CONTEMPORARY WORLD- A FEW WORDS ON COVID PANDEMIC, VIRTUAL REALITY (V.R) AND ANXIETIES

Continuing the previous Posts, we were reflecting on changes in contemporary individuals’ personalities that might be considered, at least in part, a result of cultural changes. From 2020 to 2022, give it or take, the world population went through an exception time, which has been disastrous to people’s mental health, and has interfered, to a greater or less extent, in people’s life projects as well. The Covid Pandemic was a time of a horror, a tragedy that has established a prolonged stressful state of mind. In what regards its psychological effects, its aftermath requires the elaboration of the trauma, which means, concisely, working on people’s impotence. Following P.A’s[1] view, such process consists in an evolution that goes from: 1) reflexive reactions to the trauma (shock); 2) emotional reactions to it (that may include a whole spectrum of reactive emotions such as anger, hate, revenge, shame, feeling of humiliation, guilty to fantasies of reaction/daydreams), which conceals deeper feelings of sadness and impotence. Finally, if this process is successfully worked out, it should lead to 3) impotence- the acceptation of reality/resignation, which, in this case, is a healthy outcome[2] to a scenario of post- traumatic experiences. In addition, in what concern post-traumatic disorders[3], following our line of thinking, the trauma, in such conditions, may trigger the two other anguishes and their respective anxieties.

1) Existential ones- if people’s direction/project of life are abruptly broken, which, at first sight, describes a scenario of proportionate anguishes/anxieties (real ones). This is, however, an acute emotional state, that should be relieved as the situation normalizes or mitigates. If it persists, it may be a sign that the sudden circumstantial disorientation in their lives may have brought up other difficulties or, rather, that other internal conflicts have come up with the situation of prolonged stress.

2) Neurotic ones- if hidden internal conflicts come up.

In both cases, the outcomes will depend on the level of gravity of such contents and on level of self-contention/restraint[4] (healthy side) of individuals. In the meantime, virtual interactions were accelerated by the prolonged lockdown, and, alongside with artificial intelligence (AI) advance, abbreviated the evolution of phygital (contraction of physical + digital) experience within onlives (on-line + life)[5]. In short, we are already in a post face-to-face society in which physical distance is about to become irrelevant. It is, indeed, an impermanent world…Alongside the more patent issues of how to ensure privacy and security on Metaverso, if we think of relationships/interactions, how will they look like in a near future[6]? And what about anxieties in a context of stability within impermanence?

To be continued in the next Post [1] Psychodramatic Analysis, our main methodological reference. [2] Dias, V.S. In Psychopathology and Psychodynamics in Psychodramatic Analysis. Vol. VIII (2020). [3] Despite the similarities with psychiatric nomenclature, we will not mention PSTD because the field is beyond our knowledge and may follow different diagnostic criteria. [4] For more details see: Post 5- Existential anguishes, in Essay 5-Anguishes. In:www.ceciliapsicologa.org. See also Posts 10-The two pillars of motivation, 11-Limist and Contour-the difference between contention and repression and Post 12-Limits and Contour 2-Unsatbe references and expanded egos, in Cultural influences on Identity. In: www.ceciliapsicologa.org. [5] “The phygital experience is a combination of the physical and digital worlds, bridging the gap between the e-commerce experience and shopping at physical stores. Rather than viewing this as an Orwellian futuristic vision, we need to realize that we are already leading a phygital lifestyle”. Maron, E. Phygital experience is shaping our world. In: bring.com. [6] A few comments related to this topic will be developed I the next essay, from a psychological perspective.