Hello everyone, I am psychological counselor Begüm Danacı. In this article, I would like to tell you about the psychological coping mechanism we experience due to the coronavirus.
It is a fact known to everyone that we, as a world, are in a period of great crisis. Of course, this situation does not affect everyone in the same way. Some of us have to stay at home, some of us have to go to work. But there is a system activated in everyone, and that is our coping mechanism! We are all trying to cope with this process in some way. So how much have we improved our coping skills so far? How does this skill develop? Let's see together..
First of all, in order to develop coping skills, the person must accept himself as he is, provide social support, have therapeutic help and correct environmental factors. In a time of crisis, namely this Corona epidemic, our normal coping capacity is not enough to overcome the problem. We may be emotionally overwhelmed (possibly), and it's very normal to have trouble using problem-solving and other coping skills.
In addition, during a crisis, people's basic beliefs about themselves (I am safe, I can keep myself safe), others (people are generally good and free of disease), and the world (usually a safe place) are destroyed. Even if we are not aware of these basic beliefs, we all have them if we have gone through a safe and healthy development period.
One of the most important factors in the development of coping skills is; Having environmental support to express ourselves. If we are in social life and have established strong relationships, we feel strong. By using our existing social support and providing social support to others, we will be good for both our cat and our environment. Not social distance, physical distance! We have new ways to socialize, we should not lose touch with our loved ones.
Routine is safe! In this process, creating new routines for ourselves unconsciously improves our coping skills. We should create healthy routines in areas where we feel safe, without losing the belief that we have control over our lives. Getting up at the same time every day, eating at the same time, having more or less certain things to do during the day, etc. They make us feel safe, renew our belief in ourselves and make it easier for us to cope.
Another factor is; To be "in the moment" and spontaneous. Constant thoughts of "How nice it was in the past, we did this, we went here" or negative thoughts focusing on "It will definitely get worse in the future" are of no use to us. But let's face it, there are times when we get caught up in these thoughts. In such cases, the most important thing is to realize this and ask ourselves these questions; "Are these thoughts doing me any good right now? What do I really need right now? What can I do for myself?" etc. If we have a hard time doing this, if we are in a constant state of panic and cannot stay in the moment, this may be an indication that we need psychological support.
In fact, we have never needed all of us so much. We have to take care of ourselves for everyone else, and everyone has to take care of themselves for us. The disease of a single person can suddenly and unpredictably affect many people, from the closest person to the person they do not know. We all had to have the responsibility to act by considering others in every field. However, life forces us all to learn this now. I think somewhere along the line we have forgotten the fact that we are a social being. Even though we are unique within ourselves, we are actually meaningful when we are with others. We reveal our commitment through our social relationships. We are all born into society, we learn in society, we live in society, we get sick in society, and we heal in society. I hope that, as a society, we can complete our healing process as soon as possible.
I would like to end my article with an important announcement. Istanbul Psychodrama Institute, which I am affiliated with and a student of, created a staff of 100 experts and started working to provide free psychological support to healthcare professionals, municipality employees and police department employees due to the pandemic. It makes us very happy to help as much as we can to the public who are at the forefront to protect society. Please do not hesitate to contact the institute. As I said, the health of one of us will affect us all. Stay healthy, love.
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