I tend to be a person who minimizes potential hazards and dire predictions.  There is enough drama going on inside my head that I don’t need to take on any more, thank you.  So as news was emerging about a new virus in China, I felt badly for them, but dismissed its meaning for me.  And then as illness began to spread, and my own Health Center where I work began to set up a triage desk out front and protocols for potential patients, I thought it was rather impressive that we were being so careful and overprepared.  But in the last days, as my daughters are both heading home from college because dorms are being cleared out and classes are being held remotely, travel is being restricted, large gatherings are being canceled, and my go to life distraction, the NBA is on lock down, I am beginning to wonder how worried I should be.  

And then, last night, when my own Health Center is choosing for my department to do phone visits only, I did feel a bit of panic arise, not necessarily about the virus, but about my own reaction.  Was I not worried enough, was I getting too worried, are people overreacting, not reacting enough? My worry about my own level of worry became the worry. And, to be honest, today I feel a little relieved to find I’m not alone.  The phone lines are jammed at my work with people calling about their fears. Overall the theme described by our Call Center workers is people looking for guidance about how worried they should be. Distress around the fear of Covid-19 virus has gotten so high, that the World Health Organization issued guidelines recently for protecting mental health during the outbreak: “Avoid watching, reading or listening to news that cause you to feel anxious or distressed; seek information mainly to take practical steps to prepare your plans and protect yourself and loved ones. Seek information updates at specific times during the day once or twice. The sudden and near-constant stream of news reports about an outbreak can cause anyone to feel worried. Get the facts. Gather information at regular intervals, from WHO website and local health authorities platforms, in order to help you distinguish facts from rumors.”

As a mental health practitioner, I can see that there are a number of elements of this viral situation that create a perfect storm of factors that lead to anxiety.  First is the uncertainty. Anxiety researchers at George Washington University note, “What we know from psychological science is that uncertainty drives anxiety.” This disease cycle is filled with uncertainty – who is at risk, what measures should be taken, how will my life be impacted, and what plans need to be made or changed.  Another factor is the unfamiliarity. The flu has high fatality rates, but we are familiar with it, which somehow makes us feel a better sense of control. Unfamiliarity coupled with uncertainty is bad enough, but add to it the failed leadership that has been demonstrated. Contradicting messages, misinformation, and inconsistencies in policies has led many to doubt what reassurances are being given by people who should be in the know.  When reassurance rings hollow, anxiety will spike. Missteps by supposed experts create a sense of doubt about the ability of those in charge of controlling the outbreak. And then there is the confusing dialectic of community risk versus personal risk. It is hard for any one of us to hold seemingly conflicting concepts in their mind, the very real risk to a country and the economy compared with the much smaller risk to any one individual.  Mary Alvord, a researcher at George Washington University writes,”We tend to extrapolate the general to ourselves.”

These intersecting factors lead us to an overall sense of powerlessness and vulnerability around the Covid-19 threat.  So, to feel more in control, we go out and buy a year’s supply of toilet paper and kidney beans. (By the way, according to one news report, broccoli is in plenty supply). It makes us feel we’re doing something to protect ourselves.  And that is not a bad thing. Whatever we can do to minimize our sense of the unknown is generally positive, as long as it is based in some reasonableness. We should strive for balance in times like these, and kindness to ourselves and one another.  Keep your routines as much as possible, find sources of information and people who can help you check your facts and try to avoid people or sources who are in a frenzy. Because just like an unseen illness, reactions are contagious.