It is hard to escape the whirlwind of panic about the potential of a Coronavirus epidemic. Everywhere you look you are bombarded the photographs of crazy long lines at supermarkets, the latest casualty numbers, and the not-so-cheery news that hand sanitizer is now worth its weight in gold (almost) and if you didn’t stock up last week, it’s too late.
Everyone appears to be preparing for a prolonged quarantine — a surreal disaster where the world looks normal but everyone is afraid of what might happen.
And that’s the problem — everyone is afraid.
Chronic fear poisons the immune system.
Whenever you detect a threat to your health or survival, your body triggers the fight or flight response, releasing a cascade of hormones designed to keep you alive. Which is beneficial if you’re faced with an immediate threat, something to fight or run from like an attacker or a lion.
But continued exposure to stress hormones, even in low levels, damages the body, and the immune system which is particularly vulnerable.
Cortisol, one of the main hormones released as part of the fear response, directly suppresses the immune system in multiple ways. Cortisol prevents immune cells from recognizing foreign bacteria and viruses; it decreases the production of messenger chemicals which immune cells use to communicate with one another; and it prevents immune individual cells from killing or neutralizing infectious agents.
All bad news, because your immune system is your primary defense against viral illness.
A horde of surgical masks and a closet full of hand sanitizer won’t save you if your immune system isn’t working.
You may be thinking, “I’m not afraid. I’m not panicked. I’m just worried. Being worried isn’t bad, is it?”
Here’s the truth: your body doesn’t know the difference between being worried and being afraid. Worry is simply fear with a rationalization.
From a biological standpoint, vague worry and outright fear trigger the same neurons and the same hormones, leading to the same suppression of the immune system. The more time you spend worrying, the greater the cumulative negative effects on your immune system.
So what should you do?
Don’t pay attention to the situation. And avoid anyone who is obsessed with it, even if they don’t believe they are worried.
I know this advice may sound foolish or simplistic, but it’s the best defense.
Here’s why:
- You can’t stop fear (or worry or anxiety) by focusing on it. Telling yourself “don’t worry, don’t worry” centers your attention on the feeling of worry, reinforcing anxiety rather than relieving it.
- Worry is contagious. (Yes, really — check here and here) Even if you aren’t worried, you subconsciously pick up fear from the people around you. Your nervous system responds to the fear in others just as if you yourself are afraid.
I find it interesting that the epicenter of Coronavirus in Europe is in Italy, even though officials in Italy raised the alarm much sooner than anywhere else on the continent. Though I’ll never be able to prove it, I suspect the official level of worry “infected” the country, making Italian citizens more susceptible to the very infection that they hoped to avoid.
Even though I live in Seattle, the current epicenter of the outbreak in the USA, I refuse to let fear of an epidemic infect me. I’m paying as little attention to the situation as possible.
Because I know that’s my best guarantee for staying healthy.
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