When facing a threat, it is essential to know if what you experience if fear or anxiety. Fear is a survival mechanism. It’s the alert the brain and nervous system give to the body so that you know you are in a dangerous situation and act according to it. But when you experience a feeling of fear without a real and present threat, then what you feel is anxiety. It is the subjectively unpleasant feeling of dread over anticipated events. The fear of fear. The novel coronavirus, Covid-19, is boosting anxiety, according to new research.
Specialists warn that the current outburst of coronavirus can become both. It is a real threat and a rational reason to be afraid, but it can also be a reason to become irrational and get to anxiety mode. In both situations, you will make a plan.
The Link Between Coronavirus (Covid-19) and Fear and Anxiety
If you are afraid within the expected range, then respecting the specialists’ recommendations should bring a relief: wash hands more often and for at least twenty seconds, keep a moderate distance of 1 meter from other people (especially if they show signs of flu), avoid traveling (especially in arear with confirmed cases), drink hot water, don’t touch your nose, mouth, and eyes if you haven’t recently washed your hands.
If nothing you do according to the plan improves the way you feel, then you most likely experience anxiety, and specialized help is needed. Don’t make this another reason to feel even more anxious. Typically considered to be appropriate when anxiety is experienced regularly, the individual may suffer from an anxiety disorder.
There is nothing to feel ashamed of if you get there. It is a condition just like any physical one, and it needs treatment. Psychiatric and psychological. The first one helps with the symptoms, the second might help you find out why you are experiencing this exaggerated fear, what is related to.
Because it isn’t just the coronavirus that triggers anxiety. It is just a pretense, and it can be controlled. People facing anxiety may withdraw from situations that have provoked anxiety in the past.
Anxiety vs. Fear
Anxiety is closely related to fear, which is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat; anxiety involves the expectation of future threats.
Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness and worry, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing. It is often accompanied by nervous behavior (pacing back and forth, somatic complaints, and rumination) muscular tension, restlessness, fatigue, and problems in concentration.
Fear is an appropriate cognitive and emotional response to a perceived threat. Anxiety is related to the specific behaviors of fight-or-flight responses, defensive behavior, or escape. It occurs in situations only perceived as uncontrollable or unavoidable, but not realistically so. Most humans do not respond well to stress. If you or someone you know is struggling with stress, anxiety, or other mental health issues, BetterHelp is a great option. Their therapists are custom-matched to you, in order to help you get the most out of each session.
Fear is short-lived, present-focused, geared towards a specific threat, and facilitating escape from the threat. Anxiety is long-acting, future-focused, broadly focused towards a diffuse threat, and promoting excessive caution while approaching a potential risk and interferes with constructive coping.
In positive psychology, anxiety is described as the mental state that results from a difficult challenge for which the subject has insufficient coping skills. So, let’s stay positive! If you acknowledge that you are experiencing anxiety, get help. It will become easier. So, take care when reading news on the novel coronavirus, Covid-19.
