Stress

Turkey is located in the earthquake zone due to its location. Therefore, we are often faced with the reality of earthquakes. Once again, we faced this reality with the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake in our country. While the individuals affected by the earthquake experience both physical and psychological trauma, it is important to protect each person’s psychology in this process.

Expressing that the individual’s reaction to threatening environmental factors is defined as stress, experts state that stress is contagious and causes devastating effects in people when the coping mechanism is not learned.

Nutrition plays an important role in maintaining mental and physical health. In times of loss, sadness, stress, and anxiety disorders, consuming a healthy diet that includes nutrient-rich foods can help improve mood and reduce symptoms. Proper nutrition is not a substitute for professional treatment, but it can be a valuable supplement to therapy and medication. During periods of mental health problems, it is very important not to be nutritionally deficient in order to heal the existing problem and it is necessary to get help from a nutritionist.

Stress, which is seen as a natural human reaction that can happen to every individual in daily life, is also a part of life in a sense. When sudden and unexpected changes occur in our lives or when we encounter some difficulties, our body produces mental and physical reactions.

After unpredictable and uncontrollable disasters such as earthquakes, psychiatric symptoms may occur, which usually resolve spontaneously within a few weeks. The condition characterized by a series of acute stress reactions including anxiety, dissociation symptoms and other findings occurring within the first 30 days following the traumatic event is defined as Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) according to the DSM-5. If the signs and symptoms persist for more than a month. If it lasts for a long time, it is now referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Stress is a state of physical, emotional and psychological tension or discomfort caused by any change. Although it may seem like there is nothing to do about stress from work and home, stress can actually be controlled.

In case of stress; Many reasons such as unwittingly snacking in front of the TV, feeling anorexia, skipping meals, wanting to overeat, feeling the need to snack constantly, changes in sleep patterns can cause changes in eating patterns. It’s important to focus on what you can do to cope with binge eating attacks, rather than blaming yourself and increasing your stress level.

Experts, who stated that acute stress reactions can be seen in the person between 3 and 30 days after the earthquake, warned that over-stimulation symptoms such as irritability, verbal or physical anger explosions towards people and objects, sleep disturbance, lack of concentration, excessive alertness and excessive startle reactions may occur. exists. A

The negative impact of the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake, which took place in our country and affected many of our provinces, on the psychology of the society is seen not only in the earthquake region but also all over Turkey.

The Risks and Effects of the Earthquake for Children’s Mental Health