Why is freedom not happiness yet?

The corona barometer is expected to turn yellow after spring break. This means the end of the measures of corona and the beginning of the world of freedom, which we have been craving so much for two years.

So the virus is receding, yet we don’t go on the streets rejoicing. Perhaps caution, after misplaced euphoria last summer, perhaps also concern about Ukraine and other disasters. But it is also about the same stage, described by British psychologists “Pandemic Remnants” It became called: residues after the corona.

† End of corona procedures looming

“Compare it to the period of the mass,” says therapist Rica Bonnet. “You study for a few weeks or months and impatiently wait for your final exam. Then I will pop, you think, and release all the brakes. But when that day finally comes, you don’t feel like doing anything anymore and you want to be left alone. The same is true with corona. You have Some who go to party, but most people don’t. You can’t just turn “pop” on and off. Big group is tired and needs time to process everything. As long as you’re in a survival story, you’ll keep going. Only now that the waters are calmer, I notice The impact of working from home with the kids, the quarantine, the crises I was able to manage, the fact that nothing was certain. And I realize: I’m tired.

“As long as you’re in a survival story, keep going. Only now that the waters are calmer do you realize: I’m tired”

Rica BonetRelationship Wizard

Psychologist Charlotte Fein stresses, “It is only when your stress level drops that you begin to feel the amount of energy that cost you. Only then can you allow the fatigue and you will have Methods†

In Viaene practice, this translates to an increase in the number of registrations and new clients. “I now also see aid workers who have tried to hold out for as long as possible. Now that things have calmed down, they are giving themselves permission to take care of themselves.

Forgotten friends

By lifting almost all actions, the lid is also turned off and disputes and questions arise. Questions about your relationship, for example, that you’ve been putting off all this time in a closed state. “The corona crisis affected our right to our associative work,” Bonet says. You can clearly see that people are starting to think carefully about these topics. The few distractions have made it clear for people to see how their partner is doing, and whether the relationship is satisfying. Couples who were right are getting closer together. Couples who were already underperforming break up more quickly or are in the midst of a relationship crisis. My Dutch colleagues are also seeing a huge increase in the number of registrations for couples therapy.

† Are you looking for psychological help? Then be patient for four months

Nor do friendships escape the yardstick by which costs and benefits are measured. Friendships that were already good have grown. But there are also friends and acquaintances that you have not seen or missed for two years. We check if it’s worth the investment, says Fein, and whether we’re getting enough energy and fun for what we invest in it ourselves. People have become more selective about it.

It was spring

However, there is hope. “Once we catch our breath, we can see what we need. For some, it’s a museum, a movie, a party. My advice is to build slowly. And be happy that kids can go to grandparents or sleep again.” (He laughs)†

It’s also clear to Ponnet that we will be turning this page soon. People are flexible – just look at what people in other parts of the world have to put up with. I see it in my kids too. They gained a form of power: they became more responsible and it became easier to set the record straight. Unexpected online classes, quarantine or boredom: they handle it better than before.

Moreover, spring is in the country. The days are getting longer and lighter, and that’s a good thing. “Light does something to our brains. Most people get energy from that,” Bonet says. “Our minds are definitely connected to that.”

Virologist Mark Van Ranst confirms. Just look at the first close. What should have been the darkest period was experienced quite differently. There was a positive feeling and that had a lot to do with the weather.