Gelisim News

“WE ARE AFRAID, WE EXCLUDE, JUDGE AND SOMETIMES WE ARE ANGRY” 

Psychiatrist Dr. Onur Okan Demirci from Istanbul Gelisim University, who stated that the stigma occurred against people who were diagnosed with Covid-19 during the epidemic process, said: “We are perceived that people who receive this diagnosis pose a constant threat to us. Because of this perception, we are afraid, we exclude and judge them, sometimes we are angry, we can even behave in a way that can be violent. The two most important emotions that disrupt one's logical thinking are fear and anxiety. If we cannot manage these emotions well and get caught up in the stigma of stigmatization, we will start losing our human emotions, conscience and morals as a society."

“DAMAGING THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE” 

Demirci, who said that the situation experienced in stigmatizing behavior caused by the idea that it would harm our identities, personalities, loved ones and our lives, added: “This thought causes us feelings of anxiety, fear and anger. In social events such as epidemic, it causes social reactions and damages our social structure.”

“THEY ARE AFRAID OF BEING EXCLUDED” 

Demirci pointing out that people who are stigmatized and people who are observing stigma may start breaking with society, added: “With the fear of exclusion, they can close themselves, hide, or even lose faith in life and humanity. Today, many people tend to hide it, despite being diagnosed with Covid-19. Because if this situation is known, they fear that they will be excluded, people will stay away from them, they will be judged and criticized.”

 “IT WILL SPREAD THE RISK OF TRANSMISSION” 

Indicating that people who are afraid of stigma can hide their positive diagnoses, Demirci said, “In this way, people who stigmatize may also increase the risk of transmission in an unnoticed way. With the steady spread of stigmatization anxiety socially, people will be afraid of even testing, and many unknown Covid-19 positive cases will continue their lives without taking precautions, disregarding both their own health and the health of others. The only reason for this will be the people who stigmatize these people.”

“THEY MAY FEEL EXCLUDED AND DESPERATE”

Emphasizing that stigmatization psychology will not only cause hiding, Demirci continued as follows: “It will somehow cause anger towards the public in some way. Because of this anger, some people may engage in the behavior of smearing knowingly and willingly even with the desire of revenge against the society, which does this to them, which disregards their emotions and identity. When social solidarity and understanding, which is the most important stage in the fight against epidemic processes, are lost against Covid-19 positive people, they may feel helpless as if they were abandoned, left alone, excluded and sentenced to death. What causes all this is not the stigmatized person but the society that stigmatized them.”
 
“WE SHOULD CREATE SOCIAL UNION” 

Demirci pointed out that stigmating behavior can become a very dangerous situation, and concluded his words: “Stigma can be experienced not only in epidemic processes, but for all situations that contradict the perception of society. If we want to effectively combat the epidemic, we must abandon our stigmatizing behavior, be cognitive, empathetic and form a social unity against people with Covid-19 positive diagnoses.”