Running head: REFLECTION 1

REFLECTION 4

Reflection

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Personal reflection paper

There are various health/mental behavior that has affected people either directly or indirectly. However, the covid-19 pandemic is the most common health problem that has disrupted people’s lives. The first outbreak of this pandemic was reported in 2019. Since then, many people have died from the disease while others have lost their precious jobs as organizations are looking to implement safety measures to curb the spread of the covid-19 virus. 

However, among all the measures recommended to deal with the spread of covid-19, wearing masks has raised mixed reactions from the public. While the majority of the people chose to put on masks as a form of protection, others are not convinced about the effectiveness of wearing masks in protecting themselves against the virus. Various reasons have made some people in society reject the use of masks in fighting covid-19. First, some people believe that masks have not been effective in dealing with the spread of this pandemic. Despite wearing masks since the onset of the pandemic, covid-19 has been spreading across the globe. Therefore, some people believe that vaccines offer more protection than masks. Due to this reason, some people have been avoiding masks at all.

On the other hand, religious beliefs have also been a contributing factor to this trend. Christians in some countries have an undying belief in divine protection. Thus, the majority of them have been avoiding the use of masks on the basis that GOD is in control and would protect them from this deadly virus. However, such beliefs have been endangering the lives of such believers given the nature of the disease. Covid-19 is highly contagious and most people have died as a result of this ignorance. Furthermore, psychological reactance (PR) is another factor that has made people avoid using masks. Most people usually want freedom and to live their lives as they wish. To some people, masks have been limiting people from talking freely and also interacting with their colleagues. The youths in particular have a PR attitude on wearing masks as they wish to freely interact with their peers without masks.

I believe that people still have the chance to change their health and mental behavior. However, to achieve this goal, both the internal and external environments of the people must be changed. To change the internal behavior of people, motivation and capability can help to influence the behavior change. The majority of the people usually lose morale when they get sick or when a pandemic strikes. The effects of sickness or pandemics usually result in depression, stress, and anxiety. Thereafter, people develop a negative attitude towards medication and hence, stop following the medical advice or guidelines. Therefore, people need to be motivated and given the assurance that their conditions are only for the short term. Health care providers need to motivate their patients to follow all the medical procedures and prescriptions in the hope that they will get better results. Motivation and capability help to alter how people think and perceive medical guidelines and can play a key role in convincing people to wear the covid-19 masks.

On the other hand, the external environment of people also needs to be changed to alter the attitudes and perceptions of people towards diseases and medical guidelines. This can make people change their behavior. Health care providers and governments need to create an opportunity where people can learn and get knowledge on the dangers of diseases and the importance of following the medical guidelines. For example in the covid-19 pandemic, the majority of people are yet to have full information regarding covid-19, how it spreads, and the importance of using the masks. Therefore, most people who have developed a negative attitude towards the masks only act out of ignorance. However, their behavior can be changed if health care facilities and the government at large setup training and education camps in communities. People need to be educated about covid-19 and the importance of following all the medical guidelines. This will create an opportunity where people will learn and change their behaviors.