A psychoanalytic view of reactions to the coronavirus pandemic in China*

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic, which apparently began in Wuhan in December 2019, and has persisted to the present day, has had several psychological effects in China. The real danger has produced prolonged stress. Large-group phenomena have been stimulated. Overwhelming affects generated by the real danger have led to regression in the stimulus barrier (or "filter"). The COVID-19 has also triggered unconscious defensive reactions, including obsessional cleaning, counterphobic behavior, humor, and denial. The nationally imposed home quarantine of millions of families has caused in-home conflicts and neurotic repetitions of unresolved childhood issues. Prior psychiatric illnesses have been exacerbated. Health workers, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts, have experienced emotional depletion. Finally, in families where there has been infection or death, delayed mourning and posttraumatic phenomena have been observed. In each of these situations, different interventions based on psychoanalytic principles have been useful.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus using an alternative molecular method and evaluation of biochemical, hematological, inflammatory, and oxidative stress in healthcare professionals

“…Previous psychiatric illnesses have been exacerbated. In this study, one psychological impact less reported by individuals was stress (4.7%), a result that was contrary to the increased levels of plasma cortisol observed significantly in the group NoCoV-2-Prof compared to No-Prof. Blackman [ 32 ] recently reported on emotional exhaustion of health professionals during the pandemic, with effects on the behavior of such individuals. For example, 74.4% of professionals stated that they had some change in their professional routine.…”

“…As the professionals had a satisfactory recovery, HDL levels may have remained higher than those reported in the literature for the most severe cases of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. In these patients, the levels of total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL may be decreased [ 32 , 33 ]. A study by Scalsky et al [ 52 ] reported that high HDL levels are associated with a reduced risk of positive testing for SARS-CoV-2, a result opposite to the one we obtained, since this parameter was high in infected individuals.…”

Sixteen analysands' and large groups' reactions to the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…I observed many of these patients visit another shared defense against the danger and anxiety created by COVID‐19: they developed fantasies reflecting a wish to regress into a mother's womb for safety. Blackman (2020), who has decades of experience teaching psychoanalysis in China and supervising Chinese psychotherapists, reported how compulsive cleaning, besides its being a real necessity, arose as a common symptom in China following the appearance of the virus. It is possible that the preoccupation with handwashing functioned like a “day's residue” (Freud, 1900) and led many of the 16 analysands to dream about being in water, such as a pond or lake.…”

Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Ukraine During the Covid-19 Pandemic Unfolding: The Results of Practitioners’ Survey

“…Thus, H. Steel (2020) considers common fears pertaining to COVID-19 in the context of fear of annihilation and fear of loss of love object. J. S. Blackman (2020) analyses typical unconscious defensive reactions (e.g. obsessive cleaning, counterphobic behavior, humor, and denial) and in-home conflicts as neurotic repetitions of unresolved childhood issues due to regression provoked by the pandemic.…”