Languor, the prevailing emotion of the pandemic and how to deal with it

May
7, 2021

3 min read

With the arrival of the coronavirus, mental health problems have become another pandemic to be solved. According to a report prepared by the consulting firm Ipsos, Mexico is the fourth country in Latin America in which mental health worsened in the pandemic. 43% of its citizens consider that their emotional health has deteriorated since the health crisis began.

But within the whole range of emotions that the pandemic has brought, without a doubt the emotion that has stood out has been that of languor, which is located in a middle point between anxiety and depression, where people perceive a feeling of stagnation and empty. For Camilo Arbeláez, CEO of Enterapia, an online psychotherapy platform with a presence in Mexico, and which has seen requests for online psychological care appointments grow by 300% in the last year, “languor is a state of demotivation, where people feel that time is slipping from their hands as if it were a train with no fixed direction and their productivity diminishes due to the uncertainty generated by the current context ”.

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How to deal with languor?

To combat this emotion, of which little is said and that many could be facing in Mexico, the director of Enterapia recommends the following:

1. Understand that our behavior is changing and the result is not being favorable, which could get worse. This is the first step to increase the probability of making decisions that are oriented to give more meaning and value to our lives.
2. Respect working hours. During the pandemic, we have been disrespecting our free time and we remain in work activities until late at night. So it is key to put a stop to this and allocate a specific time to work issues.
3. Carry out a daily activities schedule in which both work and pleasure activities are scheduled. If we have already established a time for work, it is important to also define one for leisure activities, such as exercising, painting, reading a book or cooking a recipe.
4. Maintain actions that strengthen family and social ties, despite the limitations we have. In these moments, in which physical contact is almost impossible, it is essential to establish communication with the significant people in our lives. A call or a message can lift our mood.