Experts interviewed: Liang Hong, deputy director of Beijing Psychological Crisis Research and Intervention Center of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital
Global Times Health Client Reporter Gao Jiayue
Neighbors are positive, friends are positive, and colleagues who work together are also positive... I can’t be positive too, right? Recently, with the increasing number of "little positive people" around, many people feel that they are also positive, and even have sore throats, dizziness, headaches, body aches and other discomforts, as if they have been "succumbed to the disease". However, repeated body temperature tests are not high, and the results of antigen and nucleic acid tests are all negative. They can't help but sigh, "Why am I not positive yet?" On the Internet, people attribute this situation to "phantom yang syndrome."
"Phantom Yang Syndrome is not a disease, but a kind of excessive anticipatory anxiety. It is the excessive anxiety of the public in the face of the epidemic around them. Anticipatory anxiety is the anxious experience of the upcoming pressure. It is a normal phenomenon and there is no need to worry too much." Liang Hong, deputy director of the Beijing Psychological Crisis Research and Intervention Center of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, explained to the "Global Times Health Client" reporter: "Anticipatory anxiety is a kind of self-defense. Precautionary measures have a protective effect and can make psychological and material preparations in advance for things that may happen in the future, which are somewhat similar to anxiety before exams. "
Everyone has different psychological tolerance for uncertainty. Moderate anticipatory anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing, but overly anxious people always focus on bad news and catastrophize and magnify it, resulting in restlessness, restlessness, frequent trips to the toilet, shaking hands, and even unstable body temperature and fever. Infection with the new coronavirus will produce flu-like or cold-like symptoms, and in winter it is easy to catch a cold, leading to nasal congestion, coughing, allergies, etc. Excessive anxiety will amplify these symptoms and scare yourself. Liang Hong said that most people have basically no problems after self-adjustment, but it is not ruled out that there are a small number of serious cases. For example, people who are usually sensitive or have a hypochondriacal personality will be anxious all day long, experience various physical discomforts, and repeatedly suspect that they are infected. If it affects their normal lives, these people should seek psychological intervention.
So, how to deal with "phantom sun"? Liang Hong said that with the continuous adjustment of national prevention and control policies, we must treat the current environment more rationally and understand the disease. 1. Accept the anxiety caused by this situation; 2. Get enough sleep, eat healthily and exercise moderately, do the things at hand well, and divert attention from excessive anxiety; 3. Pay attention to information from authoritative channels and actively reduce some information from social media, especially filter out some information that can cause anxiety. 4. When you feel anxious, take a deep breath, drink your favorite drink (not strong tea), wash your face, listen to music, look at the blue sky and white clouds, and talk about your recent feelings with relatives and friends, which can relieve stress and regulate your mood. ▲
