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Don’t let the “new normal” paralyze you: so you can face your fears
Psychology
Yaiza Sanz, creator of “We are stupendous” and the psychologist Rosalba Varaceta, give guidelines to face these days in a healthy way
What they call the “new normal” seems to be nothing more than one challenge after another. The outbreaks begin, the cases of coronavirus increase, and when we thought that things were going to go back to the way they always were, we realized that this is not the case: to the day-to-day problems are added the current peculiarities.
Not only as a result of this situation, but also motivated by it, “We are stupendous” was born, a platform created by Yaiza Sanz, which offers personalized psychological help, as well as resources and materials that can be a support for those who need them. “As a result of the confinement, I thought about the number of people who were going to have a conflict situation without tools
and resources to live something like this», Points out Sanz.
But, although confinement was a challenge for almost everyone, now, more or less overcome, we find ourselves involved in another uncertainty situation which can be difficult to manage and for which we continue to need these tools. Rosalba Varaceta, psychological director of «We are stupendous», explains that right now we are facing a «fear of the unknown», and that this is a kind of «invisible monster». “Since this situation began, we feel fear, sadness, more vulnerability, and to this we must add the consequences of the confinement we experienced,” says the professional.
Facing the “invisible monster”
Although the “new normal” is challenging, we also find certain benefits from confinement. Yaiza Sanz comments that, for her, it has been a moment in which to know many things about herself. Especially, he comments that he has been surprised by his adaptability. Rosalba Varaceta points out that many people have experienced something similar: “Each one has a different way of processing reality, and this depends on how adaptive we are. Therefore, if during confinement we have self-care and we have adapted well to work, to new household chores … if we have put our lives together well, now we are going to feel safer and stronger in normalcy ». She adds that by fostering these kinds of strengths over the past few months, going back to work and interacting with others doesn’t have to be complicated.
Rosalba Varaceta says that not everyone has had that positive experience of adaptability, and for this reason they have suffered a lot from the so-called “cabin syndrome”. “There are those who, after confinement, have not wanted to leave: because they have not had a good time, because they feel more vulnerable …”, says the psychologist, that in these cases, the first thing we must do is learn to filter the information that we arrives. «We may be afraid, but we must understand well what the real risks are, and understand what safety measures we should take “, explains the professional. Afterwards, she urges us to gradually leave the house:” You can start with short outings, that is why a gradual deconfinement was carried out, to prepare people, and little by little, go out and feel that we are taking control ”, he explains and recommends that, in the event that we feel a paralyzing fear that we cannot manage, we go to a professional. “No one can be forced to go out, each one must carry their rhythms and find their normality,” he adds.
Likewise, the professionals address an issue that, even at first glance in the background, affects many: the change of rules and rituals when it comes to meeting a partner. Now that we cannot go to discos, and that contact with strangers must be avoided, many single people find themselves in a very unusual situation. Rosalba Varaceta points out that, during confinement, single people have been able to experience two different situations. On the one hand, there are those who have “rediscovered themselves.” “By working with a little introspection, people may have come out stronger, with a more nurtured self-confidence,” he says. On the other hand, there may also be those who have not internalized emotions well, and have greeted “with a sea of nerves, anguish and fears, which are not going to solve by meeting other people.”
If we have managed to alleviate these fears, the recommendation of the psychologist if we want to meet people is “Balance the fears we feel with the desire to establish new relationships”. «We must put thought, feeling and action in agreement; our well-being must always prevail », concludes the professional.