I have been hearing news for some days that could be considered alarming for anyone, and it is good that the world wants to inform but we must understand the measures with which we should give that information. Even being in a family group I read messages that seem to me quite worrying and that any sane person would see it in the same way.
My home country has seen a bombardment of news from both reliable and fake sources that has the entire population waiting, waiting for what? I do not discredit the concern that people have on an individual level, but neither do I applaud induced fear. I am concerned about the fact that many people close to me, beyond suffering the attacks of a virus, are suffering mental breakdowns that are not being attended, anxiety, panic and irrational fear is not healthy for anyone's health and has more serious consequences than the above mentioned.
I consider it disrespectful and damaging to individuality to subjugate people and intimidate them based on collective fear. Nor am I saying that the situation we are still experiencing today worldwide is false. But it worries me to see family members having very strong mental lows due to the anxiety generated by some people (many of whom are out of the country like me).
What are we really getting out of all this? I am afraid to go out in the street and meet people who present anxious episodes, which generate social anxiety, verminophobia and an endless number of other really worrying things. I am a person who suffers a lot of anxiety attacks and, seeing myself in the situation of having to pause for a long time the free access of air to my lungs weakens me psychologically, sometimes I have to lower my mask to be able to breathe properly and regain my composure, in spaces where I think I am alone, and listening to people shouting at me with hate just because they are afraid to breathe freely is exhausting.
Is this the media's conception of solidarity with others? What about empathy? What are we doing to our mental health in the future?
The idea is to create strong generations, who do not have to face what we once lived through, the idea is to feel safe among our tribe, not afraid of it. We think that external security is protecting us 100%, but damn, how we are getting screwed on the inside!
I am dismayed that my family writes to me to ask for clarity on these situations because they are being bombarded by messages of hate, of fear, with figures that should not be exposed so lightly, because they trust that my stability can help them in some way, but although I would like to be the person with the broadest clarity in the world, I feel afraid of losing the sanity of those I care about because of all this.
Some of them, knowing that I am studying psychology, come to me to ask for help and I despair of not being able to reach out to them in the right way, the words that play in my head are only: get out of there and stay away from them, but I can't tell them that.
Please, let's have empathy with people and, let's not alarm the situation any more, we must be sources of light in these cases, we must call for calm and sanity in a correct way.
We are breaking people little by little without realizing it and, although it may sound utopian, if we continue like this we are facing a future where thousands of psychiatric hospitals and mental rehabilitation centers will have to be opened because of all the message of fear that is spreading freely.
Be safe in every way, be present and spread love.
CommunityIIDiscord