<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nCovid-19 pandemic has reshaped society dramatically. The lockdown, officially
\nimposed worldwide, has ascribed our existence to a new paradigm. We became
\ncloser to one another thanks to the Internet, which literally melt away
\ndistances of any kind. As for governments worldwide, they globalized the
\nprotection mask. The downside of it all is isolation, but also the feeling of
\nalienation. The good side, though, is the leisure time we have gained so far. We
\nhave discovered we are free to travel to work from our living rooms and
\ntherefore we can save no less than three hours a day. But that didn’t happen to
\nall of us. According to a sociological survey, a mere 3 out of 10 Romanians
\nbelieve they had more time on their hands than before the outbreak of the
\npandemic, while 4 out of 10 Romanians feel the need to sleep more. We will use
\nthe aforementioned survey to look at how such a crisis, which has been very
\nserious so far, can influence the quality of our sleep. Apparently, the
\nlockdown was long enough for us to sleep more, but that is not true. For most
\nof us, quite a few problems we had been unaware of have resurfaced during the
\nCovid-19 pandemic, at once generating atavistic behavior. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\npsychologist Daniela Ionescu: <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Man’s
\ngreatest fear is the fear of the unknown, and the pandemic has a great many
\nunknown points. Information is scarce, often contradictory and menacing, the
\nfeeling of self-security has been seriously affected, fear and guilt crop up,
\nas well as the fight-or-run behavioral patterns. A sneeze automatically
\ntriggers the question what if ..? in the mind of the person who sneezed, but also
\nin the minds of those who happened to be around him. Our brains cannot stand
\nuncertainty. The brain supplies the information itself, in the absence of real
\ninformation, even distorting the objective reality, so that a coherent scenario
\ncan be created mb means of which it may take action in order to regain control.
\nThat is why, in circumstances pertaining to life’s natural progress, we’re
\noften faced with misconstrued, exaggerated, abnormal reactions, since such
\ncircumstances are viewed in a context which is perceived as being dangerous.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now,
\nconsider such a tendency against the backdrop of the lockdown we had been going
\nthrough this past spring. The outcome? The isolation and the measures imposed
\nby the social distancing have tremendous repercussions on the human being,
\nwhile a poor quality of sleep is the first symptom that something goes wrong. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sociologist
\nGelu Duminica. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sleep
\ndeprivation occurs in a multitude of contexts, according to specialists. Under
\npressure, in times of crisis, the human body reacts in many ways. It is highly
\nlikely that in a context of crisis, the tension you feel in your body may
\nresult in the fact that you cannot sleep any more. If your brain and your body
\ndid not have enough rest, that may also trigger a certain amount of over-tension
\nin your body. It is like a vicious cycle: the tension is the cause of sleep
\ndeprivation, while sleep deprivation causes the tension. This period of Covid
\ncrisis has generated tension. Especially during its first part. Tension was
\nalso enhanced by all the messages we have been exposed to, in society, death is
\ncloser than you think, something could happen to you and to your nearest and
\ndearest, also, tension was enhanced by the lockdown. And that, because lockdown
\nwas something we had not been familiar with, which wreaked havoc in our lives.
\nAnd then man’s behavior, according to sociologists, greatly depends on
\nbackground and circumstances. The circumstance we experienced was something we
\nhad not been used to. And then, logically speaking, the amount of tension ran
\nhigh, also resulting in sleep deprivation.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nlockdown was not much of a protection for us, since to all that, the social
\nanimal the human being is has reacted through depression and anxiety, which
\nweaken the immunity system. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Psychologist
\nDaniela Ionescu:<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We’re
\ngenetically programmed to live in communities. We build our psychological
\nbalance in, and we progress through interaction, so social distancing is out of
\nthe question. The stronger you are connected to the others, physically,
\nsocially and psychologically, the better your physical and psychological
\ncondition is. Isolation can only engender chronic fatigue. You can experience
\npanic attacks, sadness, helplessness, suicidal ideas may occur more often than
\nnot, overdrinking and drug-taking may also occur. Physical distancing does not
\nprovide much psychological balance either. We need to get close to somebody, we
\nneed the physical touch. For us, these are sources of confidence and security.
\nIt is the first language we learn as soon as we’ve come into this world. The
\nmost direct and the most complete language, which cannot be replaced by any
\nother type of verbal or written communication. Fast and minutely, the touch
\nconveys a much wider range of feelings and emotions than, for instance, our
\nfacial expression or our gestures. Any kind of distancing causes a greater
\namount of aggressiveness, of infliction or self-infliction. It triggers
\nabnormal types of behavior, it causes depression, while a weakened immunity
\nsystem is its aftermath, among other things. Or rather, distancing is meant to
\nhelp us better understand the measure of human relationships, it will help us
\npraise the presence of the other to a greater extent, their touches, their
\nembraces, it will help us develop empathy, compassion, selflessness,
\nself-awareness and the awareness of the world around us.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the sociological survey, 53 % of respondents admitted that going
\nout, to a restaurant, a bar or beer garden are the activities they most missed
\nduring the lockdown. 42 % of them mentioned going to a concert or to the cinema
\nwere they activities they have missed. By way of comparison, a mere15%
\nresponded that doing their hobbies is what they missed most. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Daniela
\nIonescu:<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Man
\nis a social animal. One of its fundamental needs is the sense of belonging, and
\nachieving something like that means relating to someone. Self-esteem and
\nself-confidence are being built through interaction-based experiences.
\nLikewise, compassion, empathy, selflessness, socializing, all that also has its
\ncrucial contribution to our cognitive and affective development, but also to
\nthe creation od the mechanisms by means of which we adapt to the world and to
\nlife, they help us manage stress and anxiety. Social isolation may cause
\nillnesses but also our losing the sense of reality. It even causes death,
\nsometimes. On the other hand, the exaggerated need to socialize may often
\nconceal psychological problems the individual can only contain provided they
\nfocus on the interaction with the others. Socializing in the presence and
\nthrough food, like the one you have in a restaurant, is based on the memory of
\nhaving received affection, comfort, education, way back when you were
\nbreastfed. Food is a language through which we convey our intensions, our
\nemotions, our ability of relating to the others. Eating in the company of
\nothers is a type of energy exchange, an act of togetherness, of intimacy. Food
\nprovides physical nourishing for us; similarly, relationships feed us
\nemotionally, and satisfaction is complete when we have both types of food.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The psychology of adapting to the pandemic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":85010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[43816,43815,36546,35342],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-143616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-affection","tag-emotion","tag-food","tag-lockdown"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n