قم بتحميل هذا المقال بالعربية (PDF)*This article in ArabicThe novel Corona pandemic is the reason for launching this website now. The global spread of the novel Corona virus endangers the life of people worldwide, and in an attempt to control the outbreak many governments have turned to drastic measures to prevent the spread of infections and/or buy time to prepare the health system for the growing number of infected people in the future.
These measures have far- reaching consequences for the lives of everybody. Measures have been taken to restrict the freedom of movement, down to imposing curfews; promote social distancing; and close down of businesses, public transportation, playgrounds, nurseries, schools, universities, and workplaces. Within a few weeks, everyday life changed substantially. People had to give up beloved habits, and many of them fear actually to lose their income.
When the novel Corona pandemic will be over, life will most likely never be the same again like before the outbreak. Nearly nobody can foresee what the future holds.
This typically defines a psychological crisis, a turning point. We are stripped of all what we assumed until now would be safe, and are thrown into a completely new, unknown scenario. This creates first of all STRESS.
Stress is any demand or change that the human system, the body and the mind, have to respond to. Stress is a common life experience. It can be positive (eustress) or negative (distress). Stress is experienced if a) situations change and things happen for which people are not prepared b) their physical, mental or social well-being is threatened, and c) they feel they cannot manage and control the situation. The amount of experienced stress depends also on how often stress occurs, how long it lasts, and how severe it is.
Stress is also a very personal experience. The severity of experienced stress depends, among others, on
- Thedegree of threat that people perceive;
- The amount of control they feel they have over the situation;
- The personal resources of people: education, skills, philosophical approach to life, age, sex, fitness level, and self-esteem;
- Their access to resources that enable them to deal with the stressor;
- The quantity and quality of social support they receive. Social support can mean both practical assistance, information and guidance, and understanding and encouragement.
The next article will deal with common human reactions to stress experiences: fight or flight, or freeze reactions. It also will examine how single stressful life experiences and continuous life stress have a different impact on people.