Are you dealing with anxiety caused by the outbreak? The apprehension is a very common response to social events that involve fatal risks. So, you are not alone out there who is suffering from the psychological effects of coronavirus. Fear about the coronavirus has gripped the world.
The news and the way of transmitting the news on media may raise the uneasiness of the audience. However, in order to turn back to “normal life” these aroused concerns required to be self-controlled instead of the control of the anxiety over selves.
Fear vs. Anxiety
It is understood that the fear rise easier especially on people who have a tendency to anxiety disorder.
Ordinary people who haven’t any diagnosed mental illness and the people who tend to anxiety disorder are bombarded with the same news in the media, which causes different reactions. In that case, “to be afraid” counted as a healthy response while “rise of unstoppable anxiety” requires more attention.
The counting of “fear” as health is related to the belief of human nature’s elemental alarm against the outer world risk is through the feeling of fear. Fear leads human beings to seek protection for themselves. In Coronavirus case, the self-isolation or quarantine act for their own and others’ sake is counted as a normal reaction to this particular incident.
Anxiety causes…
However, “being filled with anxiety” requires more attention for many reasons:
- Anxiety repress the immune system
- Acts through anxiety don’t necessarily help to protect
- Mind full of anxiety may lead to simply miss the fact but focus on a detail
Anxiety: A to Z
Therefore, one should be aware of the most common symptoms of anxiety;
- uncontrollable worry
- fear
- muscle tension
- a fast heartbeat
- difficulty sleeping or insomnia
- difficulty concentrating
- physical discomfort
- tingling
- restlessness
- feeling on edge
- irritability
in order to find out if the anxiety runs the self.
Ease the anxiety by doing these
If so, there are some ways to ease the coronavirus tension;
- being aware of the anxiety
- meditation
- search on the topic
- limiting the news sources/ obtaining news only from reliable sources
- time limiting to the focus on a particular subject
- satisfying the sense of belonging
- engage in healthy distractions
- be constructive
- follow guidelines
- try to put into perspective
- show empathy instead of sympathy
- acceptance of doing one’s bit and that’s all
- be mindful
Keep calm, it will eventually pass. Keep staying indoors, it will eventually pass.
Don’t hesitate to share your experiences with the comments.
Here is the podcast about the interrelation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and outbreak anxiety, Mert was diagnosed with OCD and explains how he handles the outbreak:
Here is another podcast of Baruch Fischhoff, Ph.D., who is Howard Heinz university professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy and the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University, on coronavirus anxiety:
https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/coronavirus-anxiety
A short video to answer the question of “how to manage the anxiety of Coronavirus?”:
