The exceptional situation in which we find ourselves due to the coronavirus pandemic is problematic, among other things, because it makes it necessary to adapt to a changing reality in which many variables come into play.
Many people have difficulties when facing situations for which there are no precedents in recent decades; Until a few months ago, practically no one considered what to do in a context of confinement due to the risk of contagion.
One of these problems that may arise is having to manage a feeling of fear of returning to work as the de-escalation of confinement takes place. In this article we will see what to do in a situation like this.
The fear of returning to work after deconfinement: a complex problem
In a situation of economic crisis, having emotional problems linked to the workplace is especially painful. That is why those who feel fear, insecurity or even anxiety at the idea of ​​being back in the workplace They may feel that the situation is beyond them : the context is already turbulent enough, and to that we must add an emotional alteration that affects the way in which one performs professionally.
Fear can arise from different causes : the expectation of facing a lot of accumulated work, the fact of feeling that the risk of dismissal is close, the fact of exposing oneself to other people, etc. Sometimes, what is scary is the idea of ​​not being able to postpone indefinitely everything that has to do with work and pretend not to think about what is going to happen in the professional and economic sphere of our lives.
On the other hand, another of the complications that go hand in hand with this problem is the fact that those who suffer it firsthand tend to feel misunderstood.
After weeks in which the general climate has been one of wishing to be able to freely go out into the streets and reopen businesses as usual, feeling anxious about the prospect of returning to work seems somewhat eccentric, or even a sign of weakness, of a too delicate nature.. However, emotional imbalance really exists and there are reasons to take it seriously wherever it appears.
To do?
These are some tips you can follow if you think you are afraid of returning to work at the end of the pandemic confinement.
1. Maintain discipline in your sleep schedules
It is very important to do everything possible to that anxiety does not make us sleep less than what our body needs This will greatly increase our predispositions to develop more emotional psychological problems, and in addition, in a matter of a few days of having few hours of sleep, it will significantly affect our performance.
Set a schedule for yourself so you know what time you should be in bed with the lights off, and follow it in a disciplined manner. Furthermore, for a few hours before that time of day arrives, do not expose yourself to situations that maintain high activity in your nervous system: neither exercise, nor expose yourself to a lot of light or many sounds, if possible.
2. Practice relaxation exercises
To keep fear, anxiety and the emotional states linked to these at bay, it is very useful to practice relaxation exercises. Doing it will only take you a few minutes and you can find audios that serve as a guideline both in YouTube videos and in mobile applications.
3. Practice exposure exercises in your imagination
One way to face situations that scare us is to close our eyes and recreate in our imagination what it is like to expose ourselves to what we fear. It is best to do some tests first to practice how you will imagine everything as vividly as possible and then imagine increasingly more anxiety-generating situations, following a difficulty curve that gradually increases.
4. Take care of yourself
If our body is not well, our emotional balance will not be either. Do moderate exercise to keep your mind active and with the ability to “disengage” from those fears, and eat well so that your body is better able to face stressful situations without suffering great wear and tear.
5. If you need it, go to the psychologist
Each person is different, and Some may need the personalized help of a psychologist to follow their case The good news is that psychological disorders linked to anxiety are relatively easy to treat.
Do you need the help of a psychologist?
As we have seen, the fact of feeling fear when returning to work contains many variables and is a complex phenomenon.
Therefore, if you notice that in your case these tips are not enough, you think that the situation is beyond you and you need to have professional support from a psychologist, Get in touch with me I am a psychologist specialized in the cognitive-behavioral model and I can help you develop your emotional management skills; I attend both in person and through online sessions by video call. To see my contact information, go to this page.
