How does the lack of family reconciliation affect professionals’ moods? For example, there are professionals who have decided to keep their children at their grandparents’ house so as not to be in contact with them in case of possible infection.
Family reconciliation is usually very complicated and, if we are talking about healthcare professionals who do not have a fixed schedule, even more so.
I often see very stressed women who express physical and mental exhaustion due to shift changes in order to take their children to school, or to be with them when they leave the school. Many try to work at night and sleep in the mornings after dropping the children off at school, which is difficult because they also have to take care of chores and household chores. The problem is compounded when both parents work shifts, or in single-parent families. In these cases, the children often sleep with their grandparents, or their parents spend a large part of their income on a caregiver, who must also be available for shift work. Some families (often women) take a reduced working day, but others cannot afford to do so because of the financial loss it entails. Similarly, there are those who consider taking a leave of absence but, once again, there are many who cannot give up a salary. In this context, many healthcare professionals report anxiety, especially when their children are young. They feel guilty and complain that work-life balance means giving up.
Reconciliation without children is also sometimes difficult, especially when working a split shift. In such cases, many healthcare professionals report the need to spend more time with their partners and, in general, problems in reconciling their work and personal lives. The situation becomes even more complicated when healthcare professionals are self-employed.
In this context, the current situation, in which many professionals are at daily risk of covid-19 infection, has been a factor directly related to stress and low morale. For more than a month now, psychologists have been treating healthcare professionals who often arrive home exhausted by the hours worked in difficult conditions. Some of them live daily with the anguish and uncertainty as to whether they will be healthy, despite having taken all possible precautions, and they are reluctant to avoid or limit contact with those they love the most, precisely for fear of infecting them. This has led many to temporarily move away from their families, or to send their children to other relatives in an attempt to protect them.
Reconciling in times of pandemic is complicated.
What advice can help address the situation of lack of family reconciliation?
It is difficult to generalize, but family reconciliation tends to become less complicated as children get older, because they are more autonomous.
Delegating to your partner, whenever possible, makes it easier for you to rest and approach the day with less physical fatigue.
Prioritizing usually works. The difficulty lies in the fact that many times one is so immersed in the problem that it is difficult to do it well and be practical without feeling guilty.
In relation to the situation derived from covid-19 and health professionals who have voluntarily renounced to be with their children because of the risk involved in their profession, they usually benefit from frequent contact with them by telephone, video call or any other means of communication.
In this way, it is recommended that they
- Continue to take an interest in the activities and functioning of family life, even though they are not physically there, involving themselves in daily decision making as much as possible.
- Conduct videoconferencing activities together such as sharing a table at some of the family meals, depending on the work shift, for example, and accompanying your children throughout different times of the day.
- The family can act as a protective factor and buffer against the effects of stress and loneliness. The family can emotionally better accept the situation of temporarily not living with one of its members if he/she continues to be in contact with them.
How can healthcare professionals cope better with this situation with their partners?
Healthcare professionals tend to be professionals with a strong sense of responsibility and a vocation for service, who dedicate a large part of their day to patient care, research or study.
Currently, and due to the health emergency situation, many of them report a greater dedication in terms of hours per day, which can translate into greater physical and mental fatigue.
In this context, making the effort to try to set aside time to spend with one’s partner and encourage fluid communication can help to cope better with these moments, acting as a protective factor from a psychological point of view.
Healthcare professionals should not deny the emotional impact that this situation may be having on them and should interpret their emotions appropriately.
It depends on the specific case but, in general, most of them usually live with moderate or high levels of stress and physical fatigue, which have recently worsened due to the current situation.
If, for some time now, it has been more and more frequent for them to go to the psychologist to help them manage the way they face situations that can change, or that are not susceptible to change, in the last few weeks they have begun to report the first psychological traces of covid-19.
In this sense, they should understand that it is normal for them to experience variations in their emotional state as a consequence of the constant changes to which they must readapt.
They should also understand that it is logical for them to feel that sometimes the demands exceed their real or perceived resources and that, as a consequence, stress and a feeling of helplessness or guilt may appear.
In relation to these and other symptoms, it is advisable to seek help from family, friends… At work, for example, it is desirable to promote daily meetings, as a routine, in which technical and emotional issues can be discussed in an atmosphere of trust.
If you do not improve, you should see a mental health professional for help.