Pandemics not only threaten the physical health of individuals, but can also have both acute and long-term effects on mental health. In terms of public health, physically separating people is an effective strategy to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Although social isolation is necessary to maintain physical health, such interventions can be socially, psychologically, and economically devastating. Our study was conducted prospectively with 136 patients admitted to the psychiatry outpatient clinic for the first time or had never applied for the last year. The patients were examined and diagnosed by the psychiatrist at the polyclinic, and the sociodemographic data form and SCL 90 R forms were applied. There was a statistically significant difference in terms of the patients current diagnosis according to the reason of presentation (p= 0.010). The percentage of anxiety symptoms was also higher in patients who applied for covid -19. In addition, in terms of sociodemographic data, no significant difference was found between those who applied for covid 19 or did not apply for this reason. Our study investigated the psychological and sociodemographic effects of the first peak, which was the initial stage of the epidemic situation developing with the infectious disease. It was observed that people developed anxiety at first in epidemic. Observing the effects of other stages of epidemic situations on mental health is important in terms of determining the measures to be taken and the interventions to be made.
Key words: Pandemics, first peak, mental health, Covid-19
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