, J.; Riddle, M.A.; Liang, K.I. et.al. (2001). The relationship between obsessive–compulsive disorder and anxiety and affective disorders: results from the Johns Hopkins OCD Family Study. Psychological Medicine 31.