How are you these days? How do you feel because of the pandemic process we have been facing for months? The pandemic, which we have seen negative effects in many areas of our lives, has also negatively affected our psychological health. The negative effects of the pandemic have been the subject of research in many countries.
One of these studies points out that the pandemic causes anxiety, helplessness and fear in people. In another study conducted in China, the psychological effects of the epidemic on individuals were examined in 1210 participants living in different cities of China at the end of January and the beginning of February. It was determined that moderate to severe anxiety symptoms and 8.1% of them showed moderate to severe stress symptoms. Uncertainty of the process, health anxiety, constant exposure to correct and/or incorrect information in the media and social media, and the risk of people they love are shown to be among the reasons for the fears arising in the Covid-19 Outbreak. So what can we do to protect our psychology from the effects of the pandemic?
We can start by accepting that the anxiety we feel during this process is a perfectly normal emotion. It should not be forgotten that all our emotions have a function. The anxiety we feel can act as a shield to protect us from the virus, as long as it is in dose. If we didn't have a feeling like anxiety, we would probably have a more ignorant attitude towards the virus. Perhaps because of this attitude, we would increase our risk of contracting the virus. Yes, our anxiety can protect us, but the important thing here is that we have a decent level of anxiety. If the anxiety you feel is too much for you and prevents you from living your life, do not neglect to seek psychological support.
A study has suggested that those who have a forest or park view at home are less affected by the psychological negativities caused by the pandemic. As a result of the online survey study conducted with 3000 people in Tokyo, it was revealed that the participants with a green landscape had higher subjective happiness and life satisfaction levels, and less depression and loneliness levels. All of these were associated with the participants having a green landscape.
So what will you do if you don't have such a view at home? A study published in Scientific Reports revealed the positive effects of spending at least 120 minutes a week in the park, in the forest or on the beach depending on the season, on our physical and mental health (White et al. 2019). In order to experience the positive effects of trees and walking on our soul, you can spend time in your favorite parks in your city for at least 120 minutes a week, wearing your masks and following the social distance rules.
Make time for your spiritual care each day.
If you have been following my articles for a long time, you may have noticed that I often talk about the importance of our spiritual care. Allocating time to our spiritual care every day, whether there is a pandemic or not, is a very important issue in stress management. During this period we are going through, taking time for your spiritual care such as toothbrushing every day will help you reduce your stress level due to the pandemic. Spiritually, I mean doing activities that are good for your soul every day. For some it may be exercise, for some listening to music, for others meditating. The choice is yours. As long as you regularly set aside time for an activity that is good for you every day.
You would swallow lies with pleasure, as long as it satisfies your ego. When you were at the top, you never thought you'd fall into the abyss. You were an emotional usurer, an intelligent but boisterous person like the devil.
One day you looked around with your curious brown eyes. Your right eye was twitching frequently. Maybe you took a deep breath of air in case it was good. It didn't. You rubbed your eyes with your hands. Same. There was fog. A drunk was coming staggering. A beggar in ragged clothes, which disgusted the minister, asked him for alms from it.
You were excited, and also full of enthusiasm. However, you tried to appear calm. Could a person who could not contain his anger be able to do this? Maybe. It could also be that you suddenly felt a great peace inside, you were happy in those moments. You couldn't explain this situation to yourself or to others, so you couldn't find the words to say. Sometimes you would try to observe yourself. What kind of person were you, what were you doing and how were you doing it? Did you have any fears or hopes? Did your attitude towards people satisfy you?
Of course, the negative effects of the pandemic on our psychology and the measures we need to take to protect our psychology are too deep to fit in this article. Take my suggestions as a small start to feel better. Yes, the pandemic has affected people all over the world, and continues to do so. Some of us lost their relatives, some of us went through long treatment processes because of the virus. We are all going through a difficult time, but we must stay as strong as we can mentally and physically during this period. For this, we should pay attention to both our mental and physical care during the day. I wish all of us healthy days.
