By Maggie Mulqueen, NBC News, March 5, 2020
One of my patients, a nurse, walked into her therapy session on Monday and implored me to “get these people out of my emergency room.” She was clearly worn out from the increased volume of individuals visiting the hospital out of fear they have the coronavirus, and worried that overall patient care would suffer as a result. “Can’t you do something about all these anxious people?”
Her question was a joke, but her point was spot on. At this moment, we don’t know what we’re fighting or where to run to avoid it. It’s on the minds of everyone I know, and is at the center of conversation with my patients over the past few weeks. As a psychologist, I don’t have answers, and I certainly can’t provide guarantees. But I do know that suffering with anxiety will contribute to a poor outcome, and I can offer some suggestions about how to keep fears in check. Is there a need to stay aware and prepare for the spread of coronavirus? Absolutely. Should we educate ourselves? Definitely. But anxiety does not inherently make us better prepared.
The anxious are no less likely to suffer the consequences of an outbreak. In fact, if we let ourselves get run ragged by our anxiety, we will be less able to manage what is yet to come. Anxiety wears us out physically and mentally. It taxes our immune system by disrupting our sleep and eating patterns. We fixate on what is worrying us, which impedes our ability to pay attention to other matters. And feeling anxious exacerbates symptoms, which can lead to overreaction.
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