Scared by the new normal? No. I’m not scared and I’m not worried about it, on the contrary, I’m interested. I don’t just want to witness change; I want to work directly with people in the process of adaptation to this new thing that is coming.

I have been in isolation since March 20, but the truth is that my activity did not change that much. I dedicate myself to giving consultations (my office is exactly next to my house), putting together files, reading a lot, and finishing my eternal doctoral thesis. I could even say that I needed the world to stop for a moment.

About three months before the quarantine I was saturated with work. I could not stop. I realized I was already involved in many things, so I began to work on giving myself space to do other activities, but I always relapsed. And without my asking, the quarantine arrived.

From the beginning, I tried to approach it as an apprenticeship, and seeing many activities in which I was already involved stopped. I thought that this should be a time to redesign my strategies and learn to set limits. Discovering which activities I feel comfortable with, and with what intensity, at what times. This has been a stage of discovering how I like to work.

The profile of the cases I take has changed a lot. I worked with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, whom from day one of isolation I could no longer see. Now I started working with other profiles, such as people who are dedicated to the media and nurses who work directly in cases of COVID-19. I was able to expand the therapeutic work to other populations and I liked that; now I can see that this is a branch that has versatility and fits in many other fields.

The quarantine did not represent fear, anxiety, or lack of control, which allowed me to continue with my work. Because, how to give strategies or psychoeducation if this situation generates fear? Yes, sure, I take distance therapy for the moment, but not to treat the isolation. My therapist told me something very nice: if this was a stop to certain activities and represents a benefit in terms of tranquility, “it is a renewal of you, right?”

Now that I am at home with my husband I like that we have time to have breakfast and eat together and watch movies. A stage is coming in which we are going to have to adapt to a new reality. For me, this represents a challenge on a personal and professional level. I am very motivated: I want to know more.