Taiwanese stressed out by the aftermath of the presidential election are becoming the subject of academic study, with professors and analysts using psychological and evolutionary theory to explain "post-election stress syndrome."
The number of patients being examined for depression and anxiety in the nation's hospitals in March and last month was about 10 percent higher than for the same period last year, Lii Shuenn-ji (
Many people, he said, were attributing the increase to a general malaise nicknamed "post-election stress syndrome" by the press.
The syndrome refers to physical disorders, anxiety and depression caused by worry and stress in those concerned about the post-election crisis.
Andrew Cheng (鄭泰安), a research member from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, said that the syndrome should be seen as an adjustment disorder, a medical term for mental distress caused by a disruption in one's view of reality.
"The murky election results were a blow to many people's `cherished ideas,' or concept of the way things should be. Depending on one's personality, one might have an extreme reaction to such a blow and experience a loss in their sense of security or feel like they've lost their life purpose," Cheng said.
Cheng said that people who may have trouble adjusting were those who felt the election results would have a major impact on their future. Such people, he said, were likely to identify themselves as being either a staunch pro-blue or pro-green supporter.
The multiple manifestations of the disorder, he said, could be seen as socially shared pathology, a psychological concept which proposes that negative emotions can be socially contagious.
"Media reporting exacerbates socially shared psychopathology," said Wu Yin-chang (
He and Andrew Cheng (鄭泰安), a research member from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, called on the media to focus on fair and objective reporting to help calm the masses.
Cheng said that the syndrome was the result of an emphasis on the wrong things.
"People with the disorder attach too much importance to the election, as opposed to more mundane issues that truly impact on their lives, like whether or not you are working hard or making money," he said.
It was the Department of Health that requested that the foundation host the forum.
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