On Thursday, Virologist Dr Thomas Dentzer and Psychologist Dr Charel Benoy hosted one of the National Health Directorate's regular Q&A livestreams on Facebook.
What can you do if you are struggling to interact with others after two years of the pandemic? Will the health crisis leave society traumatised? And how can we adapt to a time in which it remains difficult to plan ahead?
These are just some of the questions asked by viewers during the livestream on the topic of mental health.
One of the experts' main messages was that people should not isolate themselves.
Dr Benoy explained that it is in fact normal if some have found it difficult to interact with others recently. The psychologist compared it to the anxiety people feel when they return to work or school after a particularly long holiday. "Social interactions always come with a certain amount of stress," Dr Benoy stated.
Deliberately avoiding social interactions is the wrong approach, according to the expert, who instead advised viewers to come up with strategies to gradually increase contact with others again.
Another viewer asked how best to deal with the general feeling of anxiety that appears to be more present now than in the early days of the pandemic. Dr Benoy explained that this anxiety is an expression of the energy it takes us to adapt to the situation.
Too often, the psychologist stated, we still compare our situation today with that before the pandemic. We have to try and stop ourselves from doing that so that we can let go of the past and accept the new situation we are in, according to Dr Benoy, who added that this can help to reduce this "inner stress".
Dr Benoy thinks that there is no doubt that the pandemic has impacted society, both negatively and positively. After all, the psychologist explained, trauma is defined as an impactful experience. But we can work through trauma and see what we can learn from the experience as well as how we can adapt to our new circumstances after the traumatic experience, Dr Benoy stressed.
When measures start being lifted after the acute phase of the pandemic is over, some people will struggle because they no longer feel safe, the psychologist cautioned.
In any case, Dr Benoy advised people to seek help if they feel they need it, stressing that it is important to take this step… "better too soon than too late".
