Peculiarities of Mechanisms of Psychological Protection of Persons Deprived of Freedom during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article analyzes the literature to define the concept of psychological protection, analyzes the source base and characteristic findings of mechanisms of psychological protection, investigates and presents the features of mechanisms of psychological protection of prisoners and comparisons with mechanisms of psychological protection of prisoners. The study was conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the study of the mechanisms of psychological protection has not lost relevance, as reality daily proves the axiomatic nature of these views in everyday life and is considered by contemporaries in the context of the instinct of self-preservation and adaptation of personality. At the current pace of functioning, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the individual trains as much as possible the mechanisms of psychological protection that allow him or her to reduce the potential for emotional experiences that can cause mental trauma. The dynamics of the functioning of mechanisms of psychological protection have protagonistic consequences for the psyche and life of the individual. They have their own dichotomy, which can be considered in the context of positive and negative. The positive context is manifested in the liberation of a person from the fear of death, stress, multiple negative emotional experiences (loss of a loved one, terminal illness, job loss, disasters, wars, imprisonment, loss of social status, etc.). Negative contexts deprive a person of reflections on the situation that threatens him or her and thus prevent the most objective perception and the most correct solution. As a result, the problem itself may become more complicated, and the future of a person will become qualitatively worse.