During this corona crisis, the government misses the boat enormously in communicating with young people. That is the firm opinion of clinical neuropsychologist Erik Matser from Helmond. To curb problems such as the fireworks terror in Roosendaal, the youth should no longer be addressed by Rutte or De Jonge. ‘That will have to be a very well-known sportsman or DJ who tells the youth that the end of the tunnel is in sight.’
“We know from the knowledge that stress has different reactions. In this case, for a certain group of people, it is a build-up of stress in response to the pandemic. You are currently being taken away from you and that creates a stress level that you do not notice in yourself, but that is increasing enormously. And then only something needs to be done, for example now the ban on fireworks, which causes things to collapse and which people show aggression in one go. ”
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According to Matser, this has to do with, as he calls it, the basic feeling of security. “A certain group of young people experience less safety because they cannot do what they want to do because of the corona measures. What we now see in society is that a large group of young people are sorely lacking that sense of basic safety and can therefore show very unpredictable behavior. ”
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Matser believes that the composition of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) must be changed quickly. “It should not only include virologists, but also people who know how to channel these kinds of stress responses and how to communicate with young people.”
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Because, the neuropsychologist continues, the virus itself is not the whole picture. “We also have a psychological problem and that is not an issue among the over-40s, but among the young adults. And we miss the boat enormously in how we communicate with this and prevent explosions of aggression from taking place there. ”
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“I think we can really solve the problem for old and new, but then as a government, put someone else than Mr Rutte or De Jonge. That will have to be a well-known athlete or DJ who tells the youth that the end of the tunnel is in sight. ”
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“For young people it will not be too long a story that you must be able to prove that you have been vaccinated. That vaccination gives you freedom and that is exactly the solution ”, Matser emphasizes. “Then you immediately get rid of all the mess and aggression.”
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