Coronavirus:face and calm your anxieties!

Do you wake up with a start? Your heart is racing? A cold sweat makes you shiver? Nothing to do with a horror movie. What causes all this is indeed reality. A particularly disrupted reality following the Covid-19 epidemic and confinement. Many people have found themselves cloistered at home, and some have experienced it badly. What are the most common manifestations, and how do you deal with them?

Being anxious, what is it exactly?

Anxiety is an emotional disorder that manifests as a strong feeling of anxiety. It can be a one-time state, but also more lasting. Here, anxiety is much more disabling, because it changes our behavior and disrupts our daily lives.

To combat the spread of Covid-19, the government last March asked people to stay at home. The confinement was not without consequences for the population. Especially since this forced withdrawal can be a triggering factor for some.

Lockdown and its consequences

Angry, yes, but why?

For many people, the confinement, if it was very anxiety-provoking at the beginning, has turned into a kind of refuge. At home, they feel safe, protected from the virus. They came to develop a kind of social phobia. Excessive fear of going out, development of techniques to dodge neighbors... In no time, the most sociable neighbor can turn into a true misanthrope!

However, the fear of going out and contacts is not the only manifestation. Here are the most common[1]:

• Fear of being infected, feeling unprotected;
• Fear of running out of water, food and money to meet basic needs;
• Frustration with confinement and lack of freedom;
• The difficulty of consulting doctors for non-emergency treatment;
• Insufficient information, or fear that it is unreliable.

Physical and social effects

These anxieties can also manifest themselves physically with the appearance of stomach aches, skin reactions such as eczema or, for 74% of French people, sleep disorders[2].

Relations with relatives are also modified. 86% of respondents are afraid for their family in the face of the virus[3], and 53% are afraid of lacking social interactions with their loved ones. Confinement also has repercussions in the intimate and relational sphere. 23% of respondents are afraid of encountering difficulties within their couple in this context of confinement.

Anxiety and confinement:some people are more sensitive than others

If confinement has generally upset everyone's habits and daily life, some people are more at risk than others. For example, people suffering from depression, the elderly and those suffering from a chronic disease that reduces the immune system, will be more sensitive to stress.

How to manage your stress?

If you suffer from anxiety, you can take action to try to remedy it.

• Maintain social connections through the phone. Talk and share your feelings. These exchanges are also an opportunity to escape and think about something else.
• Do physical activity to release endorphins (happiness hormone) in your body.
• Keep a regular rhythm for your wake-up and bedtimes.
• Limit your exposure to the media, especially if you feel it heightens your anxieties.
• Do a relaxing activity:Meditate or practice relaxation for a few minutes a day to unwind. If you find it difficult to relax, you can also use applications that will accompany you on a daily basis such as Zenfie to meditate, Daily Yoga to practice yoga whatever your level, or Calm, to reduce anxiety.
• Ask for help:If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by your fears, you can also seek help from a third person or a professional who will accompany you. Also think about your mutual insurance company, which can offer you support, such as the psychological assistance service Wellness Allo Santé.

Do not neglect the anxiety related to the current situation. In addition to the psychological impact, it can cause other problems. It is therefore important to treat it quickly by consulting a specialist, changing your habits or promoting relaxing activities.

Source:

https://institut-sommeil-vigilance.org/lutter-contre-un-stress-chronique-et-consequences-sur-notre-sommeil-en-situation-de-confinement/

https://www.thelancet.com/jourabout:blanknals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30460-8/fulltext

https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Note-n2-impact-sante-mentale.pdf

https://observatoirecetelem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/rapport-harris-t2s1-le-passage-au-confinement-cetelem.pdf

[1] The Lancabout:blanket has published a review based on 24 researches that identifies the main sources of stress in humans during confinement.

[2] Coconel investigation.

[3] Survey conducted by Harris for the Cetelem Observatory.