Healthcare workers are overrun in tackling the coronavirus. They get little sleep and have likely not seen their families for a long time. On the other hand, the majority is seeing a little too much of their families. They are also bored, anxious and scared.
Stuck in the house all day long with nothing to do can bring about powerful psychological reactions. Psychotherapist in the Medical Psychology Department of Nanjing Neurological Hospital, Yang Hua, has shared six points for debugging our mental health with Dissemination Nanjing.
Name that Mood
If you’re feeling down, don’t simply call it “a bad mood”. Ask yourself, “What mood am I experiencing now?” Is it anxiety, fear, irritability, anger? Try to find an accurate descriptor for your emotions.
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Anxiety is Normal
In the face of the epidemic, anxiety and fear are normal emotional reactions. Yet, they make us better protect ourselves. In other words, if we had no anxiety or fear of the epidemic, we would not protect ourselves. We would therefore become the danger.
Problem Solving
Tangible problems trigger our emotions:
- A dry cough can cause tension
- Not being able to buy masks can cause anxiety
- The old man who didn’t listen to dissuasion to go out can cause anger
For such problems, we can try to change our emotions by solving them. Better self-protection, exercise and nutritional supplements can reduce physical discomforts. Thorough multi-channel searches will reveal a stock of masks. Persistent persuasion, analysis of advantages and disadvantages, case explanation, etc., can help to communicate effectively with the elderly.
Distraction
Spending so much time and energy on the epidemic will eventually get anyone down. Do some other things to distract ourselves. Play hide and seek, read, listen to music, practice yoga, talk with family about things other than the epidemic. It’s also a great time to write a book or start a new hobby.
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Scientific Understanding
On the one hand, we need seek more scientific and accurate epidemic information and avoid belief in rumours. On the other hand, we should avoid overstating our discomfort. Get a more scientific medical evaluation from professional doctors. A dry cough can have many causes, which do not mean coronavirus infection, nor does infection mean that it cannot be treated.
Just Relax
Our heart rate and blood pressure rise when we are stressed. We sweat more and breathe more quickly. Sugar in the liver is converted into energy to maintain body function as a result. We therefore need activate our parasympathetic nervous system to promote digestion and synthesis of glycogen. Adjust breathing (deep and slow), meditate, do (more) yoga, Tai Chi, Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade) qigong, etc.
Those anxious feelings are not just the result of the fight between humanity and the coronavirus. They are the manifestation of lives lived trapped, more often than not catching only glimpses of that rather deserted world outside.
