Psychologist Dr Kingsley Nyarko has rejected suggestions of pornography and masturbation as the two most effective ways of dealing with the mental strain associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
As people adhere to the self-isolation and social distancing directives advised by health experts, pornography and masturbation have emerged as two ways of dealing with the stress.
Popular adult filming site Pornhub has offered free premium service to viewers in lockdown countries to help them pass the time while in isolation.
The Sun, a newspaper in the United Kingdom where thousands have tested positive for the virus has in an article recommended masturbation as not just a means of helping cope with the coronavirus stress but also serve as a booster of the immune system.
It has been widely reported in the UK media that patronage of pornographic sites and masturbation have seen a dramatic surge since the outbreak of the virus in that part of the world.
Here in Ghana, authorities continue to deliberate on a nationwide lockdown with the President hinting of a possible one in the foreseeable future.
As people crawl into their shells and stay at home, the lure of pornography and masturbation has become apparent but Dr Kingsley Darko is averse to that idea.
He intimated in an interview with ghanaweb.com that there are far more effective ways of dealing with mental effects of the virus than resorting to porn and masturbation.
He mentioned prayer, exercising, engagement with love ones on social media as more useful means of dealing with it.
“There are other effective means of releasing stress. Having enough sleep, embarking on activities that you enjoy most, exercising and others things. When I’m stressed up, I pray a lot and that’s how I deal with stress. I haven’t read the report about the surge in the patronage of pornography sites and I also want people to be careful with what they read”.
Dr Nyarko also commended government for the measures instituted to control the spread of the virus.
“I want to applaud the government for the steps they have put in place to help curb this pandemic. The steps are commendable. For those who have been quarantined, imagine if they were not quarantined, the impact it would have had on the country. So we need to applaud government on that and I want us to be circumspect in how we deal with this pandemic”, he said.
The country recorded four more cases today to send its number of confirmed cases to 136.
The number of deaths remains three.
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