Psychological inflexibility managed by health professionals during the state of alarm linked to COVID-19.

Abstract

Psychological inflexibility or experiential avoidance implies adaptive coping or emotional alterations and psychopathologies, a phenomenon to consider after the COVID-19 pandemic and the socio-sanitary impact generated. This study analyzes the possible incidence of psychological inflexibility in health professionals as well as in other professionals related to the health sciences and the education sector. 316 people aged between 22 and 75 years participated (M = 41.94; SD = 12.37) distributed in three groups according to their profession. Among the results, a pronounced fear of the pandemic stands out, significantly differentiating between health workers and educators, the latter being the ones who would face a prolongation of the pandemic more normally. All the participants report having better values and behaviors as positive expectations, coinciding with the constructive suggestions derived from the situation. It is proposed that healthcare professionals develop tools and participate in preventive therapies or interventions that increase psychological flexibility in the face of stress and emotional fatigue in situations in which depersonalization becomes an experiential avoidance mechanism.