Contents
Do not panic if you are afraid to leave the house: it is normal
Psychology
Many people, especially the elderly, feel reluctant to go out after the de-escalation
Each person is a different world, and now that, after an abrupt confinement, we are out on the streets, we must adapt to this new life and not all of us do it the same way. Things like seeing friends again, taking the bus or doing the shopping turn what for some is everyday, into activities that involve difficulty. Cases of anxiety, anguish and agoraphobia are detected or, on the contrary, people who live without any prudence.
“As much as they now call what we are living a ‘new normal’, it is new but it is not normal”, says María del Carmen Rodríguez, tutor of the degree in Psychology at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). The professional comments that, after these months locked up, we return to the streets, to the shops, to the offices … and due to the new socialization, «it will be necessary to take into account the agoraphobias (due to confinement) and anxiety symptoms, both for the health effects and for the economic and social repercussions ”. Rodríguez, who works mostly with children, comments that during the return “he has come across new consultations from adults with symptoms of anxiety, from couples affected by confinement and from children with phobias, nightmares and behavior problems”, therefore, Whatever our age or gender, we can suffer the psychological consequences.
The professional points out that, on a personal level, we should stop for a moment and reflect: «It has been three months, but it seems an instant, a nightmare. We must do a bit of memory and look at what we have done and what we have not done during these months, in order not to repeat mistakes. People who have inquired and asked for help are doing this process, but not everyone can afford it or is aware that they need it.
Older people, the most affected
This pandemic has had very different effects depending on age. Also when it comes to living it, people have faced it differently. The psychologist comments that “older people have been disciplined, they have made an effort to continue confinement. Have suffered loneliness (especially those who are not fluent in new technologies, such as mobile phones, tablets, video calls, etc.); they have lived confinement with sadness and longing, but with resignation ».
Regarding the children, Rodríguez makes two distinctions about how this situation has been experienced, both of confinement and lack of refinement. «Some have needed emotional support during confinement, a fact that has manifested itself in conduct disorders and nightmares. There are others who at first tolerated it quite well and who, precisely at the moment of returning to a certain normality, are more nervous. Many of them have been connected to social networks and video games more than is usual and, now that they have to go out, it is costing them a lot, “he says. On the contrary, adolescents comment that “they have gone out into the streets with the need to meet their friends and they are not really aware of the situation, so they are putting themselves in danger. They do not respect the safety distance, among other breaches ”.
Montserrat Lacalle, collaborating professor at the UOC’s Studies in Psychology and Education Sciences and an expert in care for the elderly, affirms that if we talk about this group —and knowing that we are not referring to 100% of the population—, «we speak scary”. For this reason, he recommends that people who have elders nearby, “can accompany them and offer them spaces where they can speak” and he continues to recommend that if, when they have explained what they needed to explain, we see that the days go by and they do not go out, we have strategies to help them : “Your grandson can go and tell you” Let’s go out together! “Without forcing and without forcing you; little by little and at your own pace. We need a lot of patience and support».
How to overcome fear
Suddenly, we lock ourselves in and now we have to go out again. It involves a lot of changes in a relatively short time. Lacalle explains that “adaptation is more difficult for older people than for young people.” Likewise, he points out that “the awareness of their vulnerability makes them now go with caution and that they anticipate negative situations»That have not occurred and that perhaps will not occur, although it is true that« the reunion with the family and the fact of seeing their grandchildren has been very important for them and they have experienced it very positively ».
The professional affirms that “we know that getting older implies a greater risk of disease, since people are more fragile and the body does not have the same resistance.” For this reason, he points out that feeling of vulnerability it has been much higher with Covid-19. “If we now look at the statistics, approximately 80% – or more – of the people who have died from the virus were over seventy years old. There are older people who stand up and say “the risk is real!”
Rodríguez adds a reflection on these data: «The perception is very present that the elderly are a hindrance, that if they get sick they can be left to die. Given the loss of many of their peers, they have been left with that feeling. Despite all this, Lacalle points out that “agoraphobia is a disorder and that to occur it must meet certain criteria.” “We can find more touched people, but we don’t have to make quick and immediate diagnoses. There are people who need more time than others. Also, some take adaptive measures and that’s not a bad thing, “he says.