The new normal, cabin syndrome, symptoms and tips.

As we move forward in the de-escalation after confinement, new challenges arise.

In the face of the pandemic we are experiencing, social isolation was adopted to a greater or lesser extent as the most effective measure to avoid further contagion.

We stayed locked up at home, as it was our best way of taking care of ourselves, but after a prolonged period of time and with very little limitation for going out, we became accustomed to a greater or lesser extent to this "new way of life"..

They say that it takes a person 21 days to acquire a habit; at the beginning, acquiring it requires a lot of physical and mental effort, bringing anxiety as one of the most important symptoms. Then, as the days go by, we start to get used to this new habit.

But... How do we go back? How do we start going out without fear? How do we adapt to the new hygiene and social security measures? How do we acquire it again?

The process of returning to normality

Now we are in Spain in the de-escalation phase; that means that little by little we will start to leave, with new limitations and habits that we will have to acquire little by little.

Something that I am seeing in many people, is that now that we can leave little by little, it begins to generate a situation of fear and of fearThis means that it is difficult for us to leave our house and the confinement we have been living for the last two months.

We are talking about the cabin syndrome, which is the fear of going out in the street, fear of contacting other people, fear of doing activities that used to be part of our daily lives. We are aware of the real risk of exposing ourselves to going out..

That is why it is totally normal that feelings of insecurity and fear may arise, since we perceive our home as the only safe place to be. It took us a long time to understand that we did not have to leave our home, but now that we can, we find it hard to face this new way of life, because after weeks of confinement our mind has become accustomed to the security of our home. after weeks of confinement, our mind has become accustomed to the security of our home.. This is due to a natural consequence of spending so much time in confinement at home.

Symptoms that we can have if we are going through the cabin syndrome

These are the different the different ways in which this problem manifests itself.

• Cognitive: Difficulty concentrating, memory problems.
• Emotionally: symptoms of depression, feeling more anxious, anguish, fear, feeling of suffocation.
• Fear of going out, of going back to our old routine, of establishing social relationships, lack of motivation.

How do I get back to the new normal?

The first thing I advise is to to make our exits in a gradual way, that we are the ones who regulate what we need and how we do it.We are the ones who regulate what we need and how we do it.

It is important to graduate our contact with the outside but little by little, and to see how we feel, what emotions it generates in us. It is essential that we listen to ourselves and reflect on what is happening to us, and that we can express it.and that we can express it. I recommend doing it little by little, since in this way we will gradually and not abruptly get in touch with our life.

It is also important that in the schedule that we are allowed to go out to do something that we like, such as enjoying the sun, the smells, nature. If we like to do sports, we should connect with it little by little. It is much easier if we concentrate on these little things so that we can be motivated to repeat the outing the next day. Before the confinement, we probably didn't stop to look at a lot of things because we always had them.

But now, after the wave of pandemic infections, we should put more emphasis on the little things that we took for granted before and now we can't do them. and now we can't do them.

To alleviate the symptoms of cabin syndrome, we must take into account respecting and following safety protocols. Faced with the fear that can generate us to go out in the street, social distancing, use of masks, hand washing, where everyone as a whole will provide us with more security, both individually and in our society, is essential.both individually and in our society.

It is normal to be afraid at this time, but it is also normal to want to overcome it little by little and feel more confident about ourselves and the outside world.

To be able to practice, if possible, relaxation and breathing techniques, will make us feel calmer, and above all to connect with our greatest fears in order to overcome them little by little.

By way of conclusion

In these weeks that we have ahead, I advise to evaluate ourselves and pay close attention to how we are feeling day by day, especially if the feeling of fear continues to exist after a few days, to consult a professional about what we are feeling. Many times we do not know how to get out of a situation, and we need psychological help to do it. we need psychological help to be able to do it..

We encourage everyone to start being a little more positive, and that all together we will be able to get out of this situation. It is normal that for some of us it may take more effort, but that does not mean that we cannot achieve it. We don't all have the same time or the same tools, and none of us have ever experienced this confinement. It is a totally new situation for all of us.