Pierre-Paul Aveline lost his “common thread” on March 13, the day Quebec declared the closure of schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety took over.
Posted on February 11, 2021 at 6:26 am
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“We did not know anything about this virus, remembers the Trifluvien, whose greatest fear was to contract it. Can we catch it by passing someone in the street? There were a lot of unanswered questions. And that is anxiety-provoking. ”
The next three months were painful. The slightest symptom of seasonal allergy stressed him out. The lack of control too. “Cold hands, a taste for sleep, a struggling heart. It paralyzes everyday life. And it’s a vicious circle: we want to find the good news, so we go and see the news. But it’s not better, five minutes later! »He laughs.
Geneviève, for her part, did not do any of her errands between March and June. She is convinced today to do it, but it remains painful for her. Because not all of the people around her are aware of her anxiety disorder, she preferred to be mentioned under a fictitious first name.
Yesterday I was at the dentist. In the waiting room there were a lot of young children and adults. I get up, I try to find a corner where there is no one … I always fall into hypervigilance.
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Geneviève
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Her lover, she sees her only every two weeks. It is she who comes, never the opposite. “I’m too afraid to be in contact with her children,” says Geneviève, who suffers a lot from the situation.
Last fall, she learned during a videoconference that the employees of her team could quietly return to work in the office, in person. Geneviève had a panic attack. She feels unable to take the metro or the bus. Too afraid of contracting the virus.
“Clearly, if I hit that, I find myself on a ventilator at the hospital, believes Geneviève, who suffers from a chronic illness. This fear is always, always there. ”
Her doctor put her on sick leave for a few weeks as the panic attacks disrupted her daily life.
Fear is useful, but …
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Joaquin Poundja, psychologist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute
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Joaquin Poundja is a psychologist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal. He has a front-row seat to hearing the different sources of anxiety arising from the pandemic.
“We see people who are extremely afraid of the virus, yes,” he said. And my hunch as a clinician is that there must be more of them staying locked at home without asking for help. These people should not hesitate to ask for help. ”
When it is moderate, the fear of contracting the virus is useful, adaptive, emphasizes the psychologist, but too high a fear can lead to states of great anxiety.
We have seen people who feel too risky to go outside for a walk. And it’s a bit of a loop: avoiding going out maintains anxiety about the virus.
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Joaquin Poundja
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At the Relief organization (formerly Revivre), we quickly saw the fear of contamination appear in workshops and support groups, says worker and peer support Annie Beaudin. The pandemic has exacerbated symptoms already present in some, while others experienced anxiety for the first time, she said.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Annie Beaudin, peer support worker at the Relief organization
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“Lots of haunting thoughts, disaster scenarios, phobias. But also the fear of death, the fear of infecting others. And a lot of suffering linked to isolation. “Even today, she says, the fear of contamination is a very important subject:” Our people tell us that they feel isolated, caught in a spiral. ”
For Marie-Eve Lapierre, 24, shopping for groceries is a huge source of stress. What does she fear above all? Pass on COVID-19 to loved ones. “If I go out on errands, catch COVID-19, give it to my 55-year-old mother and die from it, I would be remiss. It goes far, anxiety! », Agrees the professional photographer of Lac-Saint-Jean, who goes out for a walk and takes pictures in the open air to calm the flow of his thoughts.
Catastrophic thought
Behind the excessive fear of contamination, psychologist Joaquin Poundja observes various phenomena, including that of catastrophic thought. “If you put a microscope on a possibility – catch the virus and develop serious consequences, even die from it – in the eyes of the person who suffers from catastrophic thinking, the possibility becomes very likely,” he explains. There is therefore confusion between possibility and high probability. ”
There is also an intolerance of uncertainty (“the fact that zero risk does not exist is painful for people who are very anxious”) and obsessive doubt. Maybe there are viruses on the pole, maybe there are viruses in the air… “The person will go more with the imagination than with the reality of the modes of transmission of virus ”, summarizes Joaquin Poundja.
For people who are very anxious, it can be reassuring to seek out reliable and validated information about the modes of transmission of the virus. When avoidance is major, we must work to reduce it, emphasizes Joaquin Poundja: take a walk, go grocery shopping safely, etc. This approach often requires professional support, he says.
Geneviève slowly works on her behavior with the help of her psychologist. She has also participated in the Relief organization online support groups. “One day, I will have to desensitize myself, that I take the metro,” she agrees.
Pierre-Paul Aveline feels much more serene today. He found great confidence in the health and government authorities (“Mr. Arruda enlightens me a lot”). He and his wife have never walked so well. And he manages his news consumption better.
“Over time, I learned to adapt and use mental health services,” says Pierre-Paul Aveline who – like all the other contributors in this article – insists on the importance of talking about it and to ask for help. “Because life is much better afterwards. ”
> Visit the website of the Relief organization
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