COVID-19: The Psychological Impacts of Quarantine
In this exceptional period of lockdown, regardless of our particular situation, we are confronted with emotions and feelings that can affect our mental health & well-being.
Of course, we know that this lockdown is essential for our physical health and that of others. Nevertheless, new stressors are emerging.
Let's just remember that a stressor is a cause of stress, caused by environmental pressure.
- Fear and anxiety
Fear is not anxiety. Fear has a specific source where anxiety has no specific one.
And during that time, you may be afraid of the virus, afraid of the financial consequences. The sources are well defined and it is important to be able to formulate them. They are normal and completely understandable.
Anxiety is a more diffuse fear. Fears are imprecise, vague. Anxiety can provoke ruminations, bring up old fears.
- Loneliness and sadness
Containment can isolate, although there are many ways to communicate. Limiting our exchanges can upset our balance and cause sadness.
- Uncertainty, helplessness
We don't know when the containment will end, the outbreak. We don't know how we'll get out, how we'll get back to work. The totally new situation is completely unpredictable and we are powerless, unable to control what is happening.
- Irritability, anger
Our situation is particular and it exacerbates injustices, inequalities, generating a feeling of anger. We can be 5 people confined in 30 m² or 1 person confined in 200 m². We can have a large garden or just a wall facing the only window. You can need to work and not be allowed to do it, or be forced to work and be afraid to do it.... There are probably as many different situations as there are individuals. So that can contribute to feelings of anger.
Being on top of each other, not necessarily having any space to yourself, feeling obliged to organize at least 2 meals a day, feeling compelled to take into account the other person... all this can lead to irritability.
- Boredom and procrastination
You can feel a kind of boredom from the very first days, and it's bad for your morale. Just as we can feel that procrastination is part of our daily life without being able to do anything about it. You had a thousand things to do at home when you weren't there. And once at home, you can't find anything to do, you feel like doing nothing...
- Guilt
You can feel guilty about everything I've just described.
Guilty of feeling fear when we do everything we can to protect ourselves, guilty of feeling isolated when everyone is looking out for us, guilty of being angry because we know that injustice is part of our humanity, guilty of feeling powerless because it is illusory to want to control everything. Guilty of being bored when this could be the opportunity to do all the things we dreamed of doing. Guilty of procrastinating...
All these emotions and feelings are completely normal. We are experiencing an exceptional real external situation that provokes them. Both our mind and body have to cope with it and adjust it.
But our emotions could become incapacitating if they become too intense, too invasive.
So we have to learn how to regulate them, how to manage them.
How has social distancing during the quarantine affected you?
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