A two-week unilateral truce has been called in Yemen to prevent viral spread, stores are closing; and there is a quiet spread of fear created by daily news headlines claiming more deaths, more infections and more change. While store closings and job layoffs are real, it’s hard to tell the truth from fiction in some reports.
Many are worried about their job security and the stress of isolation from family and friends. There have not been many other periods in history when the whole world has waited to see what the next day would bring.
During this time some are feeling fearful, which is not surprising considering the barrage of bad news. Each report seems worse than the last as the various media compete for an audience. Understanding the difference between being scared and fearful is a good place to start, since one makes life more difficult and the other heightens alertness and makes senses become sharper.3
Many people enjoy the feeling of being scared in a controlled environment. It can be invigorating when more oxygen reaches your brain and your pulse rate rises. Think about watching a thriller or riding a roller coaster: The reason people enjoy those activities is because they have a controlled feeling of being scared.4
Under controlled circumstances, people simultaneously experience stress and pleasure. In one study, researchers measured cortisol, heart rate, blood pressure, emotional state and immunoreactivity before and after 12 novice bungee jumpers took the plunge.5
They found what you probably have experienced if you enjoy theme parks was that anxiety and cortisol were high before the jump, while immunoreactivity and euphoria were high after the jump. But, those feelings are far different from fear that generates anxiety and worry.
Instead of the natural fight-or-flight reaction that may save your life if you’re being attacked, fear paralyzes your mind and your body. The fear response during the COVID-19 pandemic is not new to society. In 2015, the headline in the American Psychological Association6 could have referenced 2020 — "An Epidemic of Fear." The writer was talking about the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Although there were only a small number of confirmed cases in the U.S., the fear of infection leveraged a disproportionate response in some people. Parents in three states pulled their children out of school and a teacher in Maine was put on leave....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...
