An invisible enemy, potential thoughts
An invisible enemy is disrupting the lives of all human beings on the planet, keeping us “…hostage from our freedom and forcing us to create a void around us because we are the vectors of the virus” (Mauro, E., La Repubblica.it, March 4, 2020). Not only are we in danger, but we ourselves are the danger. Absurdly, no other global catastrophe prior to that of the COVID-19 virus has been this all-encompassing, not even the World Wars. In the beginning, we Europeans believed the contamination to be a transitory and localized problem in China; a month later, in Europe it was regarded as an Italian problem. Two months later it has become a global health, social and economic concern putting an enormous strain on agonizing healthcare systems. [1] Now, as well as inexorably claiming many human lives, it is distorting social life by imposing so-called “social distancing” – the other has become a threat, a possible contaminator to be avoided at all costs. COVID-19 – which is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person – is generating death and apprehension as well as totally overturning the principles of intersubjectivity.[2] By reducing our freedom of movement, our busy lives and the spaces we are accustomed to, we are now forced to “go inside, to go outside” (Rizzo, https://ilmiolibro.kataweb.it/storiebrevi/403483/uscire-dentroentrare-fuori/). Or rather, to be stuck in compressed spaces in homes that have become almost prison-like, living in the spasmodic hope that soon the deathly virus will be neutralized. This confinement can generate euphoria, depression and fear; the latter can also become a sense of generalized anxiety prompting irrational gestures and behaviours which have the sole purpose of trying to resolve one’s state. There are also people who belittle or deny the scale of the situation we are experiencing, as Semi (2020) argues “… there was not sufficient time to internalize the idea of death or suffering. Hence the display of inappropriate and dangerous behaviours which is not only detrimental to themselves, but also to others” (Semi, http://www.psychiatryonline.it/node/8477). [3]
Faced with an exceptional and unexpected event, one of the first psychological reactions is denial which, from a clinical point of view, could quite plausibly trigger symptoms similar to a psychological trauma.[4] Psychological trauma refers to a threat to one’s life or the life of others or, in a more indirect way, a form of neglect suffered during childhood such as in severe cases of parental misattunement. A feeling of helplessness, loss of control and vehement emotions are all clear indications of psychological trauma (Liotti et Farina, 2011). In response to trauma or environmental threats, in our bodies automatically activates the so-called fight or flight defence mechanism. When such a defence mechanism fails however, trauma can have an effect on the integrity of one’s consciousness. On the one hand, normal reflexive and metacognitive functions are immediately suspended and on the other, the traumatic event is no longer integrated in one’s memory, creating a “… dissipation of the state of consciousness —a feeling of being detached from one’s own body, from outside reality or from one’s own customary self— that undermines self-possession and mastery. [5] In this state of consciousness, the inner dialogue is suspended” (Liotti, 2014, p. 324). In psychotraumatology, these effects are known as symptoms of dissociative detachment (Holmes et al., 2005; Van der Hart et al., 2006; Liotti, 2014).
The incessant, competitive and demanding activities that have characterized our daily lives for a long time have now evaporated, as too our narcissistic attachment to objects. We are left with an overwhelming sense of emptiness and disorientation. Until yesterday, we even had to schedule our time off, our vacation days becoming packed with activities due to the unconscious imperative to have fun, discover and see as much as possible. Our unending being on the go (at work, in relationships and in our private lives) has made us feel omnipotent in this era of distraction at all cost, but it is now under threat by an invisible enemy. An enemy which could be anywhere and transmitted by anyone. Both our physical (our homes) and social spaces have now been reduced while our imagined and desired spaces (vacations, cinemas, the theatre, etc.) are no longer obtainable. On the contrary, our virtual spaces have grown exponentially. Our more intimate spaces on the other hand, have acquired a somewhat unusual value because they are now necessarily and simultaneously inhabited by more than one person. Here the risk is that the desires and experiences of others could be opposite to our own especially in relation to feelings of euphoria, isolation, phobias or fusional anxiety.
The very real possibility of being infected or to infect causes/justifies avoidance and compulsive behaviours (turning us into phobics and washers!) and is wiping out the so-called “personal distance” (45-120cm). [6] In the Western world, the latter represents the ideal distance for most interactions and coincides with the space necessary for a handshake. Now however, “public distance” (more than 3m) is prevailing thus, it is practically impossible to interact on a personal level.
During these days in quarantine we are forced to be “too close and for far too long” with our family members without much possibility to escape and seek distraction elsewhere outside of our homes. Of course, social networks, phones and even condominium terraces and balconies are coming to our aid, providing us with the illusion that “it will all soon be over and that we will come out stronger in the end”. But is all that really enough to “avoid” depression, fear and anguish setting in? The reduction in our social spaces and forced cohabitation have necessarily required a change in our day to day behaviour, our relationships and the concept of “intimacy”. We must strive to really get to know those near us and reconsider our relationships from a different perspective in order not to risk feeling as though we are trapped. Even those who are not in medical quarantine are obliged, rightly so, to leave their homes as little as possible. Inside our homes, we each look for our own space, one that does not overlap with our fellow “inmates”. However, despite all the precautionary measures adopted to do this, it is highly possible for underlying tensions to resurface resulting in inevitable “clashes”. For some days now, social networks have been full of humorous videos and vignettes of people dancing or talking to themselves, hiding from their kids or sending messages to other housemates to meet up in the corridor or the living room. It is clear that the initial reaction to the limitations imposed by the virus have been of a “euphoric” nature, representing an unconscious desire to virtually reproduce what is no longer possible in reality. But, one wonders what the inevitable consequences of the “depressed” stage will be… Now more than ever, we find solace in the virtual realm which seems to have “… all but eclipsed the old forms of social interaction. This new virtual life, which has gained much of our faith in the future, has also devised new ways of offering a form of [almost] entirely free healing from the safety of our own homes but the virtual world rarely finds in people that acceptance necessary to produce truly transformative thought processes” (Marinelli, 2019, p. 18). Humour, considered to be an advanced defence mechanism in psychology, is ever more present in current social networks allowing “… the expression of feelings and desires connected to conflict or stress. Each time external conflicts or tensions block us from expressing our true feelings, humour steps in offering us a symbolic representation of those feelings. The frustration caused by the conflict is temporarily mitigated so the subject of the frustration and others can smile or laugh about it” (Lingiardi, 1994, p. 191). In this regard, in a superb article entitled “After the plague we will all be human again” published in an Italian newspaper (La Repubblica, 20th March 2020, p. 38), David Grossman says: “And blessed be humour, the best way to deal with all this. When we manage to laugh about COVID-19 we proclaim that we are not completely paralyzed.” However, one cannot face the feeling of emptiness, desperation, impotence and disorientation of these days with humour and sarcasm alone. Nor is it enough to sing the Italian national anthem from one’s window, especially when the number of deaths continues to rise dramatically with each passing day. Perhaps it is necessary to slow down and listen to the silence, the pain, the mourning and all those emotions we have escaped from or avoided for so long. Until now, we have had the impression that tragedy, death, famine and mass migration were not part of our world and so we systematically removed them to a faraway place. As Europeans we believed ourselves to be invincible and protected by our wellbeing. Maybe the time has come for us to stop for a moment and look within ourselves and try to re-evaluate our own existence: in particular, regarding the consumerist values that have been dictating our current lifestyles. Of course, learning to share our space and live alongside our housemates is certainly important but so is learning to accept our concerns, our fear of death and putting in check the sense of omnipotence that has kept us from appreciating the small things of life. As those who practise mindfulness are aware, it is extremely important to pay greater attention to the ability to view the present in a spirit of non-judgmental and benevolent acceptance (Hanh, 1999).
The fear of death, if not confronted head on, leads us to feeling irascible, phobic, compulsive and overexcited. During this period of global emergency, we have been forced to stop our endless running around, why not try and slow our brains down too? Let us pause and exercise patience; let us confront our feelings of emptiness, loneliness, impotence and anguish. But most of all, let us resume living with fewer superstructures and false needs or erroneous desires – let’s try and do one thing at a time and finally, listen to ourselves and those around us.
The global emergency of these past months and perhaps, of the coming years, has not only modified our space but also time. In fact, it seems as though time has been stretched and now risks becoming useless and infinite. We have become accustomed to living at a very fast pace due to our anxiety to fill our daily schedules up with as many events as possible. How many times have we heard or said the words “I really don’t have time today”? How many times have we found ourselves simultaneously typing on the computer, answering the phone and speaking to someone in front of us? We continuously think about what we will be doing next, projecting ourselves ever forward. By doing this however, time has slipped through our fingers and we are no longer able to live in the “here and now”. [7]
Among the four terms used by the ancient Greeks to indicate time, there are two which are particularly significant to us: Chronos and Kairos. The former indicates time in the chronological and sequential sense (minutes, hours, days, etc.), and is the one that overwhelms us and is blamed for never being enough. The latter indicates the opportune time for something to happen, even something special, for those who are experiencing it at that precise moment. How have we managed to lose the ability to live in the moment something is happening? When we live through a nice experience, we are always thinking that it isn’t nice enough or that there will be another even nicer experience just around the corner and so on. If we experience something sad, we try to find something or think of something to rid us of our sadness. And, in doing so, our present has passed before we have even lived it and our future, when it becomes our present, is nonexistent. Yet again we find ourselves projecting towards a new and misleading future. Thanks also to the influence of the media and the consumerist society we live in, we seem to be stuck in an endless vicious circle. A cycle which can only be broken by an unexpected and sudden global catastrophe and the collective awareness that might stem from it. Today we find ourselves forced to stop everything and to take stock of the present, however atrocious or tragic it may be. If we manage to really stop, we may be able to think and if we are able to think, then perhaps, we might actually be able to regain the ability to connect more with our feelings as frightening, disconcerting or crushing as we may find them. Grossman (ibidem, 2020) adds: “The awareness of the fragility and transience of life will spur men and women to establish new priorities. To better distinguish between what is important and what is pointless. To understand that time – not money – is the most precious resource. Some people might now be questioning, for the very first time, the choices they made, what they gave up and the compromises they accepted. Loves they dared not love and the life they have dared not live.”
We can no longer run away, there is nowhere to run to anyway; so what if we just stop and try to make sense of the present? And maybe try and understand how to (re)build a better future for ourselves and our children. We cannot afford to just wait and hope that things change by themselves, nor can we wait for others to speak or act for us. It is essential that each and every one of us completely re-assesses the way in which we are part of this world.
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Footnotes
[1] On the basis of ”alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction”, on March 11, 2020, the Director-General of WHO characterised the COVID-19 situation as a pandemic (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30673-5/fulltext).
[2] “The process and product of sharing experiences, knowledge, understandings, and expectations with others” (www.oxfordreference.com).
[3] Even before the Italian government issued the law decree establishing a red zone (total isolation) in the Lombardy region, on the evening of the 8 March 2020, hundreds of people in a state of panic and unable to think rationally, rushed to board trains. Their escape to other regions effectively contributed to the spread of the virus elsewhere.
[4] The psychological trauma is differentiated from the complex trauma which instead refers to a combination of traumatic experiences (Liotti and Farina, 2011).
[5] In situations where there seems like there is no possibility of salvation, our bodies can generate a response of partial or total immobilization (freezing). It “… is a demobilizing reaction and usually occurs when the animal cannot fight and falls into a hopeless state captured well by the phrase “freeze when no other type of fight is possible. The survival value of feigned death lies in the fact that predators often avoid eating an animal that looks dead” (Cortina and Liotti, 2014, p. 890).
[6] Stemming from the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder it is characterized by the fear of being infected and involves repeatedly washing to neutralize the threat of contamination (e.g. repeatedly washing one’s hands, clothes or objects). Persons affected have an irrational fear that they or a family member may become ill from coming into contact with germs or contaminated substances.
[7] This concept derives from the Latin term hic et nunc; a motto which stems from Horace’s principal, carpe diem. To live in the here and now in fact, means to live in the present moment, neither trapped in the past nor in the future. A concept greatly expanded upon and explored by Eastern cultures.
Fiore Bello
Clinical and health psychologist and psychotherapist
Mental Health Department, ASLROMA2, Italy
fiorebello2@gmail.com