This Wednesday, May 19, the gradual return to “normal” life begins with the reopening of terraces, places of culture and even shops. For some, this deconfinement is synonymous with anguish and anxiety. Psychologist Benjamin Lubszynski distills his advice for overcoming what is known as cabin syndrome.
- One of the biggest causes of the development of fears is avoidance and successive confinements have increased this phenomenon.
- To get out of it, Benjamin Lubszynski advises to focus on relaxation before and during stressful events.
- Relatives also have a role to play, without rushing or letting down people who are anxious at the idea of deconfining themselves.
After 200 days of confinement, curfew, travel ban more than 10 kilometers from his home and other social restriction measures, that’s it! From this Wednesday, terraces, cinemas, theaters, museums and others will be able to welcome the public, while respecting certain security measures. If some are delighted that this wind of freedom is blowing, for others it rhymes rather with stress and anxiety. The latter apprehend this progressive deconfinement and are anxious at the idea of leaving their bubble to face the outside world. They suffer from what is called cabin syndrome.
learned helplessness
The hut syndrome, or snail syndrome, was reinforced during the health crisis and the confinements. “One of the biggest causes of developing fears is avoidance.argues psychologist Benjamin Lubszynski. The more you avoid something, the more the fear grows. As the confinements and the situation facing the Covid have made us avoid many fears, small or large, these have increased.” The prospect of being seated on the terrace or in the company of other people in a room can then appear frightening. “This observation is not new, it is regularly observed in situations of inactivity when people are unemployed, on sick leave or retired.”, he recalls.
For months, people who suffer from this syndrome have built a daily life, a bubble, far from any social life. “Since confinement, I have put myself in a kind of comfort bubble, with a wall that has become thicker and thicker every day. And today, it’s very hard for me to get out of it”, for example testified Marco to 20 minutes. He, like others, built what is conceptualized as learned helplessness. “Like Marco, many people have built a daily life that they master perfectly and which is unforeseenexplains Benjamin Lubszynski. By dint of not doing things anymore, they feel unable to achieve them and these appear like a mountain. There is then a feeling of helplessness and a lack of self-confidence..”
Desensitize fear
Far from being insurmountable, this syndrome can be confronted to avoid entering a vicious circle where, by dint of withdrawing into oneself, anxieties rise and fears take up more and more space. “These people must be able to differentiate what is objective decisions that are prudent and what is a phobia where it is no longer a question of simple prudence in the face of an objective danger.”, believes the psychologist. In the latter case, the syndrome is a phobia and it is then necessary to desensitize them to their fears. “You have to relax as much as possiblehe says. This notably involves working on breathing, before and during the distressing event..” The latter advises, for example, to think, upstream, of the anxiety-provoking situation that creates stress in order to “desensitize fear upstream”.
Relatives also have a role to play, but taking a stand is always tricky. “It is a complex posture where you have to be both soft and firm”, asks the psychologist. The idea is not to force the person who suffers from this syndrome to leave their home without letting them shut themselves in either. “If we protect them too much, we prevent them from facing their fearsassures Benjamin Lubszynski. But if they are forced, it is not pleasant for them and can be felt as a betrayal.” The best, he explains, is to communicate and ask why the person is afraid, see if this is rational and then invite him to do as much relaxation as possible to bring down the level of stress. “We can also make a list of fears, going from the smallest to the biggest and face them one after the other.“, adds the psychologist.
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