The epidemic caused by the Omicron mutation has not subsided in China, and some people need to be isolated at home or in hotels, for the middle school students who are in a period of continuous physical and mental development, they not only have to face the psychological pressure brought by the epidemic, but also have to bear the academic pressure brought about by the postponement of the start of school and the change of teaching methods, etc. At the same time, because the new crown virus has the characteristics of fast transmission, repeated uncertainty, and treatment complexity, it will make children have a catastrophic cognition that their health and life are threatened at all times. As well as the destructive interpersonal relationships caused by long-term isolation, the individual becomes confused, the original balance is broken, and even leads to acute stress response in adolescents.
Symptoms of acute stress, if properly managed, usually resolve spontaneously within 30 days, and in some patients, symptoms persist and may eventually develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with severe and lasting effects on individuals and families.
How can we help middle school students in medium- and high-risk areas who are controlled and isolated are facing an unprecedented psychological crisis? The following suggestions can be taken:
First, improve cognition
Change your child's own thinking, try to minimize the view of epidemic-related news, believe in the government's emergency response capabilities and determination to defeat the epidemic, as long as you do a good job of personal protection, adjust your own state, tell yourself that the virus will be overthrown, and the difficulties will always pass.
Second, regulate emotions
First, tell yourself that panic and anxiety in the face of the epidemic are normal, and talk about your feelings and emotions to your parents or friends, and second, do more things that interest you (such as sports, reading, chasing dramas) to divert your attention.
Third, efficiency learning
1. Arrange time reasonably, strictly implement the daily schedule formulated by the school, complete the learning tasks, and if the school has not given it yet, it can be formulated by itself. 2, communicate with students to understand everyone's learning situation. 3. When encountering problems in the course, ask the teacher or classmates online in time, and do not backlog. 4. Understand the way of online lectures in advance and slowly adapt. 5. Combining work and leisure, you can use your mobile phone to set an alarm clock according to the school schedule and "go to class" on time.
Fourth, healthy interpersonal relationships
Due to isolation at home, there are few opportunities to meet with classmates, friends, and teachers, so you can take the initiative to contact classmates, friends, teachers, etc. online to share your troubles and feelings about interpersonal relationships with them; at the same time, you can also do some interaction and communication with your parents at home.
Contributed by Nie Bin, Department of Pediatric psychology, Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province, member of the Hunan Provincial Stress Psychological Intervention Team
Editor: Liu Yuchen
Image: From the Internet, intrusion and deletion