Stating that the uncertainties experienced during the pandemic process can lead to anxiety and anxiety disorders in individuals, experts emphasize that it is important to rest to the end to reduce anxiety.
Pointing out the importance of a balanced attitude in approaching people who have problems during this period, experts warn, "Sometimes relatives want to overprotect and protect the patient and they set themselves the role of a savior, in which case the patient may become dependent and the patient's relatives become exhausted." Experts recommend seeking professional support in cases of anxiety that reduce quality of life.
With the initiative of the World Federation of Mental Health, October 10 has been commemorated as "World Mental Health Day" every year since 1992 and aims to draw attention to the importance of mental health. This year's theme was determined as "pandemic and mental health".
Üsküdar University NP Feneryolu Medical Center Psychiatry Specialist Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Barış Önen Ünsalver talked about the effects of pandemic and pandemic conditions on mental health.
Not being able to touch affects our mental health
Dr. Barış Önen Ünsalver reminded that individuals cannot touch their loved ones in order to protect them, especially in these days when contact is very minimal due to physical distance, and said, "Touching increases a substance called oxytocin. When oxytocin rises, the person feels relaxed and safe. One of the reasons why we want to hug and touch each other is our need to raise oxytocin without realizing it. The pandemic is interfering with this, and for some, this backlash has a behavioral reflection in the form of people tending to touch each other more than before. This causes resentment and unrest between those who are nervous about being touched and those who want to be touched. Interpersonal relationships are damaged. Some people manage not to touch, but the lack of touch leads to an increase in tension, especially in public, where others are seen as threatening and easily angered. Of course, the feeling of loneliness increases and some people may turn to risky intimacies."
Health workers experience burnout
Dr. Barış Önen Ünsalver reminded that especially healthcare workers are the most affected group in this regard and said, "Healthcare workers are in the most difficult situation. Most of them are experiencing burnout and unfortunately they cannot overcome this burnout with their individual efforts. There are things that institutions need to do, there are things that the public needs to do. If health workers get COVID and die, it is not considered an occupational disease and this alone demotivates them. Many administrative solutions such as personal rights, payments, shifts, number of staff, etc. are necessary. The public should act responsibly and take precautions. Failure to fulfill even basic things such as masks and physical distancing is fueling the rebellion of health workers. Workers need concrete solutions, not applause."
Uncertainty increases anxiety
Noting that all these factors may have an effect on the increase in the feeling of anger during the pandemic process, Dr. Barış Önen Ünsalver said, "There is a concrete danger. It is an infectious disease and its causative agent is circulating in an uncertain way. This uncertainty primarily increases anxiety. People see everyone and everything as a possible cause of the disease. This facilitates anger. Let's say someone's mask is down to the chin in a supermarket. A customer who sees this perceives the person wearing the mask as a threat to him/her and warns him/her harshly, sometimes insults him/her, yells at him/her, and as a result the person wearing the mask incorrectly feels ashamed or scared or thinks that he/she has been wronged. As a result, he reacts angrily, and the result is shouting or physical reactions in the middle of the market. We are constantly confronted with our death anxiety and this facilitates anger. People lose their jobs, status, entertainment, habits and each of these causes sadness and anger."
The best help is to listen and empathize with the person
Emphasizing that it is important to listen to people with mental problems during this period, Dr. Barış Önen Ünsalver pointed out the importance of empathy and said
"Just standing next to this person and listening sincerely can be the best help. Just listening without criticizing the person, without giving examples from our own lives, without bringing quick solutions to the problem. People with mental problems do not want you to solve the problem, they want to be accepted, they want to express themselves. Sincere listening is done by looking into the person's eyes, by gestures and mimics that show that we are listening to what they are saying in between, or by empathy sentences such as 'Oh, what a difficult thing you have experienced', 'I understand, if it is so difficult for you to fall asleep, how can you wake up in the morning' when the conversation is over. Empathy is not pity. It is imagining what that person is going through and putting ourselves in their shoes."
Attention to patient addiction
Stating that attitudes that are judgmental, rejecting, lecturing, and devaluing the feelings of the person push the person away, Dr. Barış Önen Ünsalver said, "Some people with mental distress want to talk about their problems all the time, but this creates problems for both the person with the problem and their relatives. As the person in distress constantly expresses his/her problem, he/she may feel helpless and even more unhappy. In time, relatives may start to feel anger towards the person and get bored with the person. Sometimes relatives may want to overprotect and protect the patient, and they may assume the role of a savior, in which case the patient may become dependent and the patient's relatives may become exhausted. For this reason, relatives of patients should not talk about mental distress all the time, but they should not ignore mental distress altogether."
Dr. Barış Önen Ünsalver added that if the anxiety cannot be coped with and affects the quality of life of the person, specialist support should be sought.
