Psychological support to cope with the current situation: Covid-19

The coronavirus has come into our lives, this reality affects us all. The way of living the same situation is what will differentiate us.

The coronavirus has reached all our lives in the form of a crisis. Let us understand an unexpected situation as a crisis, for which we are not prepared, but we must adapt in the best possible way. We undergo a sudden change, in which all our customs, routines, plans are broken and that, according to our resilience (ability to adapt to a new situation) we will experience it in one way or another.

Crisis situations such as the one we are experiencing are characterized by the fact that they generate a series of negative and catastrophic thoughts towards the future, these produce emotions such as fear and uncertainty, which make us feel discomfort in our body, manifesting itself with symptoms of anxiety.

What can we do about this situation?

What our body-mind needs at this moment is to acquire healthy habits that provide us with calm:

Establish a daily routine: maintaining work schedules (working from home as much as possible or replacing it with another type of responsibility), sleep schedules and eating and hygiene habits. Take advantage of this situation to improve your diet if it was not too healthy, without neglecting our hygiene habits, even if we do not leave the house. This routine is essential to find enough energy that we need to carry out proper emotional regulation and self-control of our thoughts.
Self-care activities: exercise (freely or with an application or platform that motivates you. It is important to stay active to increase our well-being), perform a task at home that we always ended up procrastinating, do what we like, pamper ourselves … keep the attention on ourselves and not projecting on the future. It is healthy to nourish our knowledge taking advantage of the valuable time to learn new things.

The Official College of Psychologists of Madrid has provided us with a series of “Guidelines for the psychological management of quarantine due to Coronavirus”:

1. Understand reality: the situation is what it is and we cannot change it, we have to adjust to the measures taken for our protection.

2. We are going to do the right thing: being at home is essential, do not fear boredom, it is an opportunity.

3. Plan for the new situation: do not improvise, plan daily routines, the weekly menu, shopping ahead of time …

4. Properly inform yourself: information is power to plan, but not over-information, listening to the same topic all day is not healthy.

5. Let’s keep in touch: with calls or video chats to feel that we are not alone and accompany our loved ones. It is time to talk calmly, without rushing.

6. Take advantage of the moment: this moment gives us “time” that we always lack, that is so valuable. Take advantage of it. Stopping to nurture the relationship with the people with whom we live, dialoguing and pampering we are going to feel comforted.

7. Time for creativity: rearrange things in your home, cook new dishes, conduct an online workshop, help other people as much as possible …

8. Time to do sports at home: exercise is as important as food to stay active and strong to fight against any virus.

9. Observe the state of health of those around you: our older family members need our attention and help now more than ever.

10. Take special care of your mood: take care of your thoughts and emotions. For example, if my mind projects into the catastrophic future, the emotion of fear will flow, generating an alert in my body that would manifest itself with anxious symptoms such as nervousness, shortness of breath, tachycardia, headache, tension, irritability… It is important to identify when we have a thought that is going to generate discomfort and act ahead to stop it, diverting attention to our body, helping us with a natural resource, breathing, being present. It is a good time to learn to incorporate into our lives philosophies and techniques that help us.

EVEN IF NOTHING CHANGED, IF YOU CHANGE EVERYTHING DOES.

From our Emotional Support Unit we want to help you feel CALM. We are here whenever you need us.

You can contact us through this email: apoyoemocional@institutobernabeu.com

Natalia Romera. Clinical Psychologist. Psychology Unit Instituto Bernabeu