The impact of the pandemic on mental health

The psychological effects of the pandemic are beginning to be more and more serious and evident on adolescents. After almost a year of limitation to personal freedom, the zeroing of sociality and the consequent distance learning to avoid, or at least limit, the spread of Covid-19 the ASL data speak for themselves: as we read in an article by firenze.repubblica.it, “in the first ten months of 2020 the accesses to the emergency room of children with problems related to serious psychopathological symptoms, namely panic attacks, psychotic crises or severe depressive peaks, were 10% more than in the same period of 2019, while from September, taking care of patients on the request of doctors and pediatricians jumped up by 30%. “A widespread problem also confirmed by ‘Order of Psychologists, which has recorded, in private practices, a surge in requests for anxiety and depression disorders, especially in the age group between 16 and 19 years.

How to recognize depression, symptoms and possible treatments

The impact of the pandemic on mental health

Over the past year, people have been deprived of many aspects of their lives. To increase the tension, in addition to the distortion of everyday life, also the concern of contagion, the lack of control over the situation and the lack of knowledge on the subject. The repercussions, from a psychological point of view, especially in terms of anxious and depressive symptoms, cannot be overlooked.

The causes that trigger a panic attack can be many and vary from person to person: a long period of stress, for example, caused by an excessive workload; or a deep emotional distress that fails to emerge for a long time.

How to behave

So, what to do to face this difficult period with more peace of mind? In the event of a panic attack, you must first of all rule out that you are experiencing a heart attack (typical sensation) and consequently try to calm down. Thinking that nothing serious is happening is the first step to relax and make the disorder go away. You have to somehow recognize them and learn to control them.

When the affected person is young and is not at risk of heart attack, he or she can be asked to breathe for about a minute into a paper bag with mouth and nose and repeat the operation four / five times, alternating one minute of breathing in the bag , with a minute out of the bag. This practice should help restore regular breathing, thus preventing the risk of hyperventilation, which worsens the sensation of suffocation that is felt during a panic attack.

Coronavirus, Trieste psychologists: “The real emergency will be after quarantine”

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