The novel coronavirus broke out in December 2019. Since then, there have been at least 31,481 confirmed cases globally (31,211 of which are in China), and at least 638 deaths (source: World Health Organization). One death has been reported so far outside of China, where the virus originated. In Canada, there are 7 confirmed cases, two of which are in Toronto. When you look at the stats, it is difficult to not panic.

There are no cures or vaccines available to treat or prevent the novel coronavirus. The symptoms could be severe, including cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever. There are risks that the virus could develop into a pandemic in the future.

The Internet is flooded with terrifying news stories and articles about the severity of the situation, in China in particular. You are definitely not overreacting when you exercise proper precautions. However, one might ask whether the amount of fear and panic that the Internet generates is necessary. Can it actually cause harm to the public?

The purpose of this post is not to discuss details about the virus and its impact, since it is outside of my scope of expertise to comment on that. The purpose of this post is to discuss ways to manage your own anxiety and fear when something that is completely out of your control occurs.

Before I get into that, let’s take a look at emotional contagion – the phenomenon when others’ emotions trigger similar emotions in us. Have you ever felt sad after you listened to a melancholic song? Or felt angry after hearing an unjust story described by a friend. Similarly, do you feel happier when you are surrounded with positive people? We catch others’ emotions just like how we catch others’ colds. Therefore, when fear and terror is sparked within a city, chances are it would spread. It is very likely that sooner or later, everyone would start feeling that fear. When you are exposed to horrific news about the coronavirus day after day, it is almost impossible to stay calm. This is why it is important to withdraw from this cycle of fear by learning skills to calm down. Exercise the necessary precautions (just like how you’d protect yourself from the common flu), but also understand that:

a) How the virus is going to develop is not within your control; and
b) What you read online isn’t always true

Protect Yourself From Emotional Contagion

When you find yourself reacting to an article related to the virus (or anything that causes anxiety), you might feel a wave of panic, where your heart races and your breathing quickens. What should you do?

Take deep breaths

Intentionally slow down your breathing, and direct all of your attention towards your nose, your airway, your lungs, and your stomach. It is obviously much more difficult to do this while you are having an anxiety episode, but try it anyway. It gets easier the more you practice. Picture your heart rate slowing down, or your lungs expanding as you take deep breaths. Try to allocate at least 2 seconds for each breath. While doing so, you are bringing clarity to your mind.

Right before you started to focus on your breathing, your mind was consumed by thoughts or images of the “worst case scenario”. They could be thoughts of you coughing and feeling extremely sick, or images of loved ones being admitted to the hospital. These could all trigger a series of anxious thoughts, and they happen so quickly. That’s how our emotions escalate within a second.

Intentional breathing allows you to put a brake on the train of anxious thoughts.

Pull yourself back to the present by grounding

Paying attention to the present is a great way to gain distance from your thoughts and emotions. Instead of being sucked into the tornado of intense emotions, it allows you to detach yourself from them. Attention is a limited resource. It means that when we pay attention to one particular thought or object, there is less attention available for other things. Therefore, you are less able to pay attention to the scary thoughts in your mind if you focus your attention on something else.

Grounding exercises allow us to attend to our immediate environment and sensations within our body. They help us cope with overwhelming emotions because:

a) It serves as a distraction (our brain cannot focus 100% on two things at the same time); and
b) It helps bring you back to the present moment

When practicing grounding exercises, ask yourself what you are experiencing in each sense:

1) What do you see? For example, describe the colour and texture (curves; sharp edges; lines) of different objects around you.

2) What do you hear? Describe what you are hearing at this moment. Is it the music that you are playing? Or the wind blowing outside?

3) What do you smell? Your coffee? Fresh linens? Your plants?

4) Touch. Feel the objects around you. If you are on the couch, touch the material. Is it soft? Smooth? Are you at a desk? If so, feel the surface and describe it. What’s the temperature like in your room? Wrap yourself in a blanket, what does the blanket feel like?

Sometimes, worrying thoughts interrupt our grounding experience. Something you see or hear could bring you back to your worries. That’s completely normal. Notice the presence of the thoughts, and then gently bring your attention back to your bodily sensations. Focus on your breathing again. It is difficult to stay focused on things for a prolonged period of time, especially if this is your first time trying it.

Focus on what you have now

By being fixated on worries, you have allowed an uncertain future to rob you of the present moment. You might be home right now, sitting on the couch with your family, and yet you are ruminating on how they would react if you catch the virus. No matter where you are and what you are doing, the present is the only thing that is certain. The present is what you have at this moment.

When you notice your body relaxes, or that your thoughts are no longer causing you stress and anxiety, ask yourself: what in your life are you happy about, or satisfied with? Do you have people in your life that care about you? Are you able to maintain an employment? Do you have roof over your head? Sometimes it is difficult to notice the good around us when our attention keeps being pulled towards negative information.

Find an activity to engage in. Make yourself a cup of tea, go for a walk, or look at cute animal pictures on Instagram. Do something that would help sustain the calmness in you.

Don’t trust everything you read

Emotions are contagious, and therefore it is so easy to be sucked into the cycle of fear. It is sometimes difficult to look around and see what else there is when we feel overwhelmed. Fear spreads too easily on social media, and it continues to be a powerful manipulative factor because it attracts attention. Constant exposure to fear and others’ fearful responses likely would trigger fear in us, and therefore it is important to be aware of and gain distance from your thoughts/anxiety. When you feel less overwhelmed, your brain is no longer in fight or flight mode. It is now better able to process information. Your rational brain is ready to serve you again.

Scrutinize the information on the Internet. You can’t trust everything you read or see on the internet. It is not difficult to fabricate stats, news, or videos. Therefore, before you react to the information online, look at the source itself and see if other official sources support the claims. Be mindful of how easy it is to create a skewed reality with technology nowadays.

Rest and Monitor Your Stress Level

Finally, do everything you can to stay healthy (both emotionally and physically). Rest, connect with loved ones, and most importantly, practice self-care!

Ideas for self-care:

Go for a walk
Journal
Read
Go for a massage
Meditate or do yoga
Declutter your home