Pandemic of COVID-19 it affected not only the physical well-being of Peruvians, but also of them mental health. Measures such as social quarantine and restrictions on free movement have aggravated this condition.
Psychiatrist Vanessa Herrera explains that the global health crisis and quarantine have generated a “damage that is evidenced by the greater presence of indicators of negative stress, insomnia and family conflicts, such as adjustment, pandemic fatigue.”
“(This is what he mentions) An initial study by the Ministry of Health, in which indicators such as anxiety and depression are observed. […] Also, people who have had multiple losses, work, significant family, social space, socialization as in adolescents and young people who are part of the risk group, as well as the elderly who see many of their friends, neighbors, colleagues who die ” , he adds.
One of the groups that was most affected by the pandemic, in relation to it mental health, is the medical staff participating in the cases COVID-19 in critical areas such as intensive care units (ICUs).
Clinical psychologist Giuliana Rivera mentions that, after a year of pandemic, it had an impact on front-line staff. “From images of anxiety, irritability, sleep problems, fear,” he says.
“I think many of them could face the syndrome burnouto be burned, which consists of a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion caused by mental fatigue and stress that clearly emerges from the pandemic and the difficulties that arise in the workplace: inability to help people, lack of resources and why the pandemic it is beyond us, ”he says.
However, Rivera mentions that despite the fact that health professionals, through training, “are accustomed to dealing with emergencies and deaths, they have never faced a risk to their own lives, seeing that life their colleagues were stopped every day, that they could be carriers of the virus and that their family could be infected or could die ”. “They face a greater burden than any citizen,” he said.
In her turn, the psychologist Cecilia Juscamaita points out that, in the case of the medical staff from the first line who are parents, they had difficulties in relating to their children.
“Children miss their parents and can ask for attention. It is extremely important that the people who worked on the front line can receive constant and emotional support, allowing them to channel all the emotions and experiences they have had in the last year, ”he says.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Herrera mentions that to take care of us mental health We need to step up self-care, especially during the pandemic COVID-19, with “sleep hygiene, trying to balance the time we have at work with housework, sharing roles, talking with our family members”, highlighting physical activity, healthy leisure activities, etc.
“The most affected are, in general, the elderly, children, adolescents, young people, who are in the context of psychosocial development with a high social interaction and who are being held in prison. Likewise, people with disabilities, poverty, who are at high risk, who already have chronic illnesses and have not been able to say goodbye to their loved ones in this context, “he says.
The specialist adds that among the main signs that help us identify a problem mental health is the increase in daily episodes of persistent insomnia.
“I feel sad, I can’t concentrate and this affects my life, working at home with my co-workers, in the activities I do every day, stress, anxiety, suicidal thoughts are worrying indicators that we must prioritize and to act as soon as possible: possible: go to the nearest health center, the nearest community mental health service “, he concludes.
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