Coronavirus: Psychological Reactions And What To Do

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

I'm going to talk about what I know professionally, because I am a psychologist and psychotherapist. About how people react when they find themselves in reality, where the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic, where everything is filled with talk and more or less reliable news about the coronavirus and there is a lot of fear, mistrust and uncertainty. About the possible consequences of these, not always optimal reactions. And how to protect yourself and loved ones from these consequences.

I will not talk about methods of protection, sufficient or excessive measures, or how I see the real state of affairs. Simply because I am not a healthcare worker, not a virologist, not an infectious disease specialist, and so on. This means that my opinion on these occasions is just the opinion of one person, no more expert than the opinion of other people, not professionals in this field, like me.

WHO recommendations will inform me about this better.

And now - to what I'm going to talk about. The first thing that happens to a person who hears about COVID-19, a pandemic, deaths is shock. And the reactions that come are shock reactions.

Negation

When you hear opinions that there is no coronavirus, that this is an economic and political game, or that it is all there, but not serious, because the mortality rate is low or something similar, and you want to believe it, this is a normal reaction to shock. … It is called negation. And those who express these opinions and those who, naturally, want to believe

I do not want to enter into controversy about whether there is a pandemic and how dangerous it is. It would be pointless, because, as I said above, I am not an expert in this. But, as an expert in my field, I suggest thinking about this:

There are two opinions. You like one thing and not the other. By turning to your own feelings, you will easily find that messages about the absence of danger evoke joy and hope, and about its presence - fear. Therefore, it is clear that you want to be the first to believe more.

But are their sources recognized as experts in the field they are talking about? Professionals? Do they want to believe because they are really trustworthy or because it is nicer? What, then, would you choose to trust?

Consider also one more thing. If everything is not true, there is no coronavirus, and you limit yourself for a few weeks in something, you will feel stupid and annoyed. You may suffer some losses. And you will experience some discomfort. Perhaps even quite significant. It will take a few weeks and everything will return to normal.

If there is a coronavirus, the danger is real, and you drive through a crowded transport, go to the gym, do not pay attention to a slight cough (spring, season, five times every year, caught a cold) - you may become seriously ill. And infect a few more people. Perhaps one of you will die.

Perhaps, if many of us react in this way, we will not get a moderate increase in the incidence, but an explosive outbreak, and our health care system is far from rubber. Some people lack a ventilator or the attention of doctors. Perhaps - to you.

I will not undertake to judge for everyone which of the options is more realistic. Only for yourself and in your actions. Think about which of the risks are you ready to take?

Dealing with denial is really tricky. But I strongly suggest that you believe not in what you want, but in someone who is an expert.

Aggression

This is what we see when neighbors insist on hospitalizing healthy relatives of those who are sick with something. We see in jokes on the Internet on the topic of beating at the wrong time and not so sneezing. In the construction and discussion of various "conspiracy theories" and the search for those to blame on a local and global scale. And in other, many well-known or personally observed reactions. It is very possible - and in your reactions. We are all humans

In fact, aggression is also a stage in shock trauma. This is fine. But, if we succumb to it and flood the space with aggression, then the one who coughs will, in the end, simply be afraid to ask for help. Hide symptoms. Refuse self-isolation because employees or acquaintances will notice and understand that he suggests he has a coronavirus. And they will change their attitude towards him or show aggression.

Perhaps you will find yourself in this position. Or me. Or your friend. Any of us.

This will also push us into an exponential (i.e., explosive) outbreak of disease. Because a few extra hours spent on doubts and fighting the fear of the reactions of others will infect others. And to the fact that sick with anything (even banal ARVI) will be very difficult psychologically.

These days, it is being decided how we will enter a pandemic (and I, as you already understood, believe that it exists and will affect our country as well) - with fear and aggression or with mutual support and confidence that all possible help is number - the understanding of employers, employees, neighbors, friends - will be gained. What moods will prevail - those will be exacerbated.

Personally, you can - not support the aggression

People who get sick are not to blame for anything. Don't unload your fear and rage on them. They were just next to those who, in turn, might not even suspect that they had become infected, but were already in the incubation period. Any of us may find ourselves in the same position, although it is unpleasant for many to think about it. How to protect yourself from getting infected - read everything in the same WHO recommendations. Harassment of sneezing does not help.

Even if you do not get sick and none of your loved ones get sick, it depends on you what the atmosphere will be in your city and country. Your contribution is also a significant contribution, even if you do not have a high tribune and many thousands of followers on social networks.

Fear and aggression or mutual support and faith in help in case of illness? Support with your reactions and behavior what you want to meet in the coming weeks

Panic

We hear the news, and the news is frightening. Anxiety arises and this anxiety requires at least something to be done

At the same time, the coronavirus COVID-19 is something new. The world has not yet encountered this. And most of those now living did not face any pandemics either. Therefore, what exactly needs to be done is not always exactly known. This combination - "something needs to be done, but it is not known what exactly" is quite capable of causing panic. Humanly very understandable

Memory gets from the history of various disasters, from the great-grandmother's stories, from the once-heard family stories from the edge of the ear, at least something. And, since anxiety requires action, this "at least something" is perceived on the wave of panic as something logical.

Example: buying toilet paper, salt, buckwheat - these are from other stories, this is the Holodomor, wars, deficits since the collapse of the USSR. But for some reason this is being done now, when the essence of the situation is completely different. Because you want to do at least something. This is one type of panic reaction - to do something.

Simple and understandable recommendations like “wash your hands often” may seem like something insufficient, because they are too mundane. Therefore, they are often depreciated and not implemented. This is what works, though.

Another type of panic reaction is stupor - doing nothing. When a person does not deny the danger, but also does not defend himself. He simply writes to the FB - "everything is bad, we will die" - and goes the usual route to the crowded transport. From stupor and disbelief in their ability to do something.

The panic is heightened by spreading "conspiracy theories." They urge not to believe this and that or that, because "they are to blame for everything or hide information, it is beneficial for them." Thus, due to distrust, people lose what they really need - sources of information or recommendations.

Once again, I am not a political scientist, not an economist, so I cannot argue expertly who is to blame for what and why this is all happening. But as a psychologist and psychotherapist, I can definitely recommend the following:

Improve your question literacy. Read the WHO guidelines. Follow them. This will give the feeling that you are doing something and that something can help. I think this feeling is quite consistent with reality.

Stay tuned for news from trusted, expert sources.

Do not follow the hype stuffing - this will increase your panic.

No need to spend all day on the Internet looking for news, including - of dubious reliability. This in itself will worsen your psychological state.

Don't give up on information altogether - this will also increase anxiety. Pick a few trustworthy sources and keep an eye on them.

Check the recommendations with your own brain for safety, harmlessness, consistency

Example: if someone urges you to go out to the square and protest against quarantine, as it was in Italy, it may seem tempting, because it gives out aggression, but as a result, you will unnecessarily end up in a crowded place where you can get infected.

If someone recommends that you wash your hands more often than usual, it is harmless, economically and physically achievable, and you can logically understand why it might work.

About unpopular

The world has changed and it will take some time before everything begins to return to normal. Two things are important:

The first one is over … How the outbreak in China has already ended. Humanity has experienced this more than once - and left the past behind.

Second, on our piece of the ball, everything is just beginning. And for a few months we need to change our usual life, behavior, a lot. It is unpleasant to decide to temporarily abandon the gym, work with your therapist on Skype, and not in person, not visit the usual cafes, cancel the planned trip. Resistance is the name of what we experience when we think that not someone somewhere far away, but personally I need to subject myself to an uncomfortable change of habits and plans.

To accept this and decide on new actions or abandoning old ones means finally admitting that all this is really happening, moreover, directly with us and concerns us personally. Or at least has enough chance to beware.

But the sooner we accept that this is so, the easier we will survive the outbreak in our territory, the sooner everything will end, the less consequences it will have for each of us. It is reasonable.

I don't like being the one who caught the pandemic. I also don't like the fact that I have to stop visiting cafes and lose one of the clients because he does not work online, or temporarily stop working with them. I do not like much about what is already happening with my life personally, although so far none of my loved ones are sick, like myself.

But this is happening, and I can either turn a blind eye to it, aggressively, panic, or collect information from reliable sources and do what can really work. Even if I don't like doing it.

And you can. You also have a choice.