25.10.2025 11:00
Barış Özbay, who had not left his home for nearly 3 years and had only played on his phone and computer, was diagnosed with anxiety and depression after a medical examination following his first shave and outing in 3 years.
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50-year-old mother Semra Özbay and her 23-year-old son Barış Özbay, who lost their home in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, are holding on to life together in the Defne district after the earthquake they experienced. The family, who lost both their home and loved ones in the earthquake, has been struggling through a difficult process for three years.
THE STATE HAS INTERVENED FOR BARIS Barış Özbay, who lost his desire to live after the earthquake and started playing constantly on the computer and mobile phone, became addicted to the virtual world and drew the attention of Turkey with his life story. The young man, who was meeting his basic needs to survive, was neither taking a shower nor fulfilling personal needs such as cutting his nails. With the initiatives of state institutions, the first step was taken for Barış to start his new life. After about 3 years, Barış, who started taking showers, getting haircuts, and going out of his house to different places, made his mother Semra Özbay smile again for her child. Teams from Antakya Municipality thoroughly cleaned the house where Barış and his mother lived, taking the first step towards a new life after three years. After the cleaning, health teams from the Home Health Services of the Antakya District Health Directorate examined the phone-addicted young man, who had not left the house, by taking blood samples. Antakya District Health Director Dr. Ferdi Coşgun stated that vitamin deficiency was detected in Barış's blood tests and that a clinical diagnosis of anxiety and depression was made for Barış, and treatment was started, believing that the underlying cause was triggered by social media and digital addiction.
HE HAS A FEW VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES Coşgun stated that Barış had vitamin deficiencies due to nutrition based on the blood tests conducted. "After we received information about our brother Barış Özbay through social media channels, we carried out the necessary work. The health teams from the Family and Social Services Directorate and the Antakya District Health Directorate immediately reached out to Barış's family. We first took care of Barış, ensured his cleanliness, and health examinations were carried out by our home health team. Blood samples were taken. These blood tests were evaluated, and thankfully, we saw that there were no health problems. There were a few vitamin deficiencies, which we believe were due to irregular nutrition. Necessary work was done regarding them, and vitamin support was provided with prescriptions," he said.
"ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION DIAGNOSIS WAS MADE, TREATMENT HAS STARTED" Antakya District Health Director Coşgun stated that a clinical diagnosis of anxiety and depression was made during Barış's psychological examination, saying, "We are continuing our efforts to provide psychosocial support for our brother Barış to be healthier in his life from now on. During this process, evaluations were made by our specialist psychiatrist, and necessary treatments were provided. Psychotherapies will also be conducted by our psychologists to help Barış adapt and organize his life in the future. Currently, he has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression clinically. Treatment has started for these, but we believe that the underlying cause is triggered by a situation of social media and digital addiction. We recommend that they do not disconnect from social life, establish dialogues with real people, engage with books, and spend time with their friends to stay connected to real life. I don't think this situation will be a very arduous process, but we have some critical points. We will try to reintegrate them into social life with their families by staying in contact with specialist doctors and psychologists, hopefully overcoming these critical points," he expressed.
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