Two days ago, on Anabel Media's social networks, namely Instagram and Facebook, it was announced that there would be a discussion with Anila Sulstarova about the anxiety caused by the situation of self-isolation due to coronavirus.
Anila Sulstarova has been a doctor of science and lecturer in the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences since 2005. Sulstarova is a clinical psychologist with nearly 20 years experience dealing with anxiety in children and adults, various phobias in children and adolescents, panic attack, attachment pathologies, treatment of persons with personality disorders, etc., as well as couple and family therapy. Among other things, Anila Sulstarova has been part of building national strategies in the field of social services and has served as external expert on international organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, Terres des Homes, CRCA and others.
The idea of conducting a live chat on Instagram, in the form of a podcast, was born after many people wrote on Anabel.al's social networks about the problems of anxiety and managing stressful situations resulting from self-isolation. "A lot of people have written to us all the time that we need help, we have anxiety, we feel bad, we can't afford the quarantine, I'm away from my parents and I worry, we need help and so on. So I thought about doing live to help and where better than doing a free therapy with well-known psychologists, ?said Anabel Media founder and Via Anabel and producer and creator of Hostel by @anabel_media Anabel, Dalina Buzi, who also moderated the conversation.
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In the introduction to the conversation, Anila Sulstarova emphasized that the situation is more problematic for adults, unlike children and adolescents who are managing it better.
?Before that, each of us had our own agenda, our own day, meeting people and breaking away from the reality of the four walls of the house, while at the moment we are 'imprisoned' inside the walls of the house. For some people, this has been a golden age, spending time with family. From the feedback I have received so far, it is the children who are managing the situation better. ?
Before addressing some concrete cases - collected by Anabel through communication with followers - she stated:
"What I have noticed is that really adults are the ones who have the most stress in managing this situation, unlike children and adolescents, although the latter are at an age where they develop out of the home from social relationships, but through technology yes better cope. From experience I have said that there is always a situation to enjoy at home: it's a man, it's a cooking, it's a smile, it's a job, it's the discovery of old books, old pictures that can make sense day. One of the reasons people have stress is related to the fact that the day makes no sense. In every moment of life a meaning can be found, a purpose. Be a little more present when you are living. Many deal with the past, some deal with the future. Quarantine and earthquake are moments that tell us we cannot predict anything. "
The most common situations in Anabel's inbox are as follows:
The first situation: ?I want to know how I can increase confidence because the quarantine period increases my stress level. I get humorous about doing different things. Online learning is an idiocy. I want to know what we can do that we have no desire to do anything. "
?My time with online students shows that it has its own difficulties because it lacks human interaction. The teacher does not see the student, the student does not see the teacher and we know that some of the information is received through the eyes. Of course there are many young people who went to school had the routine of a ritual - dressing, adjusting, drinking a coffee, etc. Lecturing without this routine is difficult. We have Wi-Fi and we have options, but of course Wi-Fi is not the only benefit. The issue of self-esteem is not just about quarantine, loss of confidence is not about quarantine so it's hard to say something in this case, as I would advise contacting a professional about these problems, as it is impossible to treat it in the form of a podcast -i like this. "
The second situation: ?How can I not scream when it hits my nose, especially at home. When I calm down I realize that they have no fault. "
?Adults are the ones who at this moment are not able to manage stress, unlike children. It's normal and human to get out of control when you try to do too much. It is normal for children to see angry parents, but it is important to talk about what happened and apologize and ask everyone if we can produce new ways of managing anger. If a quarantined woman gets angry and the situation gets out of hand, it's normal. I would advise her to deal with what happened afterwards [...] There are no people who speak in a calm voice all the time. Anger has many causes - it can be with children, with a spouse - and it's ok, but it's important to treat it later. It is very important to make divisions and tell the children that you have been wronged. Children need to know when anger has been personal to them and when not. They tend to personalize things and experience them badly. Again, it's normal to get angry and get out of anger, but take five minutes away from family. Shut up somewhere and reflect on how to interact in a healthy way with the situation they are living in. "
The third situation: "Increased anxiety and panic."
"In my judgment, anxiety is treated very well by psychotherapists, and in extreme cases the psychiatrist is undoubtedly introduced. Those who suffer from anxiety in these moments, in my opinion, just seem to have increased, in fact they have had it before, they just haven't noticed. From my practice, their anxiety generates much deeper than this moment. On the other hand, people deal a lot with the symptoms of anxiety. Symptoms such as tremors, shortness of breath, sprains, sweating, etc., are normal reactions after they have experienced something. That's normal, it would be abnormal if we didn't experience it. Anxiety is not the problem. After anxiety there is another problem. In my experience, I tell patients that 'you are anxious because your body is so intelligent that it is giving you a signal to tell you to help, understand and heal it'. It's just like having a temperature. Certainly anxiety is heightened as isolation affects and the effect that isolation has on their lives. Here again I emphasize the loss of meaning, so try to find the thought, what you are experiencing and feeling. That thought is the problem. People only deal with physiological reactions, but physiological reactions are normal. ?
The fourth situation: ?When everything goes back to normal, is it possible for us to look weird. Can we not adapt to normal school-coffee-assignments? ?
?We will adjust. I don't think there will be any change. The first week will be a little different, we may feel tired, but it is our normal. We will fit in well. "
