Coping in mental health during social isolation: analysis in light of Hildegard Peplau

Abstract

Objectives: to analyze the coping of individuals in social isolation due to suspicion or confirmation of coronavirus infection from the perspective of Hildegard Peplau’s Theory of Interpersonal Relations. Methods: this is a qualitative, descriptive research, carried out with 34 individuals in social isolation due to suspicion or confirmation of coronavirus infection who passed through a screening tent of a university hospital in Paraná. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in June and July 2020. Empirical categories were interpreted by content analysis. Results: four categories emerged: Distance; Social and emotional support; Self-awareness and resolution; Learning. These categories established the coping strategies. Conclusions: individuals undergoing social isolation are more likely to present problems related to mental health. It was highlighted that coping strategies, motivated by nurses, anchored in Hildegard Peplau’s theoretical framework, promoted the necessary learning for promoting participants’ mental health in the face of a pandemic context.

Saúde Mental Pós-Pandemia: Projeto De Extensão Universitária “Mentalizando”

“…A Teoria se estrutura em quatro etapas: Na primeira etapa, chamada de orientação, há o encontro de duas pessoas desconhecidas (enfermeiro-paciente), que necessitam estabelecer estratégias de comunicação para compreensão dos fatos e tentativa de reversão do estresse em algo produtivo para o desenvolvimento de sua personalidade. Na segunda etapa, a identificação, cabe ao enfermeiro orientar o indivíduo ao resgate de símbolos e representações que relacionem situações de dependência e independência sobre o fenômeno gerador do estresse, clarificando a preconcepção de ambos e levando à aprendizagem construtiva (DAL'BOSCO et al, 2022).…”

Psychological Distress in Men during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil: The Role of the Sociodemographic Variables, Uncertainty, and Social Support

“…The health crisis caused by COVID-19 exerted a negative impact on the mental health of the world’s population. The experience of unknown situations and the fear of contamination imposed by the burden of the disease and its repercussions produced new daily stressors and exacerbated previous ones already structurally present in societies [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Together, these factors generate continuous situations of suffering and contribute to the increase in psychological distress, as evidenced by indicators of Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) and perceived stress [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…It is estimated that nearly one billion people are affected by some mental disorder due to the pandemic, with an emphasis on symptoms of anxiety, anguish and depression, and disorders resulting from alcohol use and substance abuse in addition to the increase in suicide rates [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The deleterious effects caused by the pandemic have been measured and show a reduction in life expectancy at birth, in the ability to work, and in absenteeism and presentism in addition to growth in unemployment and informality.…”

“…The radical changes in the individuals’ daily routines and the general context of fear and insecurity converge to unfamiliar situations and significant uncertainties that, due to their persistence over time, also provoke reactions of intolerance to this uncertainty [ 5 , 7 ]. Intolerance to uncertainty is described as the predisposition of an individual to consider the possibility of a negative event occurring regardless of the possibility of its actual occurrence as unacceptable [ 1 , 2 ].…”