How to control the psychosis caused by the coronavirus
Have you ever had the flu? Surely yes and surely you have survived it, since you are here reading this article. In recent weeks, a virus has taken center stage and even the reins of international agendas. And, of course, in this situation, the fear of contagion spreads faster than the virus itself. The coronavirus has caused such a great social alarm that it can already be considered a full- blown phobia: coronaphobia . But is the coronavirus so dangerous ?
The phobia of the coronavirus
It all started in the Chinese city of Wuhan. From there we received the first news of a new type of virus that was spreading among the population and there were even some deaths. And from there more than just the virus spread rapidly. The fact is that COVID19 has the same symptoms as a common flu and, in addition, it is cured as easily as it. The fact that they highlight the number of deaths only increases the psychosis and the alarmism .
Experts tell us that more people die from the common flu than from the coronavirus, that it is an infection that in most cases is mild and that also does not easily spread to children. Our little ones are safe, people with an immunosuppressive disease or the elderly are not so safe. It is in these risk groups where these mortality figures from the coronavirus occur.
Despite this, the coronavirus phobia has skyrocketed. Health authorities speak more of a pandemic than a coronavirus epidemic, but what has also occurred is a phobia pandemic .
The alarm generated by the coronavirus
And while the high authorities invite calm, they continue to activate protocols and ensure that they are prepared in the event of an epidemic. In other countries they put cities in isolation, in Spain more than one event has already been canceled and everyone is preparing to cancel football matches or concerts. It seems that even the Tokyo 2020 Olympics hang by a thread, the thread of coronavirus scaremongering .
We cannot avoid scaremongering because the messages are contradictory. On the one hand, they assure us that the coronavirus is like a flu and that it is even less lethal than the flu . But on the other hand, they prepare for the worst. What do we keep? An event is not canceled due to the danger of catching the flu, an entire city is not isolated due to a flu epidemic.”
How to overcome the fear of contagion of the coronavirus
In these circumstances, coronaphobia or fear of the coronavirus is fully justified. And yet, it is convenient for us to overcome the fear of contagion so that this fear does not interfere with our daily lives. But how do you end that fear?
Nobody wants to get coronavirus, just like nobody wants to get the flu. It seems that there is an obsession to avoid contagion in which masks have been placed in the spotlight. Knowing that the mask is useless when it comes to avoiding getting the coronavirus does not prevent people from going out en masse and ending the existence of masks in pharmacies . Masks that are essential for some sick people and not exactly coronavirus.
To overcome the fear of contagion, you must first do an acceptance exercise . There is something that escapes us in this coronavirus, something that we do not have under control, hence the fear and anxiety that comes from entering the subway and hearing the cough of a traveler. Fear is actually a defense mechanism, but it ceases to be useful when it becomes excessive and excessive, when it becomes a phobia.
We can follow the instructions of the health authorities in terms of prevention of the coronavirus, but even so, the fear will remain if we do not forget conspiracy theories and do not shift the focus of attention. We are also suffering from an epidemic of information overload , as if the world has stopped spinning and there is only the coronavirus.
And it is not like that. If you are in a risk group, go to your medical center so that the professionals can inform you about the best way to prevent contagion. If you are not in any risk group, think about what you do regularly to prevent the flu that tortures you every year. Do you buy a mask so that no one infects you? Are you canceling your vacation for fear of contagion?
