It has been a tough period for people across the world, as the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, which started in Wuhan, China, is all over the news. The virus appears to be rapidly spreading to other nations, including the United States.
Well, such viral outbreaks have happened before, like SARS, MERS, and Ebola. All of them are dangerous and killed people, but widespread panic is what causes a lot of anxiety among people.
So, how to stay calm and how to keep yourself and your kids from worrying when such public health threats arise?
Behavioral Psychologist Edward Scott Geller said, “It’s natural to overreact to a stressor we can’t control. And this is front and center right now, so we have to make an evaluation as to whether we can control this stressor. If we don’t think we’re in control, there’s distress.”
However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that the current risk in the United States is low. So far, 11 Americans have been confirmed to have the new coronavirus, aka 2019-nCoV. The CDC said 165 people are being tested.
In China, there have been more than 20,400 confirmed cases and 425 deaths so far. As the number of cases is increasing, people are facing far greater threats.
Recently, some experts said that flu is a much bigger threat than the mysterious new coronavirus in the United States because flu has killed over 10,000 people since October.
Psychologist Robin Gurwitch from Duke University Medical Center in Durham said, “This virus seems different than the flu. While we know flu threatens young children and the elderly, we can get flu shots. There’s no shot for this virus.”
“What’s giving us pause is this idea that it’s out there and I don’t have any way to prevent it or fix it if I get it,” she added.
Gurwitch explained if your kids are concerned about what they have heard about the virus, talk to them and find out what they actually heard and what is concerning them. She suggested, “Ask, ‘What have you heard about this?’”
“Be honest with kids. Explain that it started in China and people are working very hard to make sure that this virus doesn’t spread here,” she added. “Let them know it’s like a really bad cold. Tell them what precautions they can take to stay healthy. And then ask them what they think about what you’ve just told them, so you can correct any misperceptions.”
Gurwitch recommended, “If you’re watching the news, keep in mind that children are always listening.”
Since the virus has been found similar to a cold virus, Gurwitch advised educating your children about precautionary measures.
“Let your kids know what they can do to protect themselves. Wash your hands a lot or use an alcohol-based sanitizer,” she recommended. “Cover your mouth when you sneeze by sneezing into the crook of your elbow. Don’t put your hands near your eyes, mouth or nose.”
