Humanity has not coped with one disaster — a pandemic coronavirus, and already ahead loomed a new. The global economic crisis, massive racial protests… No wonder that people in the background of this tragic news can not stand the nerves. Some predict the end of the world, others are looking for the roots of a global conspiracy, but others just get depressed. About how insidious the virus affects our mental health, the readers of “MK” says social psychologist, member of the International Association of applied psychology Vlad KRASNOV.
– Doctors in many countries have noted that in recent months has increased the number of cases of severe depression among the population. This is due to a coronavirus pandemic?
– the new type of Coronavirus is still too poorly understood to be so clear, but some scholars do associate these two factors. For example, the number of nervous and mental disorders among youth in Germany increased this year from 1 to 5 %. Other researchers have noted a significant increase in cases of unwarranted aggression.
— You mean what is happening now in the US?
‘ No, there, I think, just very cleverly manipulated the minds of certain social groups and national minorities. But the period of self-isolation, of course, has facilitated this task.
– or maybe it was the fact that people just can’t endure all the trials that have befallen us this year? In fact some even portend the end of the world.
– the Human psyche is very resilient and can survive a lot. In fact, humanity many times fell into the perfect storm, read the history — was of pestilence, war, famine, devastation, but every time people are mobilized, United and survived. So proponents of the theory of the end of the world can relax, such challenges, as it is now, humanity was already taken, and more than once, and always deal with them. But how hard will survive the current situation individuals, will depend on many factors. First and foremost, how stable their mind is, whether a particular person support group, family, friends, what are the social resources, what is the support of the state.
– a Few months we were scared because we all get sick and die if we do not “isolate themselves”, and then suddenly all released, removed restrictions. But there are people who still afraid to leave their apartments. Whether it is necessary now to treat them post-traumatic effects of the quarantine?
Fear is a normal emotion when a person is in real danger. For example, you are going to the store and know that there will be many people without masks, some of them are asymptomatic carriers of the infection. You bait��trying to get, so wear a mask, gloves, comply with social distance, and when he got home, wash hands with soap and water. This is an adequate response to the threat of infection. But if you shop lashing out with his fists for another buyer, because he is without the mask too close to you, and even sneezed in your direction, this behavior already can not be called normal.
– But such cases do happen, and not only in the store. Recently wrote about the fight in the subway, a man without a mask snapped, and the other passengers pushed him out of the car.
This is a classic example of stigma. Some are afraid of people who go in public transport without a mask. Others, like the inhabitants of the province, labeled the Muscovites, believing that they brought kovid to Russia from abroad. In addition, many stigmatizing labour migrants because they live in crowded, they have no health insurance, and they fear losing their jobs because of illness, so be it. All this is rather offensive things: suspicion, the hostility of one group of the population against another may lead to riots. Unfortunately, all known in the world history of the epidemic was accompanied by riots and pogroms.
For so many years, centuries, nothing has changed?
– No, during epidemics SARS, MERS and Ebola stigma were subjected not only ill as a direct source of infection, but the doctors, members of their families. With coronavirus story was repeated: there were cases of attacks on paramedics and patients with kovid. The principle of human reaction is always the same you just have to find someone to blame for their troubles. Remember when the epidemic was just beginning, all blamed for the increased incidence of “chef”.
– And is it not so?
‘ of Course not. Incidence curve develops in a particular mathematical model, which depends on many factors, not just how the population observes the quarantine. Remember, the increased incidence in Moscow came in may, when residents more than a month sitting at home if someone was roasting shish kebab, it is only in his kitchen. I’m not calling to disregard sanitary-epidemiological rules, they should be respected, but not worth the hysteria.
– Many people actually quarantine is not observed. And some even said, and I continue to assert that no kovida no. And all this global conspiracy under the leadership of Bill gates.
– Yes, and even that so adversely affect us new 5G communication standard.
some Obscurantism…
– I’d say it’s an evolutionary response, so our historical memory. Pandemic is just what humanity knows very well. And the reaction of the people was all��Yes it is the same – they started to look for the enemy, spreading the disease. Belief in the evil forces are very strong. By the way, on hand the proliferation of these conspiracy theories was the fact that people have no confidence in the authorities. The latest polls showed that those that believe the official statistics on the incidence of COVID-19 no more than 28 %. Some say that the mortality rate in our country is much higher, while others believe, no coronavirus there. For comparison: in China the government is now trusted by 80% of the population. In Germany about 60 %.
– What a “split personality” in our public consciousness.
– I think the big mistake of the officials was that they had chosen the path of intimidation of society and the media helped them do it. From this stream of negative news — more harm than good. Every day we broadcast on all TV channels reports growth cases, information about new deaths, had published a heartbreaking confession of those who lost their loved ones, stories of doctors who tumbled to the ground, showing rows of ambulances, Queuing in emergency departments – all this is extremely negative background. He only demobilized people, drives them into depression, generates chronic anxiety.
in addition, people do not understand many of the actions of the authorities, the unpredictability of their actions. Now the same thing happens. On the one hand, we are told that will be consistently removed all restrictions, on the other – constantly heard the threats, the deterioration of the epidemiological situation again all will close. In such a situation, to do businesses? Is it possible to run production, to take out a loan or is it better to wait? And such unanswerable questions have each population. People don’t know where to put the summer children, whether they themselves work? Therefore, in social networks rumors and myths. And people don’t know whom to trust.
is it True that a quarantine for more than 10 days has a bad effect on the human psyche and that’s us all backfire?
– All experience isolation in different ways, but from 10 to 30 percent of people who were in quarantine, then do experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Some are evident even three years after the epidemic. The maximum period of isolation, which leaves no serious consequences, is 10-14 days. Muscovites spent in the isolation mode for more than 2 months, in my opinion, it was not only bad, but pointless. They no longer acted the constant intimidation, broadcast on television, many have decided – come what may. The poll of may 15 showed that the proportion of those who are afraid to be infected by the coronavirus, has decreased for a month from 27% to 15%. But the number of people who fear that their families do not have anything to live for, amounted to more than 64 PR��cents. So at the end of may quarantine measures and control over them is gone: on the streets of Moscow was crowded, as before the quarantine.
– do you think that our society can face negative consequences of the pandemic, like those that are happening now in the West?
– In General, our doctors coped with the epidemic better than their foreign colleagues. However, ahead of us waiting for more serious tests. According to opinion polls, a large part of the population is afraid of the economic crisis, not a coronavirus. And if you fall, as promised by the economists, will start a wave of bankruptcies, rising unemployment and a continued drop in people’s incomes, then in fact the country may be flooded with a wave of nervous and mental disorders. It is also impossible to ignore that we have a vaccination against coronavirus, many do not want to vaccinate – it is also a very painful moment. Successful outcome of this event depends on how the authorities will be able to approach people, to be persuasive.
– whether the man himself to help yourself in such a difficult situation in which we were all in quarantine?
– First of all, you need to remain optimistic, no matter what. Not becoming a slave to the media. Awareness is good, but when a person constantly monitors reports of sick and dying, it’s already turning into an addiction. Same thing with social networks, instead of hanging out in chat rooms, cursing the government or those whose opinions you do not agree, it is better to devote this time to your loved ones.
