Have you ever felt the symptoms of COVID-19, such as an itchy throat or shortness of breath, after reading news related to this disease that is currently being discussed? Don't panic, okay? It could be a psychosomatic disorder.
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In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, information about this outbreak has flooded news sites and social media. Good news, such as news of patients who have recovered or the rise of humanitarian actions to donate, may be able to make you breathe a sigh of relief.
However, if all you monitor is bad news or even scary news, this can affect your mental state and trigger physical complaints called psychosomatic disorders.
Recognize What is a Psychosomatic Disorder
Psychosomatic disorders can be defined as physical complaints caused or aggravated by thoughts or emotions. Usually, this condition begins with stress, anxiety, fear, or depression.
However, make no mistake. Although it comes from thoughts and emotions, it does not mean that the physical complaints that occur are not real, you know. In psychosomatic symptoms, sufferers can actually feel real physical complaints and need treatment, as is the case with other diseases.
Physical complaints that arise in psychosomatic disorders can vary depending on the disease that the sufferer thinks about. In psychosomatic disorders due to fear of the Corona virus, symptoms that can appear include coughing, shortness of breath, and even fever.
What Causes Psychosomatic Disorders?
Although until now the exact cause is not clear, there are several things that are suspected to be related to the emergence of this reaction. One of them is an increase in adrenaline and stress hormones.
When you continue to read bad news, for example the death of medical personnel or the increasing number of patients who are positively infected with the Corona virus, you may feel anxious, afraid, and stressed.
This feeling will make your body think that you are in danger, then release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Naturally, these two hormones are produced when the body feels threatened, for example when you are being chased by a dog. The goal is to increase the body's response to be ready to face danger.
However, if this hormone is released when you are actually in a safe state, you will actually feel the complaints that you fear will occur. In the case of Corona virus infection, you may feel short of breath, cough, or have a fever, when in fact you are fine.
If you feel these symptoms every time you read the news about COVID-19, it means that the current situation has affected your mental health. This is a very natural thing to happen at times like this, especially in the middle of times physical distancing which may make you feel isolated from friends and lonely.
To calm your feelings, limit reading or looking for news about COVID-19 for a while. In his speech, the WHO leadership even advised us to seek news about this outbreak no more than 1-2 times a day. The news also needs to be made sure it comes from a trusted source.
Instead of hearing or reading information that is not clear, it's better to focus on implementing preventive measures and doing positive activities at home, such as doing meditation, chatting with friends over the phone, eating nutritious food, exercising, sunbathing, and getting enough sleep.
Psychosomatic symptoms can make you feel complaints similar to COVID-19 symptoms when you are actually fine. However, there is nothing wrong with checking your health condition regularly, for example measuring your body temperature using a thermometer when you feel feverish.
In addition, you can also try the Corona Virus Risk Check feature which is provided for free by Alodokter to find out how likely you are to have been infected with the Corona virus.
If you have questions, whether it's about the symptoms or prevention of the Corona virus, you can chat directly with the doctor in the Alodokter application. Through this application, you can also make a consultation appointment with a doctor at a hospital.
