Psychological Resilience During the Pandemic Period

With the approaching winter season, home confinement and curfews are approaching again. Although it is called the pandemic period, we are left with a virus that has been in our lives for about a year and it is not clear when it will end. During this process, the whole world has been negatively affected economically, socially and psychologically and continues to be affected. We have been and continue to be faced with many negative situations such as people quarantining themselves, curfews, unemployment, people infected with the disease, deaths and losses. So, how can we cope with this situation despite all the negativities? Human beings are born with the basic survival instinct and protect themselves in difficult situations. Some studies have found that people's immune systems are stronger in situations such as epidemics, war, and natural disasters compared to normal situations. Accordingly, when our body detects danger, it protects itself by going into fight or flight mode. Psychologically, the same situation applies. When we first heard about the coronavirus (Covid-19), it is possible that it had a shock effect on us, then perhaps most of us denied it, denied it or tried to correct our cognitive dissonance with conspiracy theories, then bans, situations of not being able to leave the house caused depression, anxiety, OCD in many people. It created psychological disorders such as. Finally, in the acceptance phase, we started to learn to live with the virus and perceived it as a part of our lives. All these stages are actually our psychological defense mechanisms, and we use them unconsciously. In addition, how can we increase our psychological resilience in dealing with this situation? The question becomes inevitable. Two basic needs of human beings; to ensure control and continuity. Uncertainty bothers us a lot, and this uncertainty in Corona causes us to lose control and puts us in crisis. Therefore, in terms of regaining control during the pandemic period, we should first focus on what we can do rather than what we cannot do. Cleaning, hygiene, use of masks, social distance, staying away from environments where the disease is likely to be intense are what we can do concretely and the point of feeling safe against the risk of contamination. It is very important in . Instead of crowded places, activities such as a bicycle tour by the beach or a walk in the forest can be done. Preferring open air places and sitting at a distance during meetings with peers. During quarantine periods, social continuity should be ensured by using tools such as telephone and video calling applications. During the time spent at home, postponed tasks can be done or relaxing activities such as hobbies, exercise, and taking care of pets can be done. On the other hand, it is necessary to look at life from a realistic perspective for the need for cognitive control. It is important at this point to realize that there is always trouble and pleasure in life, that it is not always very good or very bad, and to stay away from information pollution. Imagining the successful and good days of the past and hoping that they will happen again, and believing that all these difficulties mature us and develop us personally, helps increase our psychological resilience. At the same time, writing down our feelings and keeping a diary helps us relax emotionally. In addition, receiving psychological support from a mental health professional during this process is also very supportive.

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