There have been bad events one after another in Turkey and the world since the beginning of 2020. Finally, the coronavirus epidemic has led many people to worry about the future. Psychologist Sema Özcan listed the ways to deal with this situation.
The highlights of Özcan's statements are as follows;
From the beginning of 2020 When we look at the events that have happened in our country since; We see that many negative events such as natural disasters, epidemics, accidents, terrorist attacks, violence against women and child abuse pave the way for social traumas. While the widespread use of technology will facilitate people's access to all kinds of news, seeing, hearing and interpreting events can be psychologically negative. has become effective. Human beings are by nature a bio-psycho-social being. When evaluated as a whole, being a healthy individual in biological, social and psychological fields will bring happiness and the ability to cope with problems more easily.
Excessive anxiety. It makes our lives difficult
Events in society affect people directly or indirectly. Mental and physical health are a whole. Many events taking place in the world and in our society deeply affect the mental health of the population and cause them to experience a permanent anxiety about the future. Useful when anxiety is minimal. However, excessive anxiety makes our lives difficult and can disrupt the balance of our immune system by affecting our sleeping and eating patterns.
Since the beginning of 2020, consecutive negative events have caused people to worry about the future. Constantly thinking about the worst, repeating negative scenarios in the mind, and uncertainty about the future are among the most important factors that increase anxiety. It is not possible to say anything clearly because it is not known when, where and how the events will occur. Therefore, uncertainty causes people to fear that something bad will happen, to constantly think about bad consequences, to believe in negative automatic thoughts that repeat in the mind, and to live with the expectation that this fear will come true. It pushes the formation of anxiety. We do not have the ability to stop thoughts, but we can produce alternative thoughts, change our existing cognitive distortions and cope with anxiety.
Examples of these thoughts through cognitive distortions
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“Everything will be bad, 2020 started badly, it will always be like this”
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“Something can happen at any moment, something will definitely happen to us now”
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“No matter what I do, nothing will change”
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Ways to cope with anxiety
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*In order to recognize the situation you are experiencing, look at how you feel. Focus, describe the emotion you feel
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*Evaluate your thoughts, make a list of the accuracy and wrongness of your thoughts that make you think that this will always happen
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* Believe that you can manage anxiety
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* Pay attention to your sleep and nutrition patterns
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*Do not constantly follow the news if it affects you negatively
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*Try to do physical exercise, regular exercise reduces stress and anxiety
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*Do not fall into the trap of catastrophizing
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*Think about things that are good for you, put into action the actions you have been postponing for a long time by increasing the tempo step by step,
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*Just as a regret from the past or a "I wish" sentence can create anxiety, it can also cause anxiety about the future. Uncertainty also creates anxiety. This is why it is important to live in the moment. Now, think about what you are doing right now. Cope with anxiety by activating your physical sensations….
Generally, in such sentences, overgeneralization, catastrophizing (thinking about the worst outcome of the event and focusing on it), catastrophizing.
Events affect us all. However, rather than the event, the meaning attributed to the event leads people to anxiety.
Mental and physical health cannot be considered separately from each other, they are a whole. Take care of your soul and body…
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