Pandemic entered our lives as a global epidemic that started in China in January and later affected the world. We found ourselves in a process where we had to deal with the social, economic, political and spiritual
problems and their consequences on a global scale. With the pandemic
, it showed us the necessity of looking at epidemics from a spiritual window and addressing these spiritual consequences
. The global epidemic is primarily a trauma that threatens the life and existence of individuals, and has a distressing feature for everyone. Its traumatic effects will vary under the
socioeconomic status, individual characteristics, cultural characteristics and mental background of the person
. This variability will also affect the individual's mental responses to
life experience at different
periods, as well as different experiences
in the group or social class. This will cause the person to experience uncertainty, fear and intense anxiety, to whom the disease will infect his/her family, himself and his/her environment. The reactions of those who show the
symptoms of the disease or those who do not show the symptoms of the disease severely
are also different. The loss of freedom and separation from loved ones can have dramatic effects on a person
. Accordingly, anger problems, behavioral problems and
communication problems may occur. With the uncertainty it brought with these feelings, the pandemic caused people to look hopeless for the future and experience intense fears
. As can be understood from this situation, it has been reported that symptoms related to fear and anxiety are common
during the pandemic period. Being concerned with one's own
health and reacting to what is experienced at a certain level is defined as a useful
function. Because this level of anxiety helps to make sense of the disease and to take measures to alleviate the disease
. However, if this level of anxiety
is excessively high, it may cause the person to seek reassurances that they are not sick and to be on the alert as if
will infect him at any moment. This causes the person to experience intense health anxiety
. The person is always He seeks assurances that he is healthy
and the assurances he finds comfort him for a while. However, these assurances are short-lived and increase the severity of
health anxiety in the long run. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on people's mental health
Banerjee summarizes as follows. “ 1. Fear of a new
epidemic of people who have been exposed to a contagious disease before 2. Fears related to livelihood due to restrictions on travel and social behavior 3. Fears about leaving home 4. Self-consciousness Anxiety associated with physical distancing as a result of reduced contact with distant family
and friends 5.
Fear about the health of loved ones 6. Stigmatization for those who show symptoms such as sneezing or coughing
7. Obligation to stockpile materials that will protect their health 8 The panic effect and psychological stress created by the information in the media. Pandemic Impact on Society
In the early days of the epidemic, the physical results of the virus attracted more attention
and the consequences for mental health were not emphasized. However, even if the epidemic ends
in normal life, its psychological effects will continue for months or even years. During the epidemic
mostly; denial, rejection, shock and surprise reactions were observed. Denial reactions
are defense mechanisms that people use as coping tools. These mechanisms
reflect the difficulty in accepting the event. Especially in the first times, the rapid and random burial of the corpses, and the burning of bodies in the middle of the street in some countries
was watched with great horror by the society. As a result, it is thought that those who are not afraid are afraid,
people who are already afraid are even more afraid. The early times of this epidemic
emptying of food shelves, closure to homes, interpretation of every health problem as a symptom of Covid-19
, unhealthy information sharing on social media, long hours of programming about the epidemic in all media
increased fear and panic .
With the acceptance that comes after the first shock of this epidemic, people start a period of protecting themselves and their families
. Compliance with the measures and bailouts implemented by the state has increased.
This state of fear and uncertainty at the global level has made people feel that they are being dragged into a turbulence
. With the worry of illness and uncertainty, people have been exposed to intense emotions such as helplessness, fear, hopelessness, and unhappiness
. All these negative and intense emotions negatively affected the routine
of people. Healthcare workers who have the closest contact with people who have had Covid in epidemics, are at a high level of
contamination risk, as they are the people who play an active role in the process. While many health personnel report that they are excluded and
rejected due to these results, they also show that they are reluctant to quit or return to work.
Considering all these negative results, the mental health of healthcare professionals is negatively affected
and this Providing psychological support during or after this epidemic may be critical because of the persistence of the effects.
The pain and death caused by the epidemic can have profound psychological effects on people. In societies with traditional family structures, which are thought to have a relatively high rate of
in western societies, solidarity
is stronger in meeting the needs of the elderly as family members in need of care during the epidemic, and on the contrary, in many developed western societies, It has been observed that individuals in need of care and the elderly are more exposed to the vital threats
that arise during the epidemic. At the same time, it has been shown that it has a severe effect on the psychological
resilience of individuals under the influence of the pandemic, and it is also important to protect against the negative effects of psychological
resilience in the family and the individual on mental health.
Mental Problems During the Pandemic Process
Children and adults in this situation where fears and anxiety about this disease negatively affect their mental health
during the pandemic process. It has been observed to cause anxiety and depression among adults
. In this process, the psychological problems faced by the society can be attributed to many reasons. In the studies, it was stated that the deteriorating mental health
caused by staying in quarantine for a long time, and there were post-traumatic stress disorder, anger behaviors and avoidance behaviors
. Due to the uncertainty of the quarantine period, it was observed that those who were
quarantined for more than ten days often showed more signs of post-trauma stress than those who were quarantined for less than ten days. With the quarantine, social isolation has increased
and this has caused negative effects on social relations. Social relations, which are an important
component of individuals' lives, provide support for the development of the individual in terms of relations.
The lack of commitment and
interaction with friends, neighbors and colleagues in social relations has revealed social isolation. With this social isolation
the emergence of loneliness has been observed. With the increase of the effect of the epidemic, it has caused the social isolation to increase even more
. Due to these reasons, individuals have weakened in social relations
and asociality has increased. As a result of these situations, it has led to the emergence of disorders such as depression and anxiety
. Staying in quarantine during the epidemic made the individual feel lonely and excluded. The rapid spread of the epidemic and the resulting health problems
, frightening statistics and news about the disease that have not been verified in the written and social media, affected the mental health of individuals and caused the emergence of pathological disorders in some
individuals. has been. Following the news about the epidemic, doing a lot of research and thinking about it for a long time, caused the exacerbation of depressive symptoms and an increase in anxiety levels. br /> positive response and individuals caused a decrease in anxiety levels. In a study conducted in Italy
in 2020, it was observed that 37% of the patients experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress
during the pandemic process, and 20% of them experienced depression, anxiety and high-level stress
.
Children's Mental Health in the Pandemic Process
Considering the extent of the people affected during the epidemic process, children's social, cognitive language
developmental levels and physical processes cause harm compared to adults during the epidemic process. visual
status and experiencing crisis experiences are higher. With the epidemic, children
trying to reach their education and training activities through online platforms caused them to experience the effects of this crisis
at a high level. This naturally caused the children to start their educational activities without participating in the
orientation stages created to ensure adaptation in the education-training process, and this creates difficulties in the adaptation
process. Activities that were given to children at home before the pandemic and that support their in-school learning had a role in enabling children to learn alone, as their in-school learning disappeared after the pandemic. It has been observed that children
have difficulty in getting used to such situations, experience learning losses, and as a result, their anxieties increase as a result of the troubled snow in the family
and the economic difficulties after covid. Since children have not yet gained the ability to think abstract
in terms of cognitive development, it may be difficult to understand why individual and social protection should be used during the covid epidemic, and as a result of these
evaluations, dysfunctional thoughts that increase their fear and anxiety
can create. They can see themselves as the cause of the losses in this epidemic process, especially due to the self-centredness that started to develop from the age of two in children, or they may think that children whose parents are healthcare workers cannot see their parents as a result of a mistake
they make themselves. children social support
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