Fear! There are some who have been living in fear of COVID-19 ever since they have heard of it. The reasons stem from ignorance, to paranoia, to economic/job uncertainty, lack of control over the situation, someone close stranded somewhere. These are no doubt difficult times and it’s having an effect on day to day life, the way we think, we need to accept the difficulty. If we fear, we are anxious, let’s first accept that it’s ok to be anxious. There is a risk, accept it. Fear of the coronavirus infection, fear of death, fear of job loss, fear of uncertainty- the probability and risk of this fear doing greater damage than the virus is real.
We need to get on with our lives. How long can we keep our lives on hold, in fear? This pandemic is here to stay with us for 18 months or more, whether we chose to accept it or not. But how do we get rid of this fear? Actually there is little to fear, we need to just stay level headed, take the basic precautions of social distancing, mask, hand hygiene and accept & embrace the changes in the post COVID-19 world. For a start, we need to restrict the amount of news we absorb daily to about half an hour. Anything more is just a repeat, greater emphasis is being given to death than recoveries, in fact any death anywhere in the world is projected to be linked to COVID-19. It’s gotten so that every illness is suspected to be COVID-19, very soon road accident cases may be handled as COVID cases.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Staying within a positive circle, keeping paranoid folks at a distance, talking to friends, taking online courses to improve or diversify skills to increase employability, watching Netflix, reading, brushing up culinary skills, learning a new language is a healthy and productive way to utilise time.
On the other extreme were some, who just upto a month back, were vehemently rubbishing the gravity of the situation, happily riding their bikes on empty roads, picnicking, partying and mocking all those who were responsibly remaining homebound during the lockdown. It took just one visit to a COVID-19 hospital to transform their gaiety to fear. In fact, they were barred from going even upto the entrance, the chaos and grief they saw from a distance sufficed. Here it’s raw fear that worked where no amount of news reports and others’ advise was heeded.
We need to be wise, not foolhardy. One who fearlessly enters a tigers cage is foolhardy, the wise doesn’t fear a tiger from outside the cage. But when the tiger does attack the fearless-foolhardy who has entered the cage, and if the fearless-foolhardy survives the attack, he will fear the tiger even from outside the cage. We are aware of the risks, so we need to protect ourselves, keep distance and shield ourselves from the virus. Be cautious, do not live in fear.
‘Fear is the key that unlocks wallets and handbags’ is a line about fear I remember from a novel I read about 50 years back. In today’s context, neither wallets, handbags nor wealth is desired, all that’s required is some caution, discipline and good sense for the general safety of self and others. If everything else fails in achieving this, then fear is the last resort that works every time. If fear can stop people from slipping into complacence, carelessness or worse into total abandon and don’t-give-a-damn attitude, so be it. While too much of fear is not advocated, a little may not be a bad thing for such people.
