Güncelleme Tarihi: 20 March 2022

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“How Has the Pandemic Process Affected Our Mental Health?” by our Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Department.

“How Has the Pandemic Process Affected Our Mental Health?” by our Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Department.

An Online Panel was Held
Our Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Department "How Has the Pandemic Process Affected Our Mental Health?" within the scope of Nursing Week. Organized an online panel on the topic. Moderated by our University Faculty of Health Sciences, Head of Nursing Department Prof. Dr. Serap Altuntaş, as a speaker, Başkent University, Department of Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing Lecturer. Member Prof. Dr. Ebru Akgün Çıtak and Hacettepe University, Faculty of Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing Lecturer. Member and Secretary General of the Turkish Nurses Association, Dr. Instructor Member Azize Atlı Özbaş attended.

prof. Dr. Serap Altuntaş started her speech by expressing her gratitude to the healthcare professionals and introduced the speakers one by one. The first speaker at the panel was Prof. Dr. Ebru Akgün Çıtak was the first. Çıtak said, “2020 represents the entire Covid-19 process for us. This is how we entered 2021. We call the covid-19 epidemic disease process the compelling life process. It has great effects on the mental health of both adults and children. These psychological effects, of course, vary on individuals. Why is it compelling? We had to change our daily habits, we were stressed by the disruption of routines. With this, our belief system has also changed. Namely, some of our beliefs necessary for life are that the world is a safe place. The world is fair. I am worthy, and many of the beliefs you can think of have been shaken. We have seen that anything can happen to any of us at any time. Again, one of the most important steps during the pandemic period is to prevent the transmission of the disease, to protect physical health. But as we know, the measures we took to protect our physical health during the pandemic had negative effects on our mental health. The spread of necessary or unnecessary information about the pandemic in the media seriously affects our psychology.” said.

“What changes has the pandemic made in our lives?” Çıtak said, “Our social relations broke down a little and the adaptation problems experienced by children in education caused some of us to disrupt the existing health problems. In fact, it caused us to experience intense emotions. Emotions such as deep thoughts, anxiety, stress, longing were experienced intensely. Intense negative emotions can cause us to experience psychological problems that did not exist before. It is also necessary to observe whether this is a normal behavior or a pathological behavior. While a person who does not leave his home due to the pandemic and lives alone, constantly washing his hands or wearing a mask is a sign of mental illness; It is a precautionary behavior and normal for a healthcare worker to wash their hands frequently or wear a mask all the time. In epidemics, the state of uncertainty is experienced more intensely despite other bad events. Will it end? Will we fix it? Will I get sick? Such questions can create a state of anxiety disorder in people. This also applies to our youth. Can I find a job? How will my school end? Such questions will arise in their minds. Another emotion experienced intensely when it comes to pandemic is anxiety. Fear and anxiety are concepts that should not be confused with each other. The reason why we experience both fear and anxiety in this process is that it is contagious and there is a fear of getting sick and dying.” replied as.

“What should we do to protect our mental health during the pandemic process?” Çıtak said, “It is essential to use the media in a healthy way and reach the most accurate information. It is necessary to learn and apply protection methods, to care about our health and try to protect it, to control our emotions and thoughts wisely and to minimize the intensity of emotion. It is necessary to discern and implement decisions that we cannot control. In this process, we should allocate time for ourselves and perform the activities we love in accordance with the conditions. It is essential to communicate with your loved ones, not forgetting to say thank you. It can be good to take time to meditate and learn. After these, you still find yourself in the same anxiety, fear and stress, I recommend consulting a specialist.” used the phrases.

The other person who spoke on the panel was Dr. Instructor Azize Atlı Özbaş became its member. Özbaş started her speech by thanking all healthcare professionals and celebrating Nursing Week. Özbaş then made a presentation on what should be done to protect mental health. Özbaş said, “We have complaints about patenting the vaccine in this difficult and troublesome process, and I will ask you to look at the 'the sun does not have a patent' campaign. I especially want to advance on our healthcare workers. The fact that our healthcare professionals are unhealthy due to insufficient sleep, malnutrition, long work, professional burnout and many other factors means that the patient remains insecure. Under normal conditions, stress is the most negative aspect of business life in our hospitals. Increased workload, fatigue, desperation is compelling.However, the lack of equipment due to the pandemic, not being able to live his own social life, not being able to even see his family is a source of extreme stress. There is the fear of not being helpful to patients, not being with the patient when he needs them, and facing death almost every day. It is inevitable to experience a collapse both physically and mentally. Isn't it my exposure to violence, what a newly graduated nurse said at the beginning that I would be helpful in the pandemic? We have colleagues who stated that they were subjected to psychological and physical violence not only by the relatives of the patients, but also by their superiors and colleagues in the hospital. Our nurses really worked in the heaviest part of the job during the pandemic process. We were only able to get permission to vaccinate our nursing students only in their last year. We all need to create this awareness so that our nurses see the value and value they deserve.” said.