Virus anxiety spreads quickly among people: Study
ISTANBUL
Anxiety over the coronavirus pandemic is growing rapidly among Turkish society, a study carried out by the private Istanbul’s Üsküdar University has shown.
The university conducted a research on the pandemic through online questionnaires in 81 provinces, with a total of 6,318 people having participated in the research.
Women in Turkey are feeling more fear, anxiety and discomfort than men when thinking about COVID-19 and the fear of losing their lives due to the virus, according to the research.
As 52 percent of the residents of metropolitan cities were worried about watching news and following social media, this rate was 47 percent for those living in towns and cities.
Most of the participants reported psychological maturity in the surveys, despite all these fears and concerns.
While 49.6 percent of the participants are concerned about the uncertainty of the outbreak process, it is followed by anxiety to stay away from social relations with 40.9 percent.
The ratio of those concerned about the future of family members is 35.3 percent.
The study shows that anxieties such as not getting adequate health services, lack of access to protective equipment, economic problems, disruption of education, not leaving home at any time, mental status of family members, not being able to provide physical security, and unemployment are also experienced during the outbreak.
Nearly 82 percent of the participants said that their thoughts towards healthcare workers developed positively in this process.
Around 58 percent of the participants stated that they saw Turkey more successful than the other developed countries in the fight against pandemic in the study, which also revealed the perceptions regarding the management of the process.
While those living in the eastern Anatolia region were most affected in terms of fear and anxiety, the Aegean region was in the second place, according to the research.
The most carefree segment regarding the pandemic was of those living in the Black Sea Region.
“Humankind should be accustomed to becoming more isolated from now on,” psychiatrist Nevzat Tarhan said.
“Loneliness will be our fate for a few years. People should focus on mental health protection methods in this period of being alone,” Tarhan added.
