The pandemic of COVID-19 has affected not only the physical well-being of Peruvians, but their mental health. Measures such as social quarantine and restrictions on free movement have exacerbated this malaise.
Psychiatrist Vanessa Herrera explains that the global health crisis and the quarantine produced an “affection evidenced by the increased presence of indicators of negative stress, insomnia problems and conflict in the family, such as adaptation, pandemic fatigue.”
(This is what he calls) A first study by the Department of Health, where indicators such as anxiety and depression are seen. […] Also people who have suffered multiple losses, work, significant family, social space, socialization as in adolescents and young people who are in the risk group, as well as older people who see many of their friends, neighbors, colleagues dying ”, he adds.
One of the groups most affected by the pandemic, in relation to her mental health, is the health personnel attending cases COVID-19 in critical areas such as intensive care units (ICU).
Clinical psychologist Giuliana Rivera reports that after a year of pandemic, this has affected frontline workers. “From pictures of anxiety, irritability, difficulty falling asleep, anxiety,” he says.
“I think many of them have the syndrome Burnouburn, which consists of a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion caused by mental fatigue and stress that is clearly a result of the pandemic and the difficulties that arise at work: people no longer being able to help, lack of resources and why the pandemic catches up with us ”, he says.
However, Rivera mentions that, despite the fact that health workers, through their education, are “ accustomed to dealing with emergencies and death, they never ran a risk to their own lives as they saw the lives of their co-workers the day after. day. , that they can be carriers of the virus and that their families can become infected or die ”. “They are taxed more heavily than any citizen,” he emphasizes.
Psychologist Cecilia Juscamaita, for her part, emphasizes that in the case of primary health care workers who are parents, they have had difficulty interacting with their children.
“Children can miss their parents and demand attention. It is extremely important that people who have worked on the front lines can receive constant and emotional support so that they can channel all of their emotions and experiences that they have had over the past year, ”he says.
PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS
Herrera mentions that to take care of us mental health We need to step up self-care, especially during the pandemic of the COVID-19, with ‘sleep hygiene, trying to balance the time we have at work with housework, dividing roles, talking to our family members’, paying attention to 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 high social interaction and who are held back by confinement. Likewise, people with disabilities, poverty, 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 one of the most important signs that help us identify a problem mental health is the increase in daily episodes of persistent insomnia.
“I feel sad, I cannot concentrate and this affects my life, my functioning at home, with my colleagues, in the activities I do every day, stress, anxiety, suicidal thoughts are worrying indicators that we should prioritize and immediately possibly possible: go to the nearest health center, the nearest mental health care ”, he concludes.
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