Overcoming Personal Crises and the Role of Spirituality: Seclusion and Inclusion

During the course of life, individuals go through psychological and spiritual crises such as middle-age crisis, the crisis of confidence, the crisis of faith, and so on. As every individual is unique, their ways of coping with and overcoming crises differ significantly. One of the most influential scholars and philosophers of Islamic thought, Al-Ghazali, for instance, faced an intense spiritual crisis during the golden age of his career. He started doubting everything, including his faith. He judged everything and everyone around him, including himself. He even got to a point where he was not able to speak and function as a professor. After forsaking his eminence, wealth, and loved ones, he found peace in seclusion, invoking God and worship. Thus, he overcame the crisis and completed his journey of self-completion and pursuit of the truth. The mysticist Islamic approach to life embraces seclusion from society and contemplation. The Muslim theologian and thinker Ibn Hazm states that dedicating yourself to God is the only way to cope with personal crises and attain happiness. As he asserts, someone who works to gain wealth in this world gives emeralds in exchange for pebble stones; a wise man does not accept anything besides heaven for his deeds. In the mysticist approach, turning away from this transient and illusory world is necessary for salvation in the other world and happiness in this world. On the other hand, some people who suffer from personal crises, especially social anxiety or avoidance, find inclusion in society and exposure to social interactions helpful. By communicating, interacting with each other, helping, sharing and cooperating, they hope to overcome their personal crises. With the inclusion in the society, the individual may feel as a part of a strong community and it would help with his journey of overcoming crises.This study has examined the two prominent approaches to overcoming personal crises: the highly spiritual way of seclusion and inclusion in society. We intended to illustrate a vast array of paths of overcoming personal crises through the analysis of these approaches

THE EFFECTS OF BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS OF ATHLETES

Introduction and Aim: Psychological skills are one of the determining factors in an individual's sportive performance. The psychology of the athlete before, during and after the competition directly affects his or her performance in the competition. According to the theory of self- determination, satisfying the individual's basic psychological needs is necessary for individual growth, integration, development, mental health and wellbeing. It has become necessary to conduct a research on how effective the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in the development of psychological skills affecting the performance of the athlete during the competition can be achieved by going out of this theoretical way. In this context, it is aimed at investigating the effect of basic psychological needs on psychological skills of athletes.Method: A total of 150 athletes, 39 females and 111 males, participated in the research in various sports branches. “Assessment of Psychological Skills by Athletes Inventory” and “Basic Psychological Needs Inventory” have been conducted to athletes. Descriptive statistical analysis, t test, ANOVA and linear regression analysis have been used in the analysis of the data. Findings: As a result of the analyses, there is no significant difference on the gender basis according to the scores obtained from the “Assessment of Psychological Skills by Athletes Inventory”, while there is a significant difference in favor of the national athletes in terms of being national athletes (p=.004). Additionally, a linear regression analysis has been conducted to designate the extent to which the psychological needs of the athletes explain their psychological skills. According to the results, the basic psychological needs explains 22.1% of the total variance related to the psychological skills of the athletes (β=.479, t=6.629, p=.000). Result: Accordingly, it can be said that satisfying basic psychological needs will contribute to the development of basic psychological skills.  Article visualizations

The epidemiology, Clinical Manifestations, radiology, microbiology, treatment, and prognosis of echinococcosis: Results of NENEHATUN study

Aim: Echinococcosis, caused by Echinococcus species, is an important zoonotic disease causing major health problems in humans and animals. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the epidemiology, clinical and laboratory parameters, radiological, serological, pathological, and treatment protocols of followed-up cases of hydatidosis. Methods: A total of 550 patients diagnosed with hydatid cyst disease were included in this study. Patients who were positive for one or more of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or indirect hemagglutination test, pathological results, or radiological findings were examined. The data analyzed were collected from nine centers between 2008 and 2020. Records were examined retrospectively. Results: Among the patients, 292 (53.1%) were women and 258 (46.9%) were men. The patients' mean age was 44.4 +/- 17.4 years. A history of living in rural areas was recorded in 57.4% of the patients. A total of 435 (79.1%) patients were symptomatic. The most common symptoms were abdominal pain in 277 (50.4%), listlessness in 244 (44.4%), and cough in 140 (25.5%) patients. Hepatomegaly was found in 147 (26.7%), and decreased breath sounds were observed in 124 (22.5%) patients. Radiological examination was performed in all cases and serological methods were also applied to 428 (77.8%) patients. The most frequently applied serological test was IHA (37.8%). A single cyst has been found in 66% patients. Hepatic involvement occurred in 327 (59.4%), pulmonary involvement was found in 128 (23.3%), whereas both of them were recorded in 43 (7.8%) patients. Splenic involvement was only detected in nine (1.6%) patients. Echinococcus granulosus (72.5%) was most frequently detected. Cyst diameters of 56.9% of the patients were in the range of 5-10 cm. A total of 414 (75.2%) patients received albendazole as an antiparasitic. Mortality was noted in nine (1.6%) patients. Conclusion: Echinococcosis is an important public health problem in Turkey. It can affect the social, economic, and political structures of the community. Public education and awareness are extremely important