Dear colleague, we are indeed living in different and special times. Never has any of us experienced these new circumstances when our lifestyles are changed, both privately and at work. Nothing is anymore the same.
These new challenges affect us differently. To some, it just means a new way of dealing with everyday life. To others, life becomes more or less a nightmare. Many people suffer from loss of jobs, and others suffer from the new, imposed isolation and loneliness. Some even develop psychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety, insomnia and depression. Unfortunately, many patients will these days wait long before seeking help, resulting in more severe symptoms upon arrival to health care units. We do not yet know how this will change the incidence of suicide in the population.
In other words, life is changed and the future is less predictable than normal. This means a stress to many of us. The ability to deal with stress differs a lot between many of us. This is how resilience is defined. Some will deal with new demanding situations well. To others, it will be detrimental.
As the new negative situation emerges, some will over time lose the feeling of hope, experiencing more and more of despair. This is a mechanism that no doubt contributes to psychiatric illness – and to suicide.
In this issue of The Nordic Psychiatrist, we have chosen to focus on these interesting fields: Hope and Resilience. Fortunately, there are so many colleagues of ours who have much interesting to say about this. Therefore, I can promise you a quite interesting reading. As always, you will also find many other well written articles and comments.
It is, as always, a joy and an honor for me to be part of creating this journal for all our colleagues in the Nordic Region.
Take care of yourself – and your beloved ones! □