Recommendations for Protecting Our Mental Health During Restrictions

Offering suggestions for better navigating the restrictions, İlkgün Demir stated, "We should invest in our physical, mental and psychological health. If we can make healthy eating a habit not just during this period but at all times, it creates lasting well-being and we can turn a negative process into a positive one." Clinical Psychology specialist İlkgün Demir from the Psychology Department at Istanbul Ayvansaray University said, "We must certainly stay active. Without forcing ourselves but also without postponing, we can make it a habit to move for 5-10 minutes every hour. During hours when there are no restrictions, by taking precautions and walking in safe places for 1 hour daily in nature will do us great good, and during this walk we will have created time for ourselves where we can daydream, listen to music we enjoy, and truly take a journey with ourselves. Watching a film as a family, commenting on the plot and characters, discussing the film, or reading a book together during reading time and reflecting on it will also benefit us. Through this approach, as we will become familiar with each other's worlds, perspectives on events and opinions, we will have the opportunity to get to know ourselves, our children and our spouses, and also our elders more closely," he said.

"WE SHOULD CARE ABOUT PEOPLE AND INQUIRE ABOUT THEIR WELL-BEING, EVEN IF JUST BY PHONE"

Stating that we have learned many lessons during the past quarantine period—such as how important precautions are, the value of nature, friends, family, socializing, science, and healthcare and service sector workers, and the importance of physical activity and healthy eating habits—Demir said, "In new periods of restrictions, we should continue taking precautions but we should also abandon criticism, complaints and negative feelings. We should ease the work of healthcare workers, be able to speak kind words to people and give hope, use limited water resources—a shared global problem—responsibly, care about other people and inquire about their well-being, even if just by phone."

"STAY AWAY FROM NEGATIVE STORIES"

Offering suggestions for those unable to manage their fears during these restrictions, İlkgün Demir stated, "By choosing to reduce TV watching and distance yourselves from social media, online therapy support can be obtained if possible. In our daily routines, we should take a break from pandemic-related conversations and turn to more hopeful, positive and different topics, and perhaps pursue our hobbies. From shared WhatsApp groups where we listen to the experiences of friends who have had Covid-19, we should also ask for a break or pause from checking them. Everyone's experience with illness will be different, and therefore the only thing you have in your hands right now is to take precautions and maintain your psychological well-being. A cautious life—seeing restrictions as an opportunity to change our development and habits, as a process to gain strong determination, rather than reading negative things about this unpleasant shared fate of the entire world, being afraid and complaining—what do you think this would add to us? Trusting healthcare workers, those working for us and the vaccination process, taking precautions and getting through this period in good physical and psychological health, and seeing this as a pause in life after all this time, an opportunity to reflect, and a time for areas where you wish to create change, and converting this to maximum benefit will give you a leap forward once this period ends," he stated.