Contents
Coping with Brain Frying Emotions in the “New Normal”
Psychology
Anxiety, fear and sadness are the most common feelings during this stage
The confinement caused by Covid-19 has removed us from the inside. There are those who have experienced anxiety for the first time, who have had to face an always difficult duel in an unusual way, and those who, although we already live in the so-called “new normal” still do not know very well how to manage everything they feel, what they have experienced.
The spectrum of emotions that we can feel these days is very wide, and now, more than ever, it is very important to understand what we feel, and why, to be able to remedy it if we see that it weighs us down and hinders our lives. The fear of contagion, the inability to manage anxiety or the deepest sadness may prevent us from being as we have always been.
Laura Pineda, a psychologist at the Complutense Medical Center, comments that many people are experiencing fear of leaving home, caused by the fear of contagion. “If a person feels this way, somehow he is not being entirely rational. Our brain magnifies the possibility of contagion, rather than thinking real probability, “he says.
Anxiety and sadness, the most common
Another of the sensations that have been experienced more frequently is anxiety. Even people who had never suffered it before, during this confinement have faced it. «Now many are born cases of anxiety derived from uncertainty. The need for control is one of the main variables: if something gets out of control, I feel very bad “, says the psychologist, who adds that” uncertainty is the favorite food of anxiety “, and that is why it is so common during these days. As long as it is an emotion that does not exceed us to the point that it prevents us from doing our normal life, at which time we should go to a professional, the advice is to try to self-regulate through breathing control.
Sadness, like fear or anxiety, can also paralyze us. Laura Pineda comments that the reason why sadness appears can be very varied, so it is essential to analyze where it comes from. The professional explains that within the sadness the “shoulds” appear. «These we they impose very clear and concrete guidelines on how we have to feel, act, think … generating demands and, in some cases, frustration when those expectations are not met, “says the psychologist, who continues to explain the great importance we attach to these, often letting thoughts that are not influence our lives real, and just in our heads, like “I should be able to handle this alone,” or I shouldn’t feel bad. “
The danger of avoidance
The professional explains that, when we enter with a feeling like these, which is unpleasant to us, instead of facing them, many times we try to avoid it, which ends up being worse. “Must expose ourselves little by little to the situation, recognize what thoughts we are having and try to regulate it with relaxation techniques, such as breathing, or mindfulness, “he says.
“We have to understand that emotions, even though they can be unpleasant. These have an adaptive function, which has helped us to survive to evolve as a species ”, points out the professional. Therefore, we should not deny how we feel. “Many times we meet people who, when they have felt such a powerful emotion, what they want is not to feel it again, but emotions have a function and are necessary,” he continues.
In order not to fall into this dangerous avoidance, it is necessary to carry out a “functional analysis” of what happens to us. In this way, we can put the problem in perspective, and have tools to solve it.