In these days when Turkey is experiencing natural disasters and many negative issues, citizens are also having very sad and anxious days. There have been many events that will upset the society, especially the fires that continue all over the country, the flood event in the Black Sea and the massacre in which 7 people lost their lives in Konya. We talked to Specialist Psychologist Kerem Gümüş about what needs to be done about the anxiety and sadness of citizens in this period of intense sharing on social media.
“THE POSSIBILITY TO EXPERIENCE DEPRESSION IS EXTREMELY HIGH”
Expert Psychologist Kerem Gümüş, "Natural disasters have always been traumatic for individuals and families. Fire, flood and loss of life cause great loss for individuals, loss of their work, loss of security, and loss of hope for the future. Such situations can be experienced by the individual as mourning. Losing an individual is, of course, greater than the financial loss, but experiencing financial losses makes individuals and families lose hope and destroy their future plans, so they are more likely to grieve and experience depression with a sense of hopelessness and failure," he said.
“IF IT DOESN'T EXCEED ANXIETY, EVERY AREA OF LIFE IS AFFECTED”
Talking about the problems in the grieving process, Gümüş said, "In the grieving process, it is seen that individuals' fears increase, they become more stressed, they distance themselves from society, and they experience sleep problems. In such cases, the individual has difficulty in continuing his life and cannot cope with the feelings of guilt and regret. Apart from those who experience this situation, it is also possible for individuals who are spectators to this situation and who are likely to experience the same situation. The individual is worried about the possibility of experiencing this and if he cannot overcome this anxiety, it affects every aspect of his life."
ATTENTION TO THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
"Psychological problems such as fear, panic attacks, stress, sleep problems, and having nightmares were observed during heavy rainfall after flood events. They fear as if they will experience the flood again and therefore they worry. If there is a situation that requires sadness and mourning, being sad is the most functional response. Because avoiding the negative emotions of grief is much more tiring than experiencing those emotions. In particular, family members should be allowed to experience the mourning period instead of hiding the situation from the child. In addition, it is very important to pay attention to the use of social media in order not to be affected by negative shares during this time period," he added.