From giving “structure” to your day to keeping yourself active and moving, here’s what to do (maintaining efficient immune functions)
by Nicola Barone
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From giving “structure” to your day to keeping yourself active and moving, here’s what to do (maintaining efficient immune functions)
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5 ‘of reading
In 1942 the Austrian neurologist Viktor Frankl began his perigration in four Nazi concentration camps. The lesson from that experience was that even when all freedom is nullified there is an extreme, unassailable possibility for man, and that is attitude. “Between a stimulus and a response there is a gap,” he wrote, and that is where the power to choose the “how” to react to what happens lies. In the fields many withered, some to the point of dying or choosing death, while others remained steadfast, despite deprivation and violence. We are talking about a limit reality, but Frankl’s message was from then on mainly addressed to the ordinary life of people. In the course of this pandemic from coronavirus many factors put mental health at risk. Worry about oneself and loved ones, social isolation, threats to job stability, economic difficulties and a distressing uncertainty about future developments, as if the world were changing radically: one is afraid of not being able to return to one’s previous life, of not being able to more to do simple but basic things like meeting friends, going to shows or exhibitions, traveling, hugging others. An acceptable level of stress also implies efficient immune functions, which is not bad, so here are some tips from a specialist that can help you overcome lockdown periods well.
Re-formulate the situation
“In the phases in which the limitations are stronger, the stress level can therefore easily exceed the warning limits. Human beings, however, have the resources to face even prolonged periods of difficulty, ”he makes clear Angelo Picardi, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, researcher at the Reference Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health of theCollege of Health. “Evidence of this should not even be sought in the medical literature, history is the master of it: just think of the resilience shown by the London population subjected during the Second World War to V1 flying bombs for many months, in a period in which curfews, sirens alarms, escapes to bunker shelters were the rule ». In the difficult days ahead it is useful to start from the inside and positively reframe the situation in one’s mind. «As the great soccer champion Johann Cryuff said, every disadvantage has its advantage. Spending a lot of time indoors can be a rare opportunity to focus attention on things you often don’t have time for, which sometimes includes yourself. The thought of being blocked and not being able to go out can be usefully reformulated into the thought of being able to finally take care of oneself and one’s home “. A lockdown can be an opportunity to brush up on old hobbies, or learn something new, dedicate yourself to something that you would have wanted to approach without ever having the time. “It may be a good time to take an old chessboard that hasn’t been used for some time out of a closet, or a musical instrument that you would have liked to learn to play.” But for everyone “and especially for the most unfortunate people who are alone at this moment or find themselves in a difficult economic or working situation, it is extremely important to cultivate hope, not letting oneself be overwhelmed by negative feelings that would further aggravate stress without bringing any benefit. , such as fear, anger, or suspicion and resentment towards hypothetical “guilty” of the situation ».
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Organize your day
The ISS has set up a specific working group – coordinated by Gemma Calamandrei, director of the Reference Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health – from which several reports and recommendations have come. A research project led by Emanuela Medda and Antonia Stazi shows the presence, from preliminary data, of anxiety symptoms in about half of a sample of people enrolled in the National Gemini Register of the ISS. Among the feasible actions there is therefore to “preserve as much as possible a good degree of structure to the day”, suggests Picardi. For the psychiatrist, «maintaining one’s daily routine helps to feel safer and more protected, it helps to maintain a sense of order and familiarity in existence. It is advisable to maintain regularity in the rhythms and basic aspects of life: getting up, dressing normally, eating, and going to sleep at the usual time. It is also essential to take care of the house and keep it clean and tidy, as a dirty and chaotic domestic environment can generate feelings of constriction and entrapment, or increase them if already present ».
Meditation and relaxation exercises
Crucial is then to devote some time to activities that can promote calm, tranquility, relaxation. “A good example is meditation, which can be done systematically through structured exercises for which various resources such as apps, websites, or books are available. But even simply trying to have a meditative attitude during the day, being present to yourself, paying attention to what you do, is useful for promoting a more relaxed state of mind “. Beneficial effects can also be had by focusing on breathing. A simple technique Picardi refers to «is to inhale slowly through the nose by expanding the diaphragm, hold the breath briefly, and then slowly exhale through the mouth. Even things like taking a hot bath, practicing yoga, reading a good book, or listening to good music can greatly promote relaxation by reducing stress ».
Cultivate social relationships
Social support is one of the main protective factors for not only mental but also physical health. In the United States, it has been estimated that actual or perceived loneliness is associated with an increase in mortality risk comparable to that associated with smoking and obesity, and that the number of deaths attributable to it is greater than the number attributable to cancer. or stroke. “If you live with someone, you can try to make relationships as relaxed as possible, for example by asking others what you can do to please them and make their day more enjoyable, and agreeing on a respectful division of space according to needs of each », is Picardi’s advice. “Small things done with a helpful and collaborative attitude can help maintain a good home atmosphere. Valuable doing something fun together, laughing together. It is essential to feed all your important social relationships, making use of technology, which in a period like this can give a great help to keep in touch with friends and relatives while remaining at home. It is useful to reserve a space of time every day for social contacts, being an active part and not just waiting to be contacted. In a period like this, it is important to be close, and to receive and share all the affection and friendship possible ».
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