How To Preserve Emotional Well-being During De-escalation
COVID-19 has changed our reality in many ways Our individual and collective behavior has been affected in a sudden, unexpected and imposed way by this global pandemic. After months of confinement as a security and protection measure for our health, we find ourselves facing the de-escalation process.
The de-escalation of this confinement is a process by which it is intended progressively and cautiously recover normal functioning and return to normal always taking into account the safety of our health as our main objective.
This new “deconfinement” process involves a change in our lives and routines, a new reality, which implies an adaptation to this new change as part of the process. Each of the de-escalation phases of confinement will involve a change in routines and behaviors that in turn will generate emotional and cognitive changes in the individual.
Our psychological state is affected by what happens around us. When we experience a radical and unexpected change, our emotions are affected and with them our stability and psychological well-being.
This process that we are currently experiencing can generate some emotional instability; thus, The first thing is to know what emotions and feelings can affect us in this new adaptation situation
We may experience an increase in concern about the spread of COVID-19, anxiety about the situation of continuous uncertainty that we are experiencing, fear of recovering part of normality at this time, fear for our well-being and that of our family and friends….
In other cases, we experience each change with joy and a great desire to reunite with our loved ones, wanting to go out and recover part of “normal life.”
There are also cases of people who feel nothing more than indifference, sadness or low mood about the changes that occur in the different phases. This can cause us a feeling of contradiction, because we have been wanting to return to normality for some time, but now we feel disconsolate and unmotivated.
Keys to maintaining emotional balance during deconfinement
Once the difficulties that this de-escalation process can entail have been established, it is advisable to have the necessary strategies to face the situation of change in the most adaptive way possible. It is very important to have certain strategies for its management and in this way avoid part of the suffering generated by not adapting to changes in the environment that surrounds us.
1. Establish routines and organize your behaviors
The fear of contagion as we progress through the phases can be greater, and that can lead us to perform maladaptive behaviors, generating high levels of anxiety
Therefore, if we adopt certain prevention measures and create a habit (always go out with a mask, carry disinfectant gel, maintain social distance…), in addition to being protected, we will feel peace of mind and relief, since the measures are consciously established. and objective.
Some of us have already established a small daily physical exercise routine during this confinement, and now we can go out, we must take advantage of it to do that routine or part of it outdoors; that It will be a great benefit for our mood
3. Reestablish and adjust daily routines and update your goals
It is likely that after these months, the vast majority of us have suffered several changes in different areas of life, and as we go through phases of deconfinement, these happen more quickly.
Thus, It is important to adapt and become flexible depending on the needs of the moment, although with a marked line. And let’s not forget the importance of combining new obligations and new leisure, this combination provides us with long-term emotional stability.
4. Recover social relationships
We know the importance and emotional need to socialize, and despite confinement, many of us have gradually adapted to new forms of communication to be close to our loved ones despite social distancing, but It is important not to get carried away by comfort or fear of contagion, to avoid social isolation and the consequences they can generate in the medium-long term.
5. Get informed from reliable sources and what is necessary
Staying informed is necessary, but Overinformation and information from unofficial sources is one of the main causes of widespread fear and the anguish generated by uncertainty and contradictory and excessive information.
6. Ask for help
Every process of change naturally entails its own adaptation process; adaptation allows us to evolve.
But depending on the characteristics of the change (voluntariness, immediacy…) and the individual differences of each individual, the situation will provoke a different response to the change, which can be adaptive or maladaptive: It will depend on the coping strategies and resources that each person has
If you consider that you do not have these resources and tools, do not hesitate to contact a professional and ask for help.
