How to Cope with Anxiety from the Coronavirus

As death tolls rise from the global spread of a novel coronavirus, I have observed an increase in anxiety among my patients. To some degree, the increase in anxiety is appropriate to the context. Our anxiety increases when we are confronted with threats to our health. The coronavirus constitutes such a threat.  In this article, I present steps to help you cope with the increased anxiety stemming from the coronavirus. 1. Understand Your Odds We often experience spikes in anxiety when we believe that a threat is imminent and unavoidable. Considering the extensive media coverage over the coronavirus, it may appear that the overall risk of being infected is very high.  A good practice to lower your anxiety is understanding what are the odds that your fear will become reality. Recognizing that there is a low probability that a fear will become reality reduces anxiety.  For example, let’s imagine that you identify a lump on your body and are concerned that it is cancer. You then follow up with your physician. You will experience a different level of anxiety if your physician reassures you that the mass has a 1% probability of being cancer compared to being told that there is an 90% probability that the mass is cancer. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for the majority of people, the immediate risk of being exposed to the coronavirus is low as there is not widespread circulation in most communities in the United States. Accepting this fact lowers...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Anxiety and Panic Health-related Minding the Media coronavirus COVID-19 Source Type: blogs