People have gone through many tests over the centuries…
The epidemics, which started with the Covid-19 virus and of which we can see many examples in history, appear as a new threat that humanity faces as the end of the first quarter of the 21st century approaches. .
We experience together what the "butterfly effect", one of Lorenz's Chaos theories, means. The butterfly effect is the name given to how small changes in the initial data of a system can lead to large and unpredictable results. The coronavirus detected in Wuhàn city of the People's Republic of China, which is approximately 7 thousand km away from our country, turned into a pandemic problem within weeks.
While years ago we lived in tribes, the largest of which was 100 people, in 2020 we are 7.5 billion people. However, as Yuval Harari stated, we have risen to the top of the food chain in such a short time that the limbic system, the primitive part of our brain, still does not believe this.
We can access information on the other side of the world, and our limbic system is looking for answers to the following questions: "What happened, what happened, did it reach us, in which country, how many people, when, where did it come, who said what?"
With all these unknowns, our primitive brain is about to go crazy. Staying at home and the resulting decrease in sociality, the anxiety felt due to the disruption of our daily routine, and the anxiety caused by uncertainty negatively affect our psychological well-being. The system does not know what and which response it should create!
At the same time, social adaptation pressure begins. The Asch experiment shows that; Social conformity pressure half determines our decision making with free will and conscious awareness. The market is being looted, there will be no product left, what if the new one does not arrive, and I go hungry? I'd better buy these pasta too! We may suddenly find ourselves with pasta.
And also the cars filled with toilet paper (competing with pasta) and the question I often hear; Why Toilet Paper???
According to Doctor Steven Taylor, who teaches Clinical Psychology at British Columbia University; During epidemics, the feeling of disgust increases when people are under threat of infection. When the feeling of disgust increases, people try to avoid it. The feeling of disgust makes one want to avoid contamination/contamination. It is like an alarm mechanism that warns you to stop. There is no better tool to get rid of 'disgusting material' than toilet paper. Thus, toilet paper became the symbol of conditioned security.
These days, it is as important to protect our mental health as it is to protect our physical health.
First of all, we must stay calm! We need to stop, think and organize.
As it is known, stress negatively affects our immune system. Cortisol hormone is the body's response hormone to stress. As cortisol increases to higher levels, anxiety, depression and aggression increase.
In case of high stress, the immune system may weaken and invite diseases.
What we need to do is accept that there is an epidemic, understand that a certain level of fear is normal, and investigate what precautions we can take to protect ourselves.
If you feel that you are in a state of intense anxiety and think that you cannot cope, do not hesitate to get support.
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