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Caring for Emotional Health in the “New Normal”
Psychology
Surrounding ourselves with our own and maintaining regular eating and sleeping habits are essential.
If the normal achievement of emotional well-being is a challenge for many, going through a situation such as three months of confinement due to the Covid-19 health crisis has made it more complicated. There are those who, during these months, have faced for the first time sensations and states that they had not experienced, such as anxiety. Others, with already a baggage of difficulties in managing emotions, have encountered another stumbling block.
For some, these three months have been a challenge, but they have come out of it stronger. Others, for example, have become aware of the importance of mental health for the first time. Now that we have reached the “new normal” and we must leave behind the routines assumed these months to face a scenario similar to what we knew, worse not the same, it is more important than ever to care for emotional well-being.
«A healthy mind and body go hand in handThey complement each other and are essential to each other, ”explains Grecia de Jesús, a psychologist at Blua de Sanitas. The professional comments that mental health has always been largely forgotten, due to social stigma, but it is something that is beginning to change, and little by little we normalize the care of our mind. “One in four people suffers from a mental disorder throughout their life: the most common is anxiety or depression,” he points out.
Mental health awareness
To see the damage that this crisis has caused on the mental health of the population, Sanitas has carried out a study on emotional well-being during confinement. It is curious that almost half of those surveyed consider that confinement has been very hard on an emotional level, but only 3% claim to have used a professional to address the situation. Likewise, 10% declare they regret not having made use of this help.
Another of the study data reveals that concern for emotional well-being has increased in the population. Almost half of those surveyed say that mental health is just as important as physical, and two in ten say that emotional well-being is even more important than physical well-being. “Not taking care of mental health can also affect all areas of our life, such as professional, family, leisure or our interpersonal relationships,” says the psychologist Grecia de Jesús.
Seven tips to take care of emotional health
The professional leaves seven tips so that, in the “new normal” we can preserve our well-being and not be affected by the consequences of these hard days.
— Be open to changes. “There are two types of change: the inevitable ones, and those that we have actively generated. Whatever we experience, we must be open to them: they may even help us improve our situation, ”explains Grecia de Jesús.
— Learn to manage emotions. The professional comments that we tend not to express our emotions, because we consider it a vulnerable act. This takes us away from proper emotional management, so we must learn assertive techniques to deal with our emotions.
— Take care of habits and schedules. It is important to adapt our habits to this new lifestyle. “For example, if we continue to telework, we should try to eat at the same time, sleep on a more or less fixed schedule and have a good workspace,” he recommends.
– It is essential, he comments, take care of our food, eating a balanced and healthy diet, playing sports and trying to have good sleep hygiene.
— Relaxation. «We must have relaxation techniques, such as diaphragmatic breathing, body sweep or mindfulness techniques. These tools help us to self-regulate and reset ourselves, when we see that emotions are manifested in a very intense way, ”explains Grecia de Jesús.
— Quality time. It is important to spend quality time with people close to us and to do enjoyable activities. There are many areas of our life, such as family or friends, that we consider very important, but we end up not giving them time. “It is very important to organize our day to be able to do activities that make us happy,” says the professional.
– Finally, it is essential to know what we have in our hand go to a professional that can help us. “If with all these tips and healthy habits we see that we suffer from a psychological ailment, just like we go to the doctor when something hurts, we must go to the psychologist,” he concludes.