Taking care of your mental health to overcome Covid-19

Covid-19 positive cases continue breaking records of confirmed cases after more than a year of pandemic, despite the actions issued by the Ministry of Public Health to curb the spread of the disease.

Some of the first negative psychosocial manifestations linked to this situation were related to changes in routines due to confinement and other circumstances of the pandemic scenario.

For mental health, the implications continue being the same as at the beginning, but with the conditioning factor of time acting as an element against, affirmed the psychologist Giovanni Leal, coordinator of the telephone counseling service, psychological support line 103.

The prolongation process of the action measures and the limitations due to the pandemic cause pandemic fatigue, a term used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to define the lack of motivation and psychological tiredness generated after so many months in a similar context.

Leal also said that as part of the manifestations of "fatigue" one can ignore the risks, adapting to live with the possibility of getting sick and perceiving protective behaviors as an external and unnecessary imposition.

Fear no longer exists and conformism is part of life as the situation is maintained, so that the spread of the virus over time causes a feeling of boredom and weariness in citizens.

Among the main expressions of this psychological state are stress, anxiety and reduced risk perception, which depend for their prevention on self-care and the individual's ability to seek motivation in a change of routine.

One of the concerns associated with "fatigue" is relaxation and, therefore, non-compliance with health measures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.

These days, with the immunization and the news of the certified efficacy of two Cuban vaccines, the most common thought is to be unconcerned, to set aside the well-known sanitary measures and to believe that the situation is under control or may disappear, when the figures show the opposite.

Children and adolescents also suffer the consequences of the current epidemiological panorama, being among the most vulnerable populations to changes in lifestyle habits.

A study conducted by the UNICEF office in Cuba and the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Havana showed that Cuban children show symptoms of psychological distress.

Among the behaviors identified were over-attachment to mothers, rebelliousness, defiant attitudes, alterations in sleep schedules, frequent crying, irritation, difficulty concentrating, increased appetite, fear and aggressiveness.

The family has the responsibility to organize life at home and deal with the difficulties of physical isolation even if it lacks basic or lasting educational tools.

In children and adolescents, the damage to mental health has been direct, affecting key activities at this stage such as teaching and learning processes, and the capacity for socialization that takes place at school.

Some results of the analysis carried out by UNICEF also showed that 70 % of the children studied presented resistance when it came to studying and 5.5 % lost concentration in their school work.

Parenting in these times demands a greater effort on the part of parents and other family members to turn adversity into an ideal scenario where children can continue with their daily activities and enjoy their childhood without being harmed.

To face the current pandemic it is necessary to take care of health in general, to comply with what is established to protect the physical part of the body, but knowing how to react to the constant changes that accompany the situation makes the thoughts more bearable, and above all, keeps the psychological state healthy.