A few days ago there was a hot search news, quite impressive, Guangdong Dongguan traffic police, stopped a driving man, found that he wore a lot of masks, traffic police have doubts, let him take off first, who knows the man layer by layer, actually took off more than ten layers, the traffic police look confused. The man said he was just too nervous, for self-preservation.
Earlier, Jiang Rongmeng, a expert group of the National Health and Health Commission, mentioned in an interview that wearing two masks will affect air tightness, and the resistance of exhalation will increase, and it will inhale hard, which is more likely to be infected. Wearing multiple layers is better than wearing a layer of masks.
Netizens commented under the news that this is not a show of wealth? Others can't buy it, but he hoards so much and wastes it.
In fact, the reason why this man has such behavior, I believe it is not that he really wants to "show off his wealth", but the "excessive defensive psychology" behind it.
Not only the man, under the epidemic, there are many people who have "excessive defense", and various news are also emerging.
Some people heard that 75 degrees of alcohol can be disinfected, so they directly poured it into their mouths; some communities heard that a certain family came back from Wuhan, no matter how much the other party guaranteed that they were willing to self-isolate, or they still had to seal the door of others;
What's more, I heard that pets may be at risk of infection, and they buried other people's pet cats alive, and the cat owner was in isolation and came back grief-stricken.
In fact, in the face of such a sudden public health event, it is normal for people to have certain anxiety and defense psychology, which is also an important self-protection mechanism to prevent the spread of diseases.
But when people make excessive emotional reactions and excessive defensive behaviors, it turns into a "psychological problem", and this "psychological problem" will not only affect themselves and others, but also from the social level, it is not conducive to the control of the epidemic.
So, am I "normal defense" or "excessive defense"? How does over-defense come about? What if I feel like I or someone around me is overly defensive? Let's analyze them one by one.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > how to distinguish between normal defense and excessive defense</h1>
Psychological defense mechanism refers to an adaptive tendency that individuals have in their internal psychological activities to consciously or unconsciously relieve their troubles and reduce their inner uneasiness in order to restore psychological balance and stability when they face a tense situation of frustration or conflict. It has both positive and negative aspects.
Its concept was first proposed by Freud in the early 20th century, Freud believed that the powerful "self" impulse of human beings will disturb our sense of self and produce anxiety, and our "self" deploys unconscious defense mechanisms to reduce individual anxiety in order to fight it.
The biggest influence on the mechanism of psychological defense is the work of George Valante, a psychiatrist from Harvard University, who updated and iterated Freud's views.
According to Valante, defense is a balancing mechanism that reduces the destructive effects of sudden stress. As people age, the defense mechanism is also becoming more and more mature, and mature psychological defense is mainly to enhance the protection and satisfaction of the self by increasing the individual's conscious attention to feelings, thoughts and their consequences.
There are several main types of mature and healthy psychological defense:
Sublimation: Transforming the energy of tension into a constructive projection
Repression: Control negative emotions so they don't have a destructive effect on your goals and values
Expectation: Invest in preparation and planning to reduce anxiety and stress
Altruism: Use your resources and talents to gain satisfaction and meaning in helping others
Humor: Being able to see the funny side of things in stressful or potentially frustrating situations
Obviously, these psychological defense mechanisms within the normal range can not only protect themselves, but also benefit others.
Valante also mentioned some unhealthy, over-defensive types, such as:
Thoughtless repression
Indiscriminate tension and fear (not relieved even in a safe environment)
Compulsive behavior (repetitive and persistent excesses)
In view of the current situation of the epidemic, we can expand some more practical indicators with excessive defensive characteristics according to Valante's theory, such as:
Closed to self, it is difficult to communicate with people normally, and it is impossible to listen to other topics other than the epidemic
Experts say one point, I have to do ten points, always have to over-execute to be at ease
No matter which channel you hear, whether it is confirmed or not, you will immediately do it and force the people around you to do it together
Emotional, irritable, often quarreling with people over small things
If you can't work properly or rest and relax, keep an eye on information about the pandemic at all times
Difficulty giving help to others, or difficulty accepting help from others
Compared with the above indicators, do you have a preliminary judgment about the level of defense of yourself or others? Even if there is an excessive defense phenomenon, there is no need to worry too much, first of all, we have to understand why under the epidemic, there will be a psychological mechanism of excessive defense.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >2. Why do we have "excessive defense" under the epidemic? Excessive defense comes from an "over-stress response</h1>."
In the year of 2020, surrounded by the atmosphere of the epidemic, people who were happy to go home for the New Year opened various media and saw rising numbers and various related news.
We kept switching moods in shock, fear, grief and warmth, and for a moment, we couldn't go anywhere, masks couldn't be bought, and even door handles and elevator buttons became dangerous goods.
Many people say that they are about to be drowned in all kinds of negative information, over-emotionally substituted, feeling panic and anxiety, but as if they can't do anything. You can only brush Weibo from morning to night, and even have difficulty breathing after watching for a long time, chest tightness, and want to cry at every turn.
In fact, this may mean that we are experiencing a psychological "stress response." This is a hormone-induced emotional response.
When you are in a stressful environment— such as experiencing a major traumatic event (such as SARS, earthquakes, and this new crown pneumonia), you will trigger a series of physical reactions, such as: insomnia, work and rest disorders, memory loss, chest tightness, etc.
The "stress response" itself is normal, it is just a subconscious physiological and emotional response, because we all live in society and are connected to various events in society. Don't say personal experience, even if you witness some negative events, people will have similar reactions.
This cannot be avoided even by counselors and psychiatrists.
Only this time, such a serious and unknown event, that many people (especially young people) have not experienced. Coupled with the shortage of short-term medical supplies, some patients can not get timely isolation, various rumors and take advantage of the void, deliberately create panic, under this national emotional pressure, will further catalyze the stress response, resulting in many people in the case of self-knowledge, into the state of "excessive stress", unable to extricate themselves.
It is this "over-stress response" that leads to the opening of "over-defense", and people begin to have over-defensive behavior.
So what should we do in the face of the psychology of "excessive defense"? How to alleviate it? Here are some concrete, actionable recommendations from three perspectives.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, what should we do in the face of "excessive defense"</h1>
1. Choose to face it directly and scientifically understand the real situation and data
Excessive defense comes from panic and anxiety, and its roots are all from the unknown.
Now the major media are sleepless, trying their best to give us the most timely and accurate information, in essence, they also want everyone to understand the most real data and the current progress, so as to form a clearer understanding of the occurrence, development and treatment of the epidemic, and we will naturally think more rationally.
As ourselves, on the basis of establishing scientific cognition, we can better protect ourselves and self-isolate according to the instructions of experts, and more strictly abide by the rules and regulations.
From the perspective of psychological mechanisms, clear cognition and regular behavior are important mechanisms for eliminating uncertainty and reducing anxiety.
A few days ago, the science number paper clip did a popular science video about the new crown pneumonia, many people watched it and said that they knew everything, but their hearts were much more solid, and they were not so afraid.
Once scientific knowledge has been established, it is also important to reduce the input of irrelevant information.
2. Reduce the psychological burden caused by information overload
The beginning of "excessive defense" is that we are directly exposed to excessive negative information and do not have the ability to cope, so controlling the frequency and amount of information received every day can allow us to reduce a lot of emotional impact. Especially unconfirmed, non-mainstream media reports, and potentially anxiety-provoking news.
You can stipulate the time you spend every day brushing your mobile phone, which can be 1-2 hours, and selectively pay attention to several reliable information platforms, such as the People's Daily, the official platform of the Health Commission at all levels, the Beijing News, Sanlian and other first-line media...
Pay attention to the necessary information, reduce the noise, and in the long run your emotional state will become more rational and restrained. Solving the problem of information overload, the next step is our own adaptation.
3, establish positive thinking, reduce their negative emotions
The news doesn't just report the "bad news" every day, but also spreads a lot of good progress and warm stories.
In times of anxiety and panic, we see that the expert group is intensively studying the right prescriptions for the symptoms; we see that the state has invested so much human, material and financial resources in actively treating patients; we see many people returning home to meet their families after recovery; many people silently dedicating their strengths, and there are heart-warming stories playing out every day.
All of this is prompting us to establish positive thinking and confidence in the future. If you still have some moments of being caught up in negative emotions, don't worry, there are at least a few ways to try more:
Communicate and talk to your family and friends in a timely manner, and talking about it will help you release your emotions.
Make a to-do list for yourself, make a plan, eat and eat, read books, and let the pace of life remain as usual. The more regular your life, the more stable your physical and mental state will be.
Find something that makes you feel at ease, such as listening to music if you love to listen to music, making yourself something delicious if you love to eat, or exercising, taking a bath, and so on.
Remember the things that can make you feel accomplished in the past, the things you have overcome, the highlights of your own moments, and give yourself encouragement.
In your spare time, you can do more small things within your ability. For example, relay some of the scientific reports you see to friends and family, take more time to accompany parents and children, and be more relieved and comforted when you encounter anxious friends around you, or transfer this article to them.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks:</h1>
Under the epidemic situation, while doing a good job in health protection, we must also do a good job of self-psychological adjustment and self-psychological assistance.
Because of all kinds of negative emotions, excessive defense, the harm caused to oneself and others can not be ignored.
The virus is terrible, but it is more necessary to deal with it rationally, to pay attention to but not to pay excessive attention, to pay attention to but not to be manic to hysteria, and to panic without measure is the most terrible.
Protecting ourselves and our families, not creating trouble for others, not adding chaos to society, and facing the epidemic positively and optimistically may be the best thing we can do for Wuhan, for patients and all those who are struggling in the frontline.
I am Ariel, a psychological counselor, pay attention to me, you will harvest the emotional psychological dry goods updated daily, accompany you to know yourself, understand the world ~