Javier Elcarte: "We have built a fallacy of control and security".

Psychologist Javier Elcarte talks to us about the management of uncertainty in times of COVID-19.

It is difficult not to associate SARS-CoV-2, also known simply as "coronavirus", with discomfort in almost all its forms.

Frustration at not being able to lead a normal life in the face of the restrictions on movement applied by governments to avoid contagion, concern about the possibility of already having the virus in our bodies without realizing it, fear of not having washed our hands as much as we should have in such a context, etc.

However, beyond this discomfort based on short-termism, there is another set of unpleasant feelings that are projected into the future, and that have to do with the uncertainty about what will happen in the coming months and even years. The lack of certainties and information in this regard is a reality to which we must learn to get used to; and in the face of this, psychologists like our interviewee today, Javier Elcarte, have much to say, psychologists like our interviewee of today, Javier Elcarte, have much to say..

Interview with Javier Elcarte: the need to manage uncertainty in the face of COVID-19

Javier Elcarte is a psychologist specialized in psychotherapy and neuropsychology, as well as President of the Spanish Society of Bio and Neurofeedback and Director and founding member of the Vitaliza center, located in Pamplona.

Throughout more than 20 years of experience dedicated to Psychology, this professional has seen how the logic of anxiety and emotional imbalance works in crisis situations. Therefore, in this case we will talk with him about the uncertainty associated with the coronavirus pandemic and its psychological implications, following the interviews conducted to Elcarte in his monthly section in Radio4/RNE by Silvia Tarragona.

In your opinion, what are the aspects of this social and health crisis that remind us every day that we are living in times that are very different from what we understand as "normality"?

Actually, the question practically answers itself. I think we should ask ourselves the opposite question... is there anything in what we are living in these times that reminds us of the "normality" of the past? There is no human, educational, occupational or social activity that has not been affected by the pandemic. The social distancing, even more accentuated after the obligatory use of masks at all times and places, interferes in all our activities as human beings.

The human being is social by definition, and our brain is biologically related, therefore, this aspect is basic and univocal when it comes to becoming aware that we are living in times far removed from what we understand as "normality".

Can it be said that, in general, in the absence of information about what will happen regarding issues we consider important, human beings tend to adopt a pessimistic point of view? That is, to focus on what we stand to lose.

Human beings need certainties, our brain seeks control, explanation, understanding. However, I am not a great believer in the concept of pessimism. I always remember that "a pessimist is an experienced realist".

But beyond clichés, the lack of information regarding vital aspects of our existence what it produces, and I refer to official surveys regarding this pandemic, are exponential increases in fear, frustration, anger and hopelessness. Which, in turn, prolonged in time, as is already happening, derives in depressive symptoms. And of course, once in depression, the clouds can only be black... and we only see all the bad things that can happen.

In what ways can uncertainty facilitate the onset of anxiety disorders?

Uncertainty has been throughout history consubstantial with being human. Until not so long ago, one could die from a thousand and one infections or bacteria and subsistence was almost always hanging by a thread, life expectancy was much lower and only the strongest survived. Vulnerability to the fact of death was so evident that, in its smallness, human beings relied on more symbolic and intangible certainties, especially religion.

Little by little we have built a fallacy of control, of security and well-being in terms of health, work and survival, which the pandemic has shown to be fragile and unrealistic. Our bubble as a society, made of bohemian glass, has burst under the impact of this invisible enemy. The alert has been activated in all of us. The enemy may be our usual friend, the neighbor. The virus lurks in any corner or surface. My job may disappear. There is no illusion, no project. Our computer is on high alert all day long and ends up melting down. Anxiety is always secondary to alertness, lack of control, fear and uncertainty.

And how can this lack of information affect family relationships? For example, not knowing very well when it will be possible to be in direct contact with loved ones particularly vulnerable to Respiratory problems could perhaps give way to taboo subjects, such as openly assuming that they could spend several months in a situation of relative isolation.

The uncertainty will obviously have more devastating effects depending on how painful the situation is. And there is perhaps no event more painful than having a loved one at risk of illness or death and not being able to accompany or say goodbye to him or her.

Nursing homes are a clear example of this suffering, where isolation, and the impossibility of not being able to contact the loved one, have led to such hopelessness, especially on the part of the elderly isolated in their bedrooms, that one does not know if this has not caused so much more havoc in terms of mortality than the virus itself.

Given that not everyone is very clear about the measures to be taken to minimize the risk of infection, to what extent can it affect children to receive conflicting messages about what to do to adapt to the pandemic context?

Children's brains are still developing, and what we sow in them now will leave an indelible mark on their adult lives. I don't think there is any other institution at this time where the sanitary standards of masks and distance are enforced with more rigidity and commitment than in children's schools.

Teachers are in a terrible position. The child is receiving notions that his or her behavior can be fatal to another human being, that they are responsible, if they remove their masks, for the death of others. This produces isolation in the child's mind, fear and introversion.

Both in early childhood, where the social model is absorbed almost by osmosis, and in the adolescent stage, where the social bond is fundamentally developed, isolation will end up settling in their minds and behaviors. And if we add to this the proliferation of entertainment with new technologies... the panorama of human and social distancing is frightening.

What can psychology do to help people manage uncertainty?

Psychology can and should do a lot. Perhaps we are one of the keys to alleviate this generalized discouragement and frustration. Beyond the always necessary and beneficial treatments of fear, anxiety, depression and other morbid correlates secondary to the pandemic situation we are living.

At the end of the day, psychology teaches above all to face and manage in a mature and functional way what life has in store for us. And in this case, life has brought us a situation of total and complete emergency, of global fear and uncertainty for the entire planet. Exceptional situations require exceptional solutions and responses. Today, it is urgent to provide human beings with the tools, perhaps already unlearned, of resilience, acceptance and coping with illness and death.

In short, what gives its name to this interview, the management of uncertainty. Psychoeducation, desensitization of irrational fears, strengthening of cognitive and behavioral strengths and above all, in my opinion, the calm and calm awareness of a situation that is inevitable but which, like everything else, will pass. In this sense, in Vitaliza we are intervening with especially in the development of therapeutic Mindfulness, taking mindfulness as a basic tool for managing uncertainty, with more than encouraging results.