Full state lockdowns.
Toilet paper hoarding.
Crowded beaches in Florida???
The world is in a weird place at the minute.
Look anywhere, and it seems like "Coronavirus" or "COVID-19" is all anyone can talk about. My university shifted entire terms online. My entire household is working from home. Every day, there are press conferences from public health officials about new cases, whether or not there's community spread. A Facebook friend of mine posts daily graphs outlining spread and implying that we're all doomed. Likely an exaggeration, but it certainly does feel that way lately.
We're going to get through this.
My life, like that of pretty much everybody else in North America, is weird right now (to put it mildly). On our last day of in-person classes, pretty much half of all my lectures were talking about new pandemic protocol and how the rest of the semester would shake out. There's obviously an issue with the state of affairs at the minute, but not all our actions are necessary.
This is where I should probably back up and say that I'm a psychology student. At the end of this term, I'll be receiving my Bachelors of Science in Psychology (with a minor in Biology!). All this to say, I've spent a lot of time studying how people think. Not saying that I'm an expert, but I know a thing or two!
Social psychology teaches us that we're more easily persuaded by others than we may think. Fear, in particular, can be huge motivator for getting us to engage in a behaviour, positive or negative. Obviously, this a scary time for many of us- pandemics aren't a common thing to have lived through. In fact, one of the last great pandemics in this part of the world was the Spanish Influenza, which was rampant globally between 1918 and 1920.
This brings us to maybe one of the most defining aspects on this pandemic in North America... toilet paper??? Not sure about where you live, but here, people are going CRAZY. There's toilet paper flying off shelves. A coworker of mine had to mail toilet paper to her son because he lives downtown in a major city and there's none to be had. Now let's ask ourselves the hardest question of all: do we REALLY need 100 rolls of toilet paper in our houses these days?
Probably not.
But, you see people buying toilet paper, and hear about the hysteria, and start hoarding toilet paper. It's human nature. Which all feeds into a much larger point: we need to stop paying so much attention to the media right now.
Yes, the media is a powerful tool. Personally, I'm a huge supporter of traditional media. They make current events easy to understand and accessible, and ensure we stay up to date with what's happening in our country and internationally. I've always appreciated the Washington Post's tagline- "Democracy dies in darkness". It's completely true. But these media businesses are just that- businesses, and with that comes a bottom line they need to adhere too. They need viewership, because viewership = money. And seemingly, the quickest way to get viewers and clicks online is by talking about coronavirus. Makes total sense. Except if you're like me, and you start compulsively checking every news alert you get about new cases here, another death there, and on, and on, and on.
It drives a person crazy.
I've genuinely had moments the last few weeks where these feelings of dread take over. But then I remember that logically, not every person who gets infected will die. Plus, it's not like EVERY SINGLE person on the planet is becoming infected. Social distancing works, and is powerful given the situation we find ourselves in. The world isn't as full of "doom and gloom" as we may think right now.
So how did I stop myself from spiralling out of control?
I stopped looking. Out of sight, out of mind. While it's important to know what's going on (yes, knowledge is indeed power), you don't need 24/7 on every new case and death. Streaming services like Netflix and social media platforms (think: YouTube or Instagram) are great right now, because they give you control over what content you want to see. That said, there are a number of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals active on social media who are producing informational content without fear-mongering like some other sources. Consider giving them a look.
If there's any healthcare workers that ever stumble across this: thank you. You're all truly the unsung heroes in all of this.
To everybody else: stop hoarding supplies. There won't be a toilet paper shortage if we all just buy a normal quantity. We don't need to buy N95 masks- they're useless unless they're fit-tested for you, and healthcare workers need them far more than you or I. Save them for the people who are working to save us during this time.
We're going to pull through this. A little optimism goes a long way. Pick up a hobby, call a friend (social distancing doesn't have to mean social isolation, ha!), do whatever you need to do- just please, stop hoarding all the toilet paper.
(Header image from Corporate Compliance Insights)
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