Homes are closed early, and Saudis rarely leave their homes these days except for necessity. The popular response to government calls for social distancing and “home isolation” in addition to “curfew” in Saudi cities took a noticeable change in the lifestyle of Saudi society, after it was Families allocate time in their daily agenda for shopping, hiking, meeting friends and family ties, which opened the door to question what are the psychological effects of "social distancing" on Saudis in the days of Corona.
Associate Professor and Consultant of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Supervisor of SABIC Chair for Research and Applications of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine at King Saud University, Dr. Ahmed Nayef Al-Hadi, said to "Okaz" that most of the psychological effects on domestic isolation are usually negative, such as feelings of anxiety, distress, or low mood Or boredom for not having the opportunity to go out of the house and perform his usual work, or for lack of social activities, advising new activities, so that he reduces those negatives such as practicing home sports.
Al-Hadi pointed out that some studies indicated that some people during isolation may have more psychological symptoms, not psychological disorders without reaching the degree of depression, and added: “Adults feel more anxious, while children feel more bored. Usually depression increases if the person is exposed to stress and does not stand up. With activities that give him a sense of accomplishment, home isolation has spatial distancing, and it usually has an effect on people with depression, I recommend visual or social contact with people you are comfortable with.
Ahmed advised to avoid the negative effects of home isolation by maintaining a regular daily schedule, a specific regime for daily meals, waking up early, replacing home clothes and exercising, and he added: “I advise a person to watch his thoughts, and pay attention to the thoughts that cause him stress and depression, and logical and realistic thinking is the best and not Exaggerated negative or positive thinking.
For his part, a consultant psychiatrist at the King Abdulaziz Medical City for the National Guard in Riyadh, Dr. Walid Al-Suhaibani, indicated to "Okaz" that many studies have found that the psychological impact may occur in some people, such as anxiety, tension and sleep problems, and the reasons for this are not one true cause, but a break Daily routine, especially for people accustomed to going out, noting that they are most vulnerable to negative effects at the present time.
Al-Suhaibani pointed to reasons related to home isolation, which may have an indirect relationship in increasing the chances of suffering psychological effects, such as fear of infection with disease, or moving away from comfortable surroundings such as (friends and relatives). This may in itself be a cause of trouble for them, and added: Compulsory quarantine for those who fall under suspicion, the first reason may be fear of losing family or loved ones or losing income and employment, a reason for increasing the frequency of anxiety and fear they have, and for this reason, coordination with the employers of the person suspected of being injured or actually injured must be made to reduce anxiety.
Dr. Walid pointed out that the presence of previous psychological diseases in a person, such as depression or chronic anxiety for these people, may increase the symptoms of those with them unless they are on prior treatment medications, and this is an important point and should be paid attention to, especially if the person is under drug treatment, and it should not be neglected at all and perseverance. To give him medication. Al-Suhaibani pointed out the need to specify the period of quarantine for people with previous mental illnesses, provided that it is not a long period of time after considering the person’s health condition, and added: “It is necessary to discuss with the patient and give him all the details, and provide him with all the medical information due to which he was isolated, being a human being. The more familiar with the details, the better for the psychological aspect, while providing communication and communication with the outside environment in a good way.
