Psychological Aspects of Ionizing Radiation Exposure

Abstract

All life on our planet is surrounded by radiation. Human life takes place with a certain level of radiation. The term psychologically is used primarily to explain the emotional reactions of the public, on issues in relation to which one should have a rational relationship because every story about radiation causes fear and rejection in an "unprofessional" and "conscientious" citizen. Over the past seventy years, a general opinion has been created through the mass media about the deadly effects of radiation. Apart from the real fear, which arises from the feeling of ecological endangerment, and which is based on the objective dangers of modern technologies, irrational fear is inevitably born. It is a generalization of all human subjective sufferings within the framework of "overestimated" reality. The feeling of fear that we are exposed to radiation can have far greater consequences than the actual harmful effects of physical radiation. The aim of this paper is to identify the psychological effects that radiation can cause in humans and how to overcome fear and stressful situations caused by radiation and the effect of psychosocial factors on human behavior, but also elements for prognosis and prediction for their behavior in similar situations. There is a justified concern when the risk of radiation appears, but the reality is far from the amount of panic that is spreading in the public and the media when it comes to these phenomena. We can conclude that people are generally afraid of radiation because their beliefs are dominated by misconceptions, delusions, or opinions that are the product of errors of judgment or are based on false premises.