Are We Overreacting to Pandemic: Why and How?

What is a Pandemic?

Pandemic is another word for fear, when someone hears it instantly feels anxious. We often take pandemic as synonym of death, but pandemic is more related to spread and less with the death.

The CoronaVirus

Despite of witnessing many pandemics in past including smallpox, plague, Ebola, Why Human race is still too scared during coronavirus pandemic?

The question then arises, is pandemic really this much scary or we are exaggerating our responses? If yes, Why and How?

The uncertainty of existence or unpredictability about life is the biggest threat for any species of organism. Natural disasters like pandemic, threats us as they are non-predictable and has direct impact on our existence.

Pandemic have claimed millions of lives in past, present and is likely to kill more people worldwide in future. We don’t even know, when and who will be the victims, when we will be able to go back to normal life?! This scenario, creates a picture of fear and anxiety in our mind.

Humans are players of risk, since ancient times and tend to take calculative risks where the outcomes are predictable. Nevertheless, situations like pandemic makes us helpless. Disruption of normal working life all at once, unnecessary information bombarding on our mind increases irritability and fear.

Here we go to explore why and how we are overreacting to pandemic!

Let’s dig a little deeper to know why human brain overreacts to Fear of pandemic?

Amygdala, a part of temporal lobe of brain is the ‘alarming center’ senses fear and anxiety in stressful situations. This part responds to stress based on emotions and past experiences, stimulating several stress hormones.

The second key responder, Hippocampus, located under the cerebral cortex; is associated with assessment of stress stimuli received. It generally assesses the facts and gives a second chance to brain to think rationally upon a situation and not to directly jump on emotional reaction.

Humans when take risks; generally uses hippocampus and then central cortex to assess the stress and find ways to tackle it. In helpless situations like pandemic, Panic is created when our rational mind is overpowered by amygdala. Naturally, our brain chooses to ‘emotionally overreact’ to this panic. Such responses creates behavioral biases i.e. each one of us decide to behave differently and responds based on our emotions.

How we behave then?! It is essentially based on our mind’s emotions, past experiences and psychology.

How mind’s Psychology plays role in our reaction to pandemic?

Each of us reacts to stress and anxiety differently. Non predictable future is strongest trigger of anxiety and holds power to bring the best and the worst behavior of an animal. Distinctly, two different types of behaviors are observed.

A group of people have tendency to trust feelings over facts, when they are helpless. Hence, they tend to behave irrationally harming others.

For example, we often have heard that infected people attempted such acts that can possibly spread the disease. In this situation, infected people are already in guilt and fear, and they do not want to suffer alone and that is why they respond to stress emotionally rather than responding by rational mind.

We have even seen people started ‘Panic buying’, as soon as lock down was declared and stores ran off their stocks. It is because humans have urge to keep things in control and feel safe in anxiety.

When a person is unable to firmly predict the outcome, he or she tends to react irrationally. People are still breaking the social distancing norms, because these norms do not simply guarantee them the control of pandemic. These people generally tend to think like “I - alone could not make difference, what happens if I break the rule?!”

While, another group of people choose to be responsible and behaves with empathy.

For example, Pandemic have also bought the notably good behavior of man in limelight. People are selflessly helping each other’s without any biases and discrimination. We are acquiring new habits of personal hygiene and keeping our surroundings clean without any external force. Pandemic have also made us more optimistic about life and future, giving us a much needed break.

Although the crises is huge and no one can perfectly solve it, but people are sharing goods, grain storages and whatever they have to offer. Several organizations across the globe are stepping forward to help needy people.

Does social media is adding panic, is it blameworthy?

Isn’t it crucial to stay informed and know what is happening around you? Truly it is! Well, we all have to admit that we rely on media sources for awareness as we live in a media saturated world. Here, media comes in frame. Media is aimed to create awareness among people, but over exaggerated news reports, intimidate people. When a person watches news or any other public post on social media indicating the increasing number of deaths, it is pretty obvious to get worried.

Considering this pandemic, social media and news media have excessively glorified the current situations. Such overstated news and posts are indeed blameworthy. The constant exposure to dramatic news reports, delays the cerebral refining of thoughts creating confusion.

It increases anxiety, mood disorders and insomnia. It has been already reported that, the cases of anxiety and related disorders in such situations are increasing day by day. People are panicking, even though having common cold symptoms, they are rushing to hospitals. There are few people who are abnormally obsessed with news reports and have constant eye on updates of pandemic.

What stress in brain looks like? Dramatic, eye catching yet mind disturbing news creates a stress impulses which are processed by brain’s emotional processing center- “Limbic system”. A part this system called ‘Hippocampus’ controls the overall stress response of our brain. Adrenaline - a stress hormone gushes out in such situations. Hippocampus contacts hypothalamus, amygdala to generate an appropriate response to stress stimuli and neutralize the situation.

Governments have started to pay attention to such anxieties and have started some helplines which can help to get relief. Mental health care centers are providing free online help to such people.

Summing up my thoughts, it is our responsibility to channelize the information from social media and wisely choose what to consume from news these days. We must educate ourselves and others with correct facts from reliable sources and should not get overwhelmed by bombarding news reports. Pandemic have even taught us to live with humanity and empathy in heart. It has bought the world closer and this might be the first time, we all are working together as a species. Scientists all around the world are sharing their current knowledge to find a better solution. Keeping all facts in mind, we must have patience and trust the nature’s prime attribute i.e. ‘Nothing is Permanent except the change’ and this picture shall also change soon.

Reference

1. Coronavirus is spreading panic here’s the science behind it: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/reference/modern-history/why-we-evolved-to-feel-panic-anxiety/
2. Fears, outbreaks, Pandemic- Lessons Learned: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/anxiety/fears-outbreaks-and-pandemics-lessons-learned
3. How fear works?: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/fear.htm
4. Brain, Behavior and Media: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-media-psychology-effect/201203/brain-behavior-and-media
5. Elizabeth I. Martin, Kerry J. Ressler et.al. The Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders: Brain Imaging, Genetics, and Psycho neuroendocrinology, Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2009 Sep; 32(3): 549–575 :   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3684250/