Over time, we begin to see and understand how the coronavirus epidemic affects people psychologically. In this article, I will talk about the resilience schema, which is one of the psychological factors that negatively affect this period we are in, and healthy coping methods. If we briefly explain the concept of schema, schemas are damaging patterns that we learn from the negative, damaging experiences we have had since our very early ages, that negatively affect us psychologically, create strong emotions, and cause us to develop unhealthy behaviors.
When the vulnerability schema is triggered, we say 'too bad'. We tend to think 'something is going to happen and I don't have the strength to deal with it' and feel high levels of anxiety. It is very natural and healthy to feel anxiety about the coronavirus and its effects. However, when the vulnerability schema is triggered, people think of exaggerated disaster scenarios and become excessively anxious. To give an example of disaster scenarios, there may be thoughts such as: 'The world has come to an end', 'We will all get sick', 'This disease will get out of control', 'We will die'. With these thoughts, our anxiety increases and our need for control to cope with uncertainty increases. We also check our bodies when we are concerned about our health. When the anxiety level increases, we also experience some changes in our body. For example, feeling of congestion in the throat, shortness of breath, flushing. 'Does my throat hurt?' 'Did I have a fever?' 'I feel like I can't breathe', 'Oh no, I've been infected with the coronavirus too!..'
The vulnerability schema causes us to perceive the situation as dire and to become alarmed. We try to cope with this high anxiety in three ways. Avoidance, surrender and overcompensation. Avoidance is our need to get away from distressing situations. For example, behaviors such as sleeping too much, not going out even if we need to meet our needs, cleaning things more than necessary, taking unnecessary medications, food supplements, vitamins to strengthen immunity are avoidance behaviors. Surrender is the state of surrendering to this distressing situation. Get news about coronavirus Watching too much, following social media posts that draw bad scenarios, and talking to people who engage in pessimistic dialogues are examples of surrendering behavior. Overcompensation is when we try to experience the opposite feelings of the distressing situation. In other words, on the contrary, it is a state of not having any concern about the coronavirus. For example, behaviors such as going out without taking precautions thinking 'Oh no, it won't infect me', ignoring recommendations, ignoring social distance rules... All these behaviors are unhealthy coping methods and can negatively affect both our health and mood.
Exiting the schema cycle
So, instead of these reactions, you may be asking how we should handle this situation we are experiencing, how we should react. First of all, if you worry a lot, you are probably in a schema loop. By becoming aware of this situation, say to yourself, 'The high anxiety I am experiencing right now is probably due to my resilience schema and I am catastrophizing things. When I think this way, I react unhealthy. You may ask: 'What does my healthy inner voice say, despite what the resilience chart says?' You can even take notes of what's on your mind. To give an example of a healthy thought: Catastrophizing this situation or ignoring it does nothing but harm me. Instead of thinking like that, I can think logically and realistically. I may not be able to completely eliminate the possibility of this disease infecting me, but I can minimize it. I know what the precautions are and I take my precautions. If I contract this disease, my chances of being treated and cured are quite high. I can distinguish between whether the sensations I feel in my body right now are really a symptom of coronavirus disease or symptoms of anxiety.
Doing this practice will help you manage your anxiety. If you have difficulty in doing this practice when you are anxious and cannot manage your anxiety on your own, it would be appropriate to get support from an expert. Reminding that it is very important to protect mental health in this process, I would like to point out that you are not alone and you can reach us for online psychotherapy support when you need it.
With good health…
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