WE OFFER EMOTIONAL HELP TO 30, 501 PEOPLE DURING THE PANDEMIC

Pandemic fatigue, grief post-COVID, anxiety, depression, fear of catching the disease and problems with the partner are some of the topics that affect citizens.

Due to confinement and changes in routines caused by COVID-19, 30 thousand 501 people throughout the country, and e 24/7 by the team of 110 psychologists from the Citizen Council for Safety and Justice in Mexico City.

Out of the total number of psychological attentions that were given through the Safety Line and Trustworthy Chat 55 5533 5533, from February 28tg 2020 (when they detected the first case of this disease in our country) and January 20^th 2021, 3 thousand 255 took place in December and 2 thousand 107 in January of this year.

“It has been a long pandemic and it’s crucial not to let our guard down; minding our mental health is fundamental to confront the emotional impact of the crisis derived from COVID-19. Our service is empathic, not judgmental, free and attention has no time limit: we know that naming emotions without feeling ashamed of it if the first step to healing,” Salvador Guerrero Chipres, president of the organism established.

He pointed out that the main topics citizens call for to seek health include: problems with the partner (15%), anxiety (9.7%), problems within the family 8.8%), depression (8.2%), pandemic fatigue (6%), fear of getting the disease or general fear (5%). They also offer attention to underage children and seniors for post-COVID grief, they offer follow-up video-therapies.

The service is available for all the population. In fact, 37% of the attentions have been given to people from 18 to 35 years of age and 14% to underage children; by gender, 65% of the people who have received help have been women. Also, the team of psychologists that work at the Council has specialized in helping healthcare professionals and funeral service workers, two sectors that have been particularly affected by stress caused by this situation.

Apart from the report, the organism presented the campaign “emotional winter”, meant to offer help in what international psychological literature calls seasonal emotional ailments, associated with feelings of sadness or depression that increase due to the weather.

In early 2021, the aforementioned is added to the conditions of fear before COVID-19 or grief for the loss of family members or friends as well as the uphill crest of January. The campaign pretends to help people acknowledge their emotions and know that they’re not alone.

“Among the signs that help identify when it’s necessary to ask for psychological help at the Citizen Council they mention: lack of interest for activities that used to be enjoyed, isolation from significant people, sudden mood swings, insomnia and fatigue that is never released,” Guerrero Chipres stated.

The Citizen Council calls upon citizens to protect themselves, avoid parties and reunions, follow the authorities’ recommendations and reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 as much as they can.

The services of Safety Line and Trustworthy Chat, both at 55 5533 5533 are completely free, they’re available 24/7 and they are confidential.