Coronavirus Mental Health Remedy For Young People
Over the last three weeks I’ve had young people coming to see me, in the walk-in therapy sessions I facilitate, about the coronavirus. Their anxiety has gradually grown, as the virus spread from country to country and conversation to conversation.
There are two themes behind the panic that stood out from the conversations I’ve had -
1) Being aware but not informed - Due to seeing social media posts and absorbing the worry from the adults around them, playground gossip is what the young people are currently relying on.
2) Awareness of mortality - Young people have bodies that are growing everyday, strong bodies with great recovery systems. Fatal illnesses are for “old” people, in their eyes and they see coronavirus as putting them on an even pedestal.
Points 1 and 2 have created panic, so what can you as a parent or adult in charge of young people?
Have a chat
You can simmer your child’s anxiety by having a conversation about the coronavirus. Read up on some facts, get an understanding about the virus and then pass this information onto your child.
Providing information about the virus is reassuring and provides facts for your child to squash rumours with. As you can imagine, the rumour mill is full of coronavirus talk and the rumours are being told like Stephen King stories (no exaggeration).
We are currently being encouraged to exercise social distancing, social distancing is about giving medical services room to manoeuvre. Providing time to strategise and alleviate the pressure from the increased hospital attendees. The virus has not yet peaked in the UK, and as it moves towards the peak we may enter lock down. Lockdown will bring further panic.
Having a conversation about the current state and the possible future allows young people to emotionally prepare for whatever happens. If they are not informed, and big changes occur, the playground rumours become validated = Panic.
There will always be anxiety around any epidemic however, among young people there’s an excess that we adults can trim off. To do this we have to be in a place where we feel comfortable first, because people pull more information from what you do (over what you say). If we are not in a comfortable space, this will be picked up and can make the situation worse. Being informed helps you too.
Coronavirus Conversation Guide:
Please use questions below as a guide but do not ask the questions below as written (otherwise your conversation will develop into an interrogation).
What is your understanding of the coronavirus?
Do you know who is vulnerable to the coronavirus?
Do you know about the stages of coronavirus in the countries that had it before us?
Do you know what the possible next phases are for the country?
How do you feel the country should manage the coronavirus?
Has the coronavirus changed how you view life?
Have a chat.
Thanks for reading ;)
Kevin George
Clinical Consultant
#KGEmotionalLiteracy
