You can schedule a consultation with Dr. Silvia Maria Trandafir, here: Consult Dr. Silvia Maria Trandafir
Experts rarely reach a common conclusion, but now it seems that there is unanimity: the COVID-19 pandemic will be followed by a "silent epidemic", that of mental illnesses. The health crisis has also brought unpredictability related to health, relationships, jobs, and financial situations, and this has affected millions of people. Primary care physician psychiatrist Maria Silvia Trandafir, doctor of medical sciences, who provides online consultations on the Digital Clinics platform, explained to us, in an interview, what problems her patients have been facing recently and what we can do to find our balance and adapt to the changes imposed by the pandemic. "The balance between digital and real life is the most important", is the opinion of Dr. Trandafir.
Depression and anxiety are, by far, the most common. In the last year, we have had patients of all ages, from 20 to 70 years old. Most of the problems were triggered by COVID, because after contracting the disease, these patients became anxious, depressed, with many somatic problems. We can talk about a symptomatology that remained after the condition, after going through COVID-19.
Many patients who did not have psychiatric problems before the pandemic required hospitalization and treatment. It is a combination of factors that trigger these psychiatric problems: fear of illness, fear of getting infected, of the consequences of the disease, fear of what will come next, and not only in the medical plan, but also in the social, familial, professional plan and from isolation. The information in the press that presents us with the situation of illnesses, hospitalizations, deaths is a permanent source of anxiety. On the other hand, it always keeps us alert and helps us protect ourselves. Human life has been completely affected.
Fear, anxiety, they cry easily, they are depressed, some develop psychotic disorders, they are tired, they are practically unable to do anything. They have all noticed that their efficiency has decreased or that they have sleep disorders. Some have joint pain, others have stomach pain, heart pain, they have tremors, that is, they have become mentally and physically decompensated or somatized.
To be very close to children and adolescents, to have a functional relationship, to be close in the true sense of the word, that should be the first thing. To have a normal family life, to have dinner together for example, to do sports, to go for walks together, to discuss the problems that bother the young, in a word, to become "good friends".
Children and adolescents should not be allowed to take refuge in computers and games. These are very dangerous because they allow young people to "transport" themselves to another reality. It is a virtual reality, and later these children and adolescents will no longer be able to adapt to our reality. Therefore, there must be a balance in everything, in the use of the computer, and television, and real life. The life experience of the parents should speak for itself.
First of all, a mental illness begins with a change in behavior. For example, before the child had a certain behavior, he was communicative, had good grades, a group of friends and now he no longer has it. The adolescent, in general, has two reference systems. One is represented by the family, parents, from where he learns from the life experience of adults, and the other is represented by the circle of friends of his age. He must constantly enter and exit both systems, because in this way he manages to detach himself from the family and develop normally, harmoniously.
If he remains only in the system of his parents, it will be very difficult for him to adapt to society, if he is only in the system of those his age, he no longer benefits from the experience of his parents and moves away from the family. The group he enters is very important, because if he ends up, for example, in a group of users of psychoactive substances, then he is in great danger. Parents must always have a close connection with the teenager in order to correct any deviations or wrong relationships.
A teenager with problems may end up not talking, not eating, not leaving the house or even his room, in a word, isolating himself, changing his behavior, not sleeping, spending his nights in different surroundings. These are reasons for concern. You can think that he has depression, or even more, if he withdraws into his own world where he finds refuge. This refuge is temporary, however, he will not be able to stay there in the future, it is not beneficial. Compensating, he will start consuming alcohol or drugs, become irritable, irascible, violent, and difficult to approach.
On the one hand, people who work very hard have become addicted to work, continuing to work even after the official end of the working day, under the pretext of "protecting themselves", because this situation helps them in this regard. Why or from whom do they protect themselves? Maybe from themselves! Thus, dissatisfaction, worries, fear of loneliness, anxiety, and in a way, depression also decrease. The mechanism is this: we focus on work and forget about other problems. However, forgetting is temporary and deepens the problems even more.
However, nothing is entirely beneficial. Each situation has its positive and negative aspects: if we spend a lot of time online, always connected to our laptop or phone, we end up not exercising, we isolate ourselves, slowly, slowly taking refuge in an unreal world. We can also use the context we find ourselves in for the positive. We rediscover the family and its values, because now we also have time for our loved ones. We need to find a balance between digital and real life. Let's "spice up" our existence with sports, music, outdoor walks, meetings with friends, family, with everything that can be done while taking into account being "safe", not contaminating ourselves with this virus. Let's not forget and take into account that we, the people, can and must defeat it! Let's not let it steal our lives. If we don't walk the middle line, we suffer in one form or another.
You can schedule a consultation with Dr. Silvia Maria Trandafir, here: Consult Dr. Silvia Maria Trandafir
