Mental Health Considerations During the COVID-19 Outbreak
1) COVID-19 affects people from many countries in many geographic regions and is likely to continue to do so. Do not attribute this disease to any ethnicity or nationality. Try to empathize with people who have been affected by this disease in your country or any other country, remember that those who have been infected with this virus have done nothing wrong.
2) Do not label infected people as “COVID-19 cases”, “victims”, COVID-19 families” or “infected”. These people are “people who have contracted the COVID-19 virus,” “those who are being treated for COVID-19,” “people who have recovered from COVID-19,” and after recovering from COVID-19, their lives will continue as before and return to their jobs, families, and loved ones.
3) Avoid watching, reading or listening to any news that will cause you anxiety or sadness; Emphasize information that will enable you to prepare your plans and take actionable steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. Follow the latest developments at certain times, once or twice a day. Breaking news or an almost non-stop stream of news about an epidemic can worry anyone. Pay attention to the facts. Check with the WHO website and local health authorities on a regular basis to make it easier for you to separate rumors from facts. You can access the electronically signed copy of the document at http://e-belge.saglik.gov.tr with the code f1039840-f1ad-47f2-80fb-0055204733e1. This document has been signed with a secure electronic signature in accordance with the electronic signature law numbered 5070. 4724f57b-a18b-443d-8fcc-46d6f9a56c4d
4) Protect yourself and support others. Helping others in times of need can be good for both the helper and the recipient.
5) Strive to hear the voices and positive stories of people who have the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and are willing to share their experiences and help a loved one who has recovered or has contracted the virus throughout treatment.
6) Support the relatives of people who have caught COVID-19 in your neighborhood and the healthcare professionals who are treating them. Value these people who are doing their best to save lives and keep your loved ones safe. Health workers
7) For healthcare professionals, anxiety is an emotion you and many of your colleagues will likely experience. In fact, it’s perfectly natural to feel this way right now. Stress and emotions associated with the virus in no way indicate that you are unfit to do your job or that you are weak. Being able to manage your stress levels during this time is just as important as maintaining your physical health.
8) Pay attention to your basic needs and apply helpful coping strategies; Make sure to rest and relax during and between shifts, eat enough and eat healthy foods, do not skip physical activities and stay in touch with family and friends. Avoid strategies that won’t work, such as smoking, alcohol, and other drugs. These can threaten your mental and physical health in the long run. It is a very unique and unpredictable situation right now, especially for many employees who have not experienced similar situations. If you have experienced such a situation before, the strategies you used before to cope with stress may work for you now. Strategies for overcoming stress are the same, even if the circumstances are different.
9)Unfortunately, some employees may be left on their own by their families and people around them due to fear or prejudice. This can make an already difficult situation even more intractable. Communicating with loved ones, including digitally whenever possible, is one way to keep in touch. Talk to your colleagues, manager, or other people you trust for support, as your colleagues may be experiencing similar feelings.
10) Use understandable methods to explain the situation to people with intellectual, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities. If you are a team leader or manager in a healthcare institution, do not avoid using forms of communication that are not based solely on written information. Team leaders or managers working in healthcare institutions
11) Protecting all employees against chronic stress and bad mood during this time allows them to do their jobs better. You can access the electronically signed copy of the document at http://e-belge.saglik.gov.tr with the code f1039840-f1ad-47f2-80fb-0055204733e1. This document has been signed with a secure electronic signature in accordance with the electronic signature law numbered 5070. 4724f57b-a18b-443d-8fcc-46d6f9a56c4d
12) Establish a quality communication with all your employees and convey all the right developments to them. Have employees rotate between high-stress jobs and less-stressful jobs. Give inexperienced employees to your more experienced colleagues. The mentor system helps to provide support, monitor stress and reinforce safety procedures. Have the social worker talk to your staff in pairs. Make sure your employees take breaks and rest. Implement flexible working hours for employees who have directly experienced a stressful event or have an acquaintance.
13) If you work as a team leader or manager in a healthcare institution, provide mental health and psychosocial support services to your employees and make sure they are all aware of it. Managers and team leaders also experience similar emotions as their employees, adding extra pressure to the responsibility that comes with their role. It is important to understand that the above recommendations are appropriate for both employees and managers, and that managers set an example for others in self-care strategies to minimize stress.
14) If you are one of the people in the response group, including nurses, ambulance drivers, volunteers, case identifiers, teachers and community leaders and staff in the quarantine area, you can visit the psychological first aid page to provide basic emotional and practical support to people affected by the virus. Those who take care of children
15) Help children find positive ways to show disturbing emotions such as fear and sadness. Every child has a different way of showing their emotions. Sometimes creative activities such as playing games and drawing can facilitate this process. Children can be relieved when they show and talk about their troubling emotions in a safe and supportive environment.
16) If safe for the child, keep children together with their parents and families, and avoid separating children from their families as much as possible. When a child needs to be separated from their primary caregiver, ensure that they receive appropriate alternative care and that a social worker or equivalent will follow up with the child on a regular basis. Also, make sure to maintain regular contact with parents and caregivers, such as twice-daily pre-scheduled phone or video calls or other age-appropriate communication (for example, social media depending on the child’s age) should you leave.
17)Maintain your daily routine as much as possible, especially if children are confined to the house. Prepare age-appropriate activities for children. When it is recommended to limit social contact, encourage children to continue to play and socialize with others as much as possible, even if only within the family. You can access the electronically signed copy of the document at http://e-belge.saglik.gov.tr with the code f1039840-f1ad-47f2-80fb-0055204733e1. This document has been signed with a secure electronic signature in accordance with the electronic signature law numbered 5070. 4724f57b-a18b-443d-8fcc-46d6f9a56c4d
18) In times of stress and crisis, it is normal for children to be more fond of their parents and expect too much from them. Talk to your children about COVID-19 openly and with age-appropriate information. If your child has questions, answering them together can reduce their anxiety. Children will observe the behavior and emotions of adults to learn how to control their emotions during difficult times. Carers of older adults
19) Older adults, especially those in isolation and suffering from cognitive decline/defense, may be more anxious, angry, stressed, agitated and withdrawn during an epidemic/quarantine. Provide them with practical and emotional support from informal circles (families) and health professionals.
20) Share simple facts about what is happening and provide clear information to older people with or without cognitive impairment on how to reduce their risk of infection in language they can understand. Repeat information as necessary. It is important to explain what needs to be done clearly, clearly, respectfully and in a way that the patient can understand, and it may also be helpful to support what you have said with text and pictures. Encourage their families and others to support them in providing information and helping them take action (eg washing hands, etc.).
21) Encourage older people with expertise, experience, and strength to volunteer in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (for example, healthy/strong retired seniors can provide peer support to healthcare workers who can’t leave hospitals because they’re fighting COVID-19 in hospitals, check their neighbors) and can take care of their children). people in isolation
22) Keep in touch with the outside world and continue to use social networks. Maintain your personal daily routines as much as possible, even while in isolation. If health institutions have recommended limiting physical and social contact to prevent the epidemic, you can maintain your contact with the outside world by e-mail, social media, video conference and telephone.
23) Pay attention to your own needs and feelings in stressful times. Engage in healthy activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Exercise regularly, sleep regularly and eat healthy. Look at everything as a whole. Public health agencies and experts around the world are working to provide the best care for those affected by the virus.
24) Breaking news or an almost non-stop stream of news about an epidemic can worry anyone. You can follow the latest developments from health professionals and WHO’s website at certain times during the day, and you can access the electronic signed copy of the document from http://e-belge.saglik.gov.tr with the code f1039840-f1ad-47f2-80fb-0055204733e1. This document has been signed with a secure electronic signature in accordance with the electronic signature law numbered 5070. Learn to do 4724f57b-a18b-443d-8fcc-46d6f9a56c4d and avoid listening to or following gossip that will make you worry. For information: Follow WHO for breaking news to see where COVID-19 is spreading: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports/ COVID-19′ Visit the WHO website for advice and prevention.
Source: ailevecalisma.gov.tr