By Annie Burger, MSW, Certified Life Coach
Humans are funny creatures. We get embarrassed when we overreact, and ashamed when we underreact. How do you know if you are overreacting to this pandemic? Sure, you bought some extra food and toilet paper. Maybe you are working from home, if your job allows you to. Maybe you’ve canceled all plans that involve leaving the house in the near future. How do you know if you are underreacting to this virus? You’re being more thorough when washing your hands, but otherwise it’s life as usual… The “right” answer is somewhere in-between wearing a HAZMAT suit 24/7 and licking every doorknob you encounter. This is a unique set of circumstances and we’ve been flying blind.
Earlier this year we just didn’t know what the best course of action was. Uncertainty is very difficult for us to tolerate; it’s upsetting for us as individuals and as a local, national, and global community. The funny thing was, many people sounded really sure about the actions we should take. This makes sense psychologically because it’s much more comfortable to pick a course of action and stick to it. No one wants to swim around in uncertainty.
There was a lot of debate and conflicting information about Coronavirus at the beginning of the year. As more and more people have gotten ill, recovered, or sadly, died of COVID-19, the top scientific and medical minds in the world have gotten a better picture of what it is (an airborne virus) and how to stop the spread (by wearing masks, social distancing, and ensuring there is good ventilation).
I don’t think we will fully understand COVID-19 (CO= Corona, VI= Virus, D= Disease, and 19 because the outbreak began in 2019) until a few years after the pandemic ends …You know, because hindsight is 2020? Humor is a good coping skill and there have been lots of funny memes like “Worst purchase of 2020? A 2020 Planner”. The memes have gotten darker as the pandemic has worn on in the US. From retiring the phrase “Avoid it like the Plague” to “Zoomsgiving is better than ICU Christmas” these bleak memes are trying to get our attention.
You maybe avoiding the news because it’s been so stressful to watch this year with coverage of the pandemic, systemic racism, and an intense election. It’s time to check back in though. If you aren’t staying current on the news through a family member (my sister reads it alllll) or at least browsing the headlines once a week or so, you might think that the pandemic has eased up. Looking around at the number of people out and about, anyone would guess that we have this pandemic beat! Sadly, that isn’t true, and Americans continue to get sick and die from COVID-19. We need to get on the same page on these key points:
- The case numbers in the US are at an all-time high and the death toll keeps rising.
- Staying home saves lives and we need to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities.
- The pandemic isn’t going away just because we are tired of it, and it’s not taking the holidays off.
While considering how to respond to the pandemic please don’t over value your personal comfort and desires, which could lead you to having a big, indoor, mask-less Thanksgiving gathering. In my opinion it is better to err on the side of caution and possibly overreact to the pandemic by deciding to have a small and virtual Thanksgiving this year. It will be disappointing, but disappointment won’t kill you. Unfortunately, sharing indoor air with your teenaged cousins from out of state, your grandmother, and close family friends leaves everyone at risk of catching COVID-19. Of those that catch it, they risk spreading it to family, friends, and healthcare workers. And they risk death. Keep in mind that infected people are contagious while asymptomatic. Going about your holiday traditions as usual this year may seem like no big deal, but you are actually making decisions that can have huge consequences. Please err on the side of caution and stay safe, stay well, and stay home.
If you’d like to know what has me so wound up about all this, take a look at the following articles. They are written by knowledgeable professionals and they were published by repudiable sources.
Physician Predicts ‘Unprecedented Surge’ in US Covid-19 Cases After Thanksgiving by Christina Maxouris, Jay Croft, and Dakin Andone, published by CNN on 11/14/20
Cancel Thanksgiving by James Hamblin, published by The Atlantic on 11/16/20
The Pandemic Safety Rule That Really Matters by Rachel Gutman, published by The Atlantic on 11/17/20
© 11/20/2020 by Andrea Burger, Content in this blog is the Intellectual Property of True Connections Life Coaching, LLC. Print and share with attribution.