07/14/2020 - 11:52
- Clarín.com
- Good Life
When Monday officially start the school winter break in the City of Buenos Aires and GBA, the points most affected by the extent of the pandemic of coronavirus , will also be serving four months of a quarantine that, at the current rate of The contagions do not promise a significant opening for the next few weeks.
In the "meanwhile" that this health crisis imposed on us, the collateral effects on the health of those who remain isolated to avoid infections are counted in great numbers and with increasingly pronounced consequences. From postural pain to gastrointestinal discomfort physically, with a rising curve of stress , anxiety , and depression as emotional instability is concerned.
These consequences of isolation are felt even more in those who, pushed by the situation, fulfill a triple role from the home dining room : they are workers in home office mode , they are part-time teachers and full-time parents.
"The high level of physical and mental fatigue that society has been sustaining as a result of the pandemic has in many cases lowered the threshold of capacity to withstand anguish, tension and frustration. It is important to detect in time which are the indicators of stress that promote stage for the emergence of depressive disorders, panic attacks and panic , "he says the lawyer Marina Rovner, psychologist and specialist in anxiety disorders, phobias and panic.
As signs of a mentally damaging process, Rovner mentions having a low level of concentration , being irritable, generating negative thoughts, feeling unmotivated and reluctant, perceiving physical exhaustion, decay, or suffering attacks of anger. Curbing these symptoms depends also curb excess tasks that accompany isolation, but with the added challenge of not moving from the home .
Can you change air at home? Modifying the routine we will enjoy the time as on vacation.
It is precisely in this interval of the year when many often put a brake on their obligations and plan a rest in other directions, something unlikely with the current restrictions. So how do we organize with winter break? Is it possible to take time off without leaving home?
"In general, vacations are identified with trips to a distant destination. However, they can be thought of as a period of 'something different' linked to permits and breaks in demands. In the context of a global crisis, a rest does not have to be long, even just a day here and there, will become important for health , "says Rovner.
For the specialist, there are several ways to enjoy “a change of air” outside of work but inside the home, it only requires minimal planning that will provide the opportunity to recharge.
Manage holidays in quarantine
"Holidays are important for everyone, regardless of the role that each one plays in society. There are millions of things to do and see nearby. And also, it is not so much the time or where we go to rest, but rather how it is They value those days of recess, "invokes the professional, and leaves some guidelines to manage the recess of virtual classes , the home office and early risers:
✔ Being a tourist at home: Try to act as a tourist watching "child eyes" looking for the first time, while we went out into the street to do some shopping looking at the details of the houses, sidewalks, buildings, trees.
✔ Plan a celebration , which can be with a special meal plan.
✔ Do unfinished business without pressure to fix everything immediately. The intention is to enjoy what one does.
✔ Unleash creativity by introducing an atypical situation, such as camping in a corner of the house or patio.
There are many activities "from outside" that we can recreate inside and feel like a vacation.
✔ It is essential to connect with your own needs, listening to the body and the mind, looking for spaces of freedom and removing rigid attitudes that impose schedules and overcontrol for one and the others.
✔ Awareness of anxiety during the day: Anxiety does not appear suddenly, but "gives signs": the body feels a particular excitement, breathing is altered, ideas become repetitive, an urgency in action appears ( when you could really expect). A useful option to watch out for is to write these signs as reminders to help you handle the situation.
What do we do with the boys?
"Children and adolescents are also affected and manifest themselves through a higher level of irritability , fatigue, listlessness, moodiness , and apathy . The lack of personal contact with classmates, frustration and boredom for being unable to play or seeing a lot of their friends, or a lack of space at home is an explosive combo that needs an escape route. And it is only natural that they eliminate their frustrations with those closest to them, "says Rovner.
For all this, easing a little the required routine of the last months even without changing location, should not be so farfetched. In this context, it is highly recommended that the children "take" the winter holidays, still in quarantine, accompanied by the parents. And what is recommended, whatever the time we have to devote to detox, is that you start with a change of attitude.
To achieve this, the graduate also leaves a series of suggestions:
✔ Stop fights before they start: Ask yourself: Are there certain things I always quarrel with my children about? Think about which situations can be foreseen in advance, such as, for example, instead of “catching them” playing with the tablet, guide through a dialogue what would be a reasonable way to reach an agreement in the time of use.
Setting certain times and agreeing on permits is a friendly way to avoid frequent fights and challenges.
✔ Lower demands: In general, high expectations are those that generate the most frustration. Do we expect too much from them? Do we expect them to keep everything tidy even when it's difficult for us right now? Do we expect them to sit down and listen when they're bored with the same old talk? Do we hope that they can be entertained without parental interaction over a long period of time?
✔ Anticipate anger: Somehow everyone knows what is going to cause an internal explosion that generally triggers fights, screams and countless unpleasant moments. Those anger can be caused by a list of situations repeated indefinitely in these days of isolation.
✔Create a personal space agenda where each of the family members appears. To make sure that parents and children have a private space to call their friends or do the things they like without being disturbed, it might be helpful to create a schedule where they agree as a family that they can spend time in a certain room or space, without interruptions.
Creative break indoors
Change assignments and classes by videoconference , a movie shared on the couch, no time awakenings and many hours of shared quality and represents a change of air for young and old. Because although we have been sharing "all the time" for months, the truth is that communication is continually interrupted by the routine indoors.
How do we make this isolation feel like a vacation? "The proposal is to turn the house into a magical place in which the parents are the assistants of the children's creative proposals, and vice versa. The main objective is to put aside school activities and incorporate a playful space that decompresses, amuses everyone and strengthen family ties.
Lights and shadows, a playful proposal to implement on vacation.
Because it is very likely that at this stage of confinement we will not be overwhelmed by ideas to entertain them, here are some options from the specialist focused on the game, which also favor various skills:
To develop social skills: Double a movie, play any scene and put your own voice and text. Invent songs with specific themes that can be based on fun family anecdotes. Being strangers in family: playing at dinner as if no one knew each other, what would you talk about, how would you treat it?
To stimulate cognitive skills: Interview a celebrity: one of the family members disguises himself as that celebrity and the rest asks him questions. Write the family tree, or an intimate journal of particular situations and emotions during the pandemic. It can also be a comic created between everyone on graph paper.
To awaken manual skills: Build a shadow theater (with a box, translucent paper, cardstock, wooden sticks, and a flashlight). Cook as a family decorating the plate. Each member chooses the reason each time. Invent absurd choreography, redecorate the room, or form animals in origami and create a zoo.