This pandemic is causing a lot of fear.
- I see it on people’s faces as they scurry to move well over 6 feet away from me on the sidewalk.
- I read it online from people who are freaked out about others not doing social distancing right.
- I hear it from friends, family and strangers who believe they can protect themselves by isolating for a period of time – as if the virus will magically disappear without infecting them if only they isolate “good enough”.
These fears are exacerbated by the constant gloom and doom news reports of death counts, rising total infection numbers and anecdotal sad stories.
A friend put it much more eloquently than I could:
“Nobody ever got a page view on the internet or sold a news story by playing down how bad something might be.
I spent some time deliberately thinking about being afraid a few weeks ago when our first stay at home orders were implemented.
I spent too much time reading the tragic stories in the news about deaths, real or potential hospital shortages and studying the models.
I am ashamed to say I spent even more time thinking about how this pandemic inconveniences me personally.
But one thing I don’t have is fear.
When I thought “should I be afraid”, I remembered I don’t need to be afraid. For me, the worst has already happened.
So there’s no need for me to be afraid.