Meaning in life as an armor to prevent psychological damage in future crises

Many infectious diseases have become widespread throughout the history. Cholera, Ebola, Spanish flu, MERS, and now COVID-19 are just a few of the many epidemics that have occurred over the centuries. Crises such as epidemics and pandemics can have long-term negative effects on mental health of people due to the special conditions they create (Chigwedere et al., 2021; Esterwood and Saeed, 2020). Coronavirus pandemic is not the first outbreak of an infectious disease in the world, and probably it will not be the last. Therefore, measures should be taken to avoid vulnerability to such future crises.

The duty of governments during epidemics is to monitor people's mental health status and treat their psychological disorders. However, these are not their only duties. The government should plan to minimize people's psychological vulnerability to future crises. The agenda of governments and NGOs should be based on two basic principles, namely increasing psychological capacity and planning for treatment. Strengthening people's psychological capacity to cope with crises will minimize their vulnerability. Treatment should be started when the pressure exerted by the crisis is greater than the capacity of people and they could not cope with these crises and suffer from mental disorders.

One of the best ways to reinforce people's capacity to deal with crises is to help them find meaning in their lives. Let us not forget how Victor Frankl survived the Nazi concentration camps. Meaning and purpose in his life helped him endure the most difficult situations and survive (Frankl, 1988). If human beings find such a meaning, they can tolerate suffering and sorrow to subsist the harsh and extremely difficult conditions of life. Increasing the capability to bear and cope with problems by finding meaning in life can largely prevent mental disorders caused by disasters. Researches have shown a positive and causal relationship between the meaning in life and the state of mental health (Shahhosseini et al., 2021, Yu et al., 2020b).

As a result, meaning in life may be a highway to overcoming mental health crisis in difficult situations like pandemics, wars or even individual mental crises, which could play a vital role in this regard. By further investing in schools to address the meaning in life, governments may be able to increase people's long-term psychological capacity to cope with problems and thereby reduce mental disorders. This can be especially useful for countries like Iran that are constantly experiencing a variety of catastrophes.

People in Iran are facing other problems apart from pandemics causing a global calamity. Due to the radical and dictatorial policies of the Iranian government, living conditions have become difficult for people. Sanctions, mismanagement and widespread corruption have led to an unprecedented increase in inflation rates and the spread of poverty. Also, unemployment, social inequality, shortage of medicine and medical equipment, hypocrisy of managers, imprisoning critics and protestors, and so forth cause new social crises on a daily basis.

In this situation, if the people of Iran think that bearing these pains and sufferings is not worth it and that the only result is deprivation of pleasure, they will experience an existential vacuum. In fact, existential vacuum is created in a person that lacks meaning. It is felt as a sense of complete emptiness and the absence of a purpose to continue living. In this condition, people may do anything to relieve this uncomfortable situation; for example, they may turn to alcohol and drugs, or even commit suicide (Edwards and Holden, 2001). One of the reasons for the increase in the rate of suicides and mental disorders in recent years in Iran can be this existential vacuum (Mahmoodi, 2022; Taheri Mirghaed et al., 2020). Because living in Iran becomes progressively more difficult, if this issue is not addressed as a matter of urgency, the slope of mental disorder and suicide rate is likely to become even steeper.

To solve the crisis of existential vacuum in Iran and other countries, we must turn to humanistic psychology (especially logotherapy) so that people feel valuable and find a meaning in life that gives value to their lives. In fact, the meaning in life is a vital psychological element for resilience against injuries and coping with disasters, which gives people a sense that their lives matter even in difficult times (Mahdavinoor et al., 2022). Interventions related to mindfulness and logotherapy that can have a positive effect on the meaning and quality of life should be considered in this respect (Kang et al., 2009, Yu et al., 2020a).

It seems that a long-term plan should be developed to deal with the meaninglessness and nihilism. Here are some suggestions for long-term coping with meaninglessness:

• 1.Few people refer to psychologists in Iran due to the heavy costs of psychological treatment. If insurances cover the costs of psychological services, especially humanistic psychology, more people will turn to psychologists to improve their psychological problems.
• 2.In Iran, due to the stigma towards those who refer to psychologists and psychiatrists, usually fewer people seek treatment for their problems. People who pursue treatment sometimes have a problem with the disgrace associated with it. In this regard, the media should try to encourage the culture of referring to psychologists and psychiatrists as if they visit other doctors. Producing films and serials in this field, writing short stories and novels, and broadcasting advertisements in cyberspace can help destigmatize it. Even school textbooks can deal with this issue. In this way, seeking psychological help can be destigmatized from childhood. In fact, the education the children receive should have a greater effect on children than their environment. Recruiting a psychologist in each school may also be helpful.
• 3.During childhood, children's minds are greatly influenced by the environment. From the very school days, we should make children understand that their existence is highly valuable and that their presence in this world has a great reason that they should look for and find. Inviting logotherapists to schools and holding continuous meetings with students can be helpful in this respect.

There is a need for extensive planning to prevent psychological damage in future crises. A culture should be developed in this regard, especially to destigmatize visiting a psychologist. Teaching children over the years can bring about this change in the next generation. These are just initial ideas. It is necessary to expand and complete this matter with the help of specialists.

Financial Disclosure

None.

Conflict of Interest

The authors are members of a family.