Do you think you are suffering from the psychological effects of confinement? Do you not know how to deal with this time of instability? Discover the psychological secrets to benefit from it.
According to several studies in collaboration with the most important universities in our country, the population’s distress has grown by 46% because of the health and economic crisis experienced by the confinement and the Coronavirus. So much so that there are several indicators that the psychological consequences of confinement and COVID-19 will be much more lasting than the same disease we are fighting for.
The fear that the Coronavirus instills in us not only makes us act in a way that harms us as we show in this article. There are a wide variety of examples that there are more sequelae from confinement and from this virus than at first glance. Despite all this wave of pessimism that is coming our way, it is vital to take advantage of the situation both psychologically and professionally.
Psychological effects of confinement
One consequence of the confinement that we have been able to see both on the networks and in the news and even in our own skin has been the psychological effects experienced because of this situation. There are cases in which these consequences of confinement have not even been detected by those closest to the people who suffer them. There are studies that show that some psychological pathologies typical of solitude and isolation have increased, especially in young people and women. The main psychological effects of confinement can be summarized as follows.
- Sense of unreality
Although thinking that what is happening to us is unreal and strange is an understandable sensation because of the effects of confinement if this momentary alteration of perception is felt in a recurrent way, it can lead us to certain consequences. The most common symptom is feeling disconnected from everything that surrounds a person, both from objects and their environment. Mainly the symptoms perceived in a feeling of unreality are.
Feeling that you are inside a movie or a dream
Perceiving that you are emotionally disconnected from others
Change the perception of time and environment (feel more distorted)
In the most extreme cases, this perception can cause a panic attack in people who suffer from it.
- Confinement anxiety
Anxiety is one of the most common affectations in our society today. So much so, that during confinement over 65% of the population has experienced anxiety. The psychological effects experienced during these days are:
Negative and threatening thoughts
Excess concern
Feelings of inferiority
Sense of imminent death
There are many more complications because of this psychological condition. You can consult everything related to this disease in this article.
Fear of illness or loss of loved ones
Fear is the feeling of losing control as we either step out of our comfort zone or out of a place where we are completely safe. But with confinement, it is very different; fear arises because of a feeling of lack of control and instability. Because of this, we can become mentally destabilized in many aspects of our lives.
- Depression and Pessimism
Another of the psychological effects of confinement and the Coronavirus is that our mind has become much more pessimistic. This is not only because we spend more hours locked up at home, but also because of an environment full of bad news and the destabilization of the country’s economy. Ending up with a mind full of recurring thoughts and negativity can lead to the appearance of depression. You can read more about its effects in this article to find out if this is your situation.
- Irritability and anger
An unfair situation can lead us to feel both irritated and angry with the world. Although anger is a natural human reaction, if it is very intense and recurrent it can become worrisome. Not only because of the psychological effects it has on you, but also because of those around you. In addition, these types of feelings can be closely linked to developing more intolerance towards stress and having a much greater tendency to frustration, making these emotions a vicious circle.
In these cases, it is essential to take control of your emotions and feelings and try to remedy them so as not to suffer further psychological consequences in confinement. In all of them, you can count on the help of a mental health professional online to get out of this situation unscathed and reinforced.
How to overcome confinement?
Even if you see all the symptoms of confinement that exist, know that it is possible to benefit from the crisis that the Coronavirus is causing. So much so that despite all the consequences of confinement, there are some psychological skills that can help us make the most of these moments. For this reason, we have had the help of psychologist Joan Ramon Soto Cifuentes.
- How can we better face a bad economic situation because of the pandemic?
The repercussions of the pandemic are multiple as the sanitary ones in the great majority of cases, the lack of sanitary resources and qualified personnel, the ERTE’s that have visited the homes of many people is a flagrant situation that affects at a psychological and emotional level appearing symptoms like anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and extreme phobias to the contagion and not to leave home because of fear, obsessive circular thoughts…
Next, I will detail some resources to combat these states that will go very well:
Identify recurrent thoughts
Identify the recurring thoughts that burden us and take action. I focus on my breathing and concentrate in the most conscious and precise way of the present moment and my breathing, always trying to see the positive of everything that, no matter how black the situation is, exists. Look for it!
Adapt yourself and the situation that you have to live in.
You are one more affected, avoid punishing and scourging yourself. If you can change your situation, do it and don’t complain so you don’t negative loops, create routines, make plans and don’t fall into the leverage, get out of the comfort zone even if it is uncomfortable or painful. Rise from the ashes in case you have gone down to the bottom is your goal.
Make the most of your time
Learn to put yourself in other people’s shoes and stop looking at your belly button and take advantage of the opportunity to relate more and better to your partner, children, and family. Share with your friends, don’t isolate yourself, connect to the Internet, call people you know, study something that catches your attention, reinvent yourself, practice some sport, and change your diet…
Accept the situation
Each one of us is handling the situation as best we can. Try to relax, learn to meditate, and accept the situation you are in right now.
- What to do in a bad family environment during confinement?
It is very possible that during the confinement there will be friction, arguments, and a bad atmosphere in the family nucleus as changes of mood, since in either we are affected on an emotional level by the changes imposed by the situation. We are living through an excess of information that has been bombarding us every day for months and it seems unbearable, but the entire world population is suffering from it, and you are very lucky to be reading this article right now and not find yourself surrounded by millions of people who cannot access the basics. Identify, care for what you have, who you have, value, honor who you are, and where you are.
- How can we protect ourselves from the psychological consequences of confinement?
The best protection against the chaotic situation that affects us emotionally and psychologically is to incorporate what is happening to us. Try to place it in the context where emotional acceptance and protection are a priority.
- How do we face a loss these days?
The implacable reality imposes on us to go through a series of stages of pain and suffering caused by an emotional or physical loss of a loved one. The mind rarely differentiates when feeling pain between whether it is a real loss of a loved one or a loss because of a divorce that leads to the phases of grief that are loaded with pain, denying the situation in its first moments or days.
Going through sadness, confusion, anger, and finally guilt and as stages of grief are burned out, we are recovering. Resolving grief will make us enter a phase of growth and will reinforce our psychic and emotional structure, generating resources for situations that will appear throughout our lives. Unfortunately, the human being learns and grows from the pain that certain situations in life produce in us.
Who knows about pain, knows everything?
Dante Alighieri
- How to take advantage of the confinement and the current situation?
Faced with difficulties, being able to see and turn the situation around and project ourselves into the future with positivity will change our lives or part of them because it is in that positive attitude that marked a before and after to certain situations.
If I face up to it I do not run away from the reality that has touched me and I can focus on what I want to achieve by respecting and accepting the socio-cultural and health rules that are being shown to me, in a very short time everything will change and also something in me will have changed.
Although there are many consequences of confinement, adapting to new situations and learning from experiences allows us to evolve in various ways. Therefore, it is vital to face the situation with the best possible energy in order to benefit from these moments full of uncertainty and bad news.
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