Covid-19 anxiety - difficult decisions ahead of us

We are going through unprecedented times. We have never been so connected to each other. It has never been easier to travel, share and communicate from one point of the globe to another, and this means it has never been easier to spread a virus. 

It feels as if we are in the middle of a movie. There is no need to open Netflix these days because the news are more shocking than anything. I am writing this article from London (UK) on 17th March 2020, and I am having to re-draft it every day because of how quickly the situation changes.

Right now my home country, Italy, has been on lockdown for more than a week. Every day more countries take extreme measures, and people take extreme views and behaviours about this.

I am writing this article because I want to share what I see happening to humanity as we face a pandemic in a world of extreme connectivity.

We might escape the virus, but we can’t escape the media

I have been wondering for a while how much we are influenced by the media, and now I see it clearly. Information spreads faster than anything else in this world. It affects us as much as the weather.

Information carries emotional energy, and information about corona virus carries the energy of fear, worry and criticism. Let’s have a look at each of them

• FEAR: “Based on the information I have, I am scared of being infected”

• WORRY: “Based on the information I have, I am worried that someone I care about will be infected”

• CRITICISM: “People should behave in a way that makes me less scared and worried. If they don’t, they are either ignorant (they do not know the same information I know), stupid (they know the same information I know, but they did not understand it properly), or evil (they know the information, they understand what they should do, but they do it because they don’t care).”

We are at the point where the information we receive decides how we behave and how we judge others. The leap from fear to anger or despair is small, and I constantly see people lashing out on social media. Some people show how untouched they are while they go on holiday and drink beer in defiance of the risk; some others blame people for traveling to their families from an “infected region”. 

The truth is perhaps even scarier. We can never know the exact truth about the virus. The number of cases we know of is what governments decide to share. The information governments receive is based on how many tests have been made, and the number of tests made depends on the money the government invests in making these tests.

So, what do we do to tackle anxiety?

First of all, we need to accept that we are all affected by this one way or another, and check what impact this is having on us individually.  

First of all, you need to identify what reactions you are having. 

1. How scared are you for your own safety? 

2. How worried are you for other people? 

3. To what extent are you judging people who behave differently to how you behave?

Offer compassion to yourself and others

See if you can find it in yourself to offer some compassion for the fear you are feeling. Acknowledge this fear in you, and respect it. It is there to protect you and others from the risk of infection. Connect with the goodness of your protective intentions and appreciate the goodness in you.

Now keep hold of that good intention, and think of someone who shares your views about the pandemic. Wish them well. Feel how your good intentions become stronger.

Now think of someone who you are a bit worried about (just a little bit), because they are not doing what you believe they should be doing. See if the goodness of your intentions is strong enough to wish them well and allow them to be free to make their own choices and connect to their good intentions, which might be different to yours. If you managed to do this, think of another person you are worried just a little bit for, and do it again. 

If you did not manage to wish them well and you are still a bit worried, go back to thinking of as many people as possible who share your views and wish them well. End the exercise for now and go back to this whenever you want.

If you managed to wish well to two people who you are a bit worried about and you are now less worried with your good intention clear in your mind, imagine that you can write a note to all people with a different view on the pandemic and tell them “I am doing my best to keep the world safe, and I wish you well even if I do not agree with what you are doing. Thank you”.