Anxiety Disorder Increase in Pandemic!

Expressing that the pandemic is a period that we are not accustomed to for all of us, that does not develop under our control and that causes intense distress, Psychologist İ. Eylül Eyüboğlu said, “With this period, changes have occurred in everyone's lives. According to the researches, there has been an increase of around 28 percent in anxiety disorder cases all over the world due to the pandemic.

Pointing out that in order to talk about anxiety disorder, one must first know what anxiety means, Psychologist Eylül Eyüboğlu said, “Anxiety, which is translated as 'anxiety' in our language; It is a defense mechanism that people automatically develop in the face of a situation they perceive as dangerous.”

ANXIETY SENDS SIGNALS TO THE BRAIN, EVEN IF NOT DANGER

Pointing out that there is no living thing that does not have anxiety, and that anxiety helps us survive in the face of a serious danger, Psychologist Eylül Eyüboğlu compared anxiety disorder to a fire detector and shared the following information:

“Every fire detector starts to warn when it encounters a certain amount of smoke, but the fire detector of individuals with anxiety disorders starts to warn even with a small amount of smoke that would not normally be triggered. This indicates that the body and brain of individuals with anxiety disorders activate the defense mechanism even when there is no real distress.”

PANIC ATTACK CRISES CAN BE VISIBLE

Psychologist Eyüboğlu underlined that people with anxiety disorders experience an intense, continuous and ongoing state of anxiety, adding that this state of anxiety tends to manifest itself with panic attacks; stressed that this situation is difficult to control and manage.

Stating that the daily work of people with anxiety disorder may be disrupted and their plans may be disrupted, Psychologist Eyüboğlu said, “The person does not need to have experienced a major trauma for an anxiety disorder to occur. People can also experience anxiety disorder due to the stress and fatigue they experience one after the other.

EVERYONE IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY AFFECTED DIFFERENTLY

Stating that there has been a serious increase in anxiety disorder due to the increase in the problems experienced by people and the restriction of solutions during the pandemic period, Psychologist Eyüboğlu made the following statements:

“Those who were infected in the pandemic, those who had an infected relative, those who lost their relatives or those who were not infected but were only exposed to the pandemic were affected in different ways psychologically. An unfamiliar lifestyle, our inability to make our own decisions, dependence on others, strict rules that require us to live in a certain way, cancellation or postponement of our plans and dreams are some of the factors that cause these. Changeable situations that we have the solution to put less stress on the individual. However, uncertainty, helplessness is tiring and wearisome. Along with the pandemic, not only desperation and death anxiety, but also many situations such as anxiety as a result of the decrease in contact with loved ones living far away, worries about leaving the house, increased distrust of people against each other, and worries about livelihood triggered the occurrence of anxiety disorders.

HOW TO MANAGE ANXIETY CAN BE TEACHED

Stating that the treatment of anxiety disorder, which affects our lives to a great extent, is in the form of psychotherapy, medication or combined therapy, Psychologist Eyüboğlu said, “The expert decides which will be the most appropriate. The person in this situation needs to be understood, interested and supported by the people around him. Family attitudes are also very important in the treatment process. Criticism and pressure should be eliminated. Anxiety is not a concept that we want to completely eliminate, it is the main element to teach the individual how to reduce and manage anxiety.