Author | Gu Chuanhua
"New Coronavirus Infected with Pneumonia" is on the cusp. my country has taken timely measures to prevent and control the disease. But in this silent battle, what needs to be defeated is not only physical diseases, but also psychological battles.
Faced with the 24-hour non-stop epidemic news, people's emotions will be brought into anxiety unconsciously. After the Psychology Department of Beijing Normal University opened the psychological support hotline and online counseling services on the morning of January 27, many counselors have experienced different degrees of emotional distress, as well as mental pain, anxiety and fear.
, after witnessing a large number of cruel and destructive scenes, the degree of damage exceeds the psychological and emotional tolerance limits of some of the people, and various psychological abnormalities indirectly caused by McCann and Pearlman (1990) are called in psychology. "Alternative trauma" (VT).
Now, because I see other people being threatened by disease, I have empathy, as if I am also suffering from such a situation or similar trauma, which belongs to this kind of psychological problem.
Loss of appetite, fatigue, inability to fall asleep, easy to wake up, nightmares, etc., and easy to get angry, easy to be frightened, easy to be distracted, or feel inexplicable fear, despair, numbness to reality and other emotions, or easy in communication Conflict with people, if these conditions occur, perhaps you have already experienced alternative trauma.
Some people even have serious discomfort due to psychological problems: heart palpitations and tears, headaches and nausea, pulling back and forth on the edge of collapse...especially seeing the doctors and nurses on the front line so hard and hard, but they can only nibble on New Year’s Eve Biscuit feels full of guilt even more.
These abnormal phenomena, if not handled properly, may cause serious physical and mental distress, and even mental breakdown.
analyze the reason:
because human beings have the ability to empathize, people have the inexplicable feeling of "being on the scene" and "being on the scene".
For example, when a baby sees another baby crying, it will show unpleasant emotional reactions such as concern, sadness, and pain. A viewer in Beijing or Guangzhou who has seen the pain and fear of a patient with Wuhan pneumonia many times will have a corresponding empathy response. Over time, so-called alternative trauma will form.
In recent years, catastrophic events have attracted much attention, especially today when the Internet is developed, catastrophic events can easily arouse public onlookers. As a result, the general public (especially medical workers, firefighters, volunteers, and the general public with strong empathy ability) who go to the frontline to help the victims recover from trauma, their physical and mental health will also be damaged to varying degrees.
has data showing that when an individual encounters a catastrophic event, the entire psychological system may have different degrees of trauma. The closer the individual is to the disaster site, the greater the risk of trauma.
In addition, irrational beliefs are also an important cause.
Irrational beliefs refer to incorrect and inappropriate views about someone, something, or something. These perceptions often give rise to undesirable stress experiences.
People with alternative trauma experience may have some inappropriate understandings in their minds: "This epidemic is very serious. Doctors will not be spared, and ordinary people will not be spared." "No matter what you do, they are easily infected." The drugs used to treat this kind of pneumonia cannot be cured after infection.” This kind of inappropriate understanding can easily induce inexplicable stress and distress.
As a "non-patient", how should people face the alternative trauma of the pneumonia epidemic?
Cognitive adjustment
• 1. Face up to the negative emotions
can self-diagnose or evaluate the above symptoms. On the premise of excluding physiological causes or organic diseases, if you have the above symptoms, you canThere may be alternative trauma.
There is no need to be anxious in the face of this kind of emotion, because appropriate negative emotions such as anxiety and fear can help increase vigilance against the epidemic. Moreover, negative information is easy to cause negative emotions, so we must face it, not ignore it.
• 2. Sort out and change irrational beliefs
If you find that you are overloaded with emotions and it is difficult to get out of it, you might as well take out a blank paper, calm down, sort out the irrational beliefs in your mind, and try to change and accept the new rationality Faith.
For example, "This epidemic is very serious, and doctors are not immune, and ordinary people are not immune." It can be changed to: "This epidemic is very serious. Some doctors may not be immune to improper protection, but if they are properly protected, ordinary people It will not be infected." "There is no medicine to treat this pneumonia, and the infection cannot be cured." It can be changed to: "Although there are deaths, many patients have been cured. This pneumonia is treatable."
can also filter unnecessary information, such as focusing only on official news, not believing rumors and not spreading rumors, so as to avoid increasing anxiety.
• 3. Strengthen your self-confidence and work normally
believe in the country’s handling measures and say to yourself several times a day: "I have taken precautions and will not be infected." "The epidemic is not as serious as I thought." And the government must be able to organize efficiently and concentrate efforts to actively respond to this epidemic.
Put down your phone and try to pay attention to the current life. The trivialities in real life will also give people real feelings and get rid of the anxiety caused by negative news.
• 4. Appropriate entertainment
Appropriate entertainment can help us form more positive emotions. At the same time, we must vent negative emotions.
behavior adjustment
• 1. Get moving. Set aside a certain amount of exercise and leisure time for yourself every day, even if you exercise indoors. Let yourself come out of the over-concern about relevant information.
• 2. Come back to reality and let life return to normal. Arrange a work or life schedule for yourself and focus on the things you need to do every day.
• 3. Strengthen interpersonal interaction, chat with family members or relatives and friends around, talk about your feelings and opinions, or seek professional help.
• 4. Strengthen prevention and give yourself a sufficient sense of security. Cooperate with the government's call to actively take precautions based on expert opinions, go out as little as possible, and wear masks when going out.
(The author is a professor at the School of Psychology, Central China Normal University)
