Virus reaction and worry

[luvsvacation]

I’ve been reading through many of the threads and there is such a variance in people’s reaction to the virus. Some are staying locked down and cleaning all groceries/mail coming in. Others seem to have little concern. Some are happy to go to restaurants the second they open, some are not willing to go out unnecessarily until there is a vaccine. Clearly some of these differences are based on personal risk, if you are in a high risk category.

I’m curious through how much has to do with wether you are typically a worrier by nature. I am not a worrier. My default mindset about everything all the time is that everything will be okay and work out. When my kids were little I lost both of them a different times at different theme parks. I never panicked and worried. I didn’t have the whole 2 minutes seemed like an eternity moments. I just figured they wandered off and I needed to locate them so we could go on about our day. Both times they were found in 5-10 minutes and we headed to the next ride. My mind never goes to bad things happening. Obviously logically I know bad things can and do happen, but I just don’t really worry about them happening. As a result I really haven’t been too concerned about this virus. I’m in suburban St Louis and as soon as things started opening last week we headed out. Lunch out a couple of times, my daughter got a tattoo. This may also have partly to do with the fact that we were never really shut down to begin with. My 16 year old works 40+ hours a week stocking shelves at Walmart and my 18 year old works 20 hours a week at QT. I’m a nanny for 2 young kids so I’ve still been at work also. Since we have mostly still had somewhat normal lives (other than school being closed) maybe that has led to me being less concerned also. If we haven’t gotten it with all of us out there working in the public all this time I feel pretty safe.

So anyway, I’m just curious...if you are very concerned do you tend to be more of a worrier naturally? If you’re not very concerned do you tend to not be a worrier?

And just to clarify, it’s not that I’m not concerned with the virus. Obviously something that is killing hundreds of thousands worldwide is concerning! I’m saying that I’m not personally concerned/worried about getting it. And to farther clarify I’m not referring to any conspiracy theorist. I know this is real and serious/deadly.

 

[Lynne M]

I'm guessing that a lot of it is regional. Those of us in the Northeast, which was one of the first areas to be slammed, have first-hand experience with it. I know people who've had it, and I know what it did to them (and in some cases, is still doing, months later). I know people who've lost loved ones to it. I used to live in NY and still have relatives and friends there, so I had a front-row seat to the horror that happened in NYC. Everyone I know is taking the precautions *very* seriously.

There are still large areas of the country that haven't had that experience. Yet. They will. Viruses don't respect state borders. I think if there have been only a few cases in your area, it's hard to understand just how bad things can get.

 

[jesusfreak75]

I'm a very consistent worrier, but this pandemic doesn't worry me for some reason. I've been working in my office non-stop and was traveling in Europe on business in mid-February when it started there. I don't wear a mask in public most of the time, wash my hands, and don't touch my face. That's the extent of my activities to combat COVID-19.

 

[cabanafrau]

I agree that how you feel about it may have a lot to do with how impacted your particular area is. I don't have a count of how many people I know who have had the virus. I feel very fortunate that my nearest and dearest so far haven't been incredibly ill. It is incredibly strange to know that people I crossed paths with at work have passed as a result of this.

 

[okeydokey]

I am not an alarmist by nature, but I work in a disaster management research center, which certainly influences my behaviors regarding COVID.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I usually have anxiety, but I've actually been very calm during all of this. I saw a meme a few months ago that said people with anxiety are actually doing better because we've been preparing for worst case scenarios our whole lives.

I waver in my feelings, so depends on when you ask me. I'm not opposed to things opening back up in a thoughtful manner. As much as I've personally loved having my family home with me (especially my teens who are spreading their wings), I know it's not healthy for them. So for them, I want them to go back to school and ballet and see friends because it's a part of childhood they are missing out on. I'm excited at the possibility of things opening back up. But I won't lie and say there isn't a part of me that gets nervous about leaving our little safe bubble. So I constantly go between wanting to actually live life, but the guilt I would carry if my decisions to open our little bubble resulted in one of us or anybody else for that matter, getting sick from this.

That all said, I've answered on other threads that it would be unlikely for us to travel/go out to eat when things reopen, not necessarily because I'm scared, but more because the experience that's being offered right now isn't worth the risk or money.

ETA: Our county shut down even prior to the state doing it (who was first in the nation), so as our officials have said, we not only flattened the curve, we crushed it. It of course colors my perspective - in two ways. Our numbers don't warrant the restrictions we have and if we are required to keep doing this, I don't want outsiders who didn't, coming in and undoing all of our hard work.

(edited for spelling/grammar errors)

 

[luvsvacation]

That’s a really interesting point about people who typically have higher anxiety handling it fairly well. I guess it’s kind of like if you fear the worst, then when the worst happens you have nothing more to fear. Very interesting perspective...

 

[RamblingMad]

I don’t have any anxiety issues.

It boils down to me to the R0 and the CFR. Those two items keep me inside. It’s just math.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I would love to say I don’t ever worry about bad things happening but when you bury a niece at age 7 from a sudden asthma attack that philosophy rings very hollow.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I don't worry about much of anything, but I am in NJ and have seen first hand what this is doing to families. But, to be honest, I am still not worrying about it. But I am being careful because I have seen what it is doing to normal, healthy people.

You can take very careful precautions without being worried about it.

 

[SaintsManiac]

People used to make fun of me for always preparing for the worst case scenario. Guess who had enough supplies when everyone went crazy hoarding 2 months ago? Guess who everyone wants to stay with when a hurricane comes?

Some days my anxiety gets the better of me, but for the most part I have been calm. This is thanks to having money in the bank and a husband still working and no underlying health conditions. The times I have been most anxious are when my closest friend and my husband's grandmother had the virus.

 

[Christine]

I am a worrier and I can have anxiety about some things.

For this pandemic stuff, I am staying home just because I've been told to and plus I am teleworking. I go to the grocery store 2 times a week. Yesterday I went to an outdoor landscaping store. Today, I got an "illegal" hair cut (long story there).

I am somewhat worried about getting the virus and how I will cope with it (I'm in my mid-50s but no underlying conditions).

When our restrictions are lifted I will avoid any situation where the space is small/enclosed and there are lots of people (restaurant, Starbucks, etc.) I will probably go to places like Marshall's/TJ Maxx as long as they keep occupancy down.

 

[Snowysmom]

I am usually a worrier but this does not worry me. I am following the guidelines. I am being very rational about this and use common sense. Fear isn't going to help me. I am looking forward to getting back out into the world and going to restaurants, getting my hair cut, and getting the doggie his hair cut as well as other things.

 

[mjkacmom]

I’m pretty anxious, and the fact that my county has the highest number of deaths (1400+) in my state, and my state has the second highest number of deaths in the country adds a bit to it. My family actually admitted to me that, this time, I was right, it is that bad. Our superintendent has alluded to the fact that school will be online in the fall.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I think a lot of people are like me too. Yes, COVID is a concern, but I just see life slipping by. Kids are missing out on their high school years that they will never get back, people are losing their jobs and their businesses, depression and the things that go along with it are becoming commonplace. Is it all worth it?

 

[Wendy1985]

I would love to say I don’t ever worry about bad things happening but when you bury a niece at age 7 from a sudden asthma attack that philosophy rings very hollow.

I am so sorry

But to answer the thread I am very calm about this surprisingly (sp)

 

[Hikergirl]

I'm a worrier by nature. I've worried about catching it and spreading it to my family and I've worried about my family and friends who have lost their jobs and might end up losing their business and therefore their livelihood. I've worried about everyone''s mental health. I think I've bottomed out with the worrying at this point.
Now I'm just trying to look forward to when things start to open back up. There are a few regions in the state that will on Friday and maybe even more added before then.
I know my region will be the last but it's nice to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[BrianL]

There are still large areas of the country that haven't had that experience. Yet. They will. Viruses don't respect state borders. I think if there have been only a few cases in your area, it's hard to understand just how bad things can get.

I don't think it's a correct assessment to say that areas that have not experienced a large number of cases absolutely will. Some areas are pretty rural and don't get much through-traffic so to speak. That certainly doesn't mean that those communities shouldn't be cautious, but given what we know at this point I can imagine a lot of towns will fair just fine with few to no cases. The entire US is not like the Northeast even though that is often assumed to be the case.

 

[lifesavacation]

Outside of covid, I have an anxiety disorder. I’m doing everything the experts are suggesting, wearing a mask in public, washing hands, not touching my face, washing high touch surfaces frequently, etc. I am fairly convinced that we are going to get it eventually. The shutdown cannot last much longer and we aren’t going to eradicate it before a vaccine. We’re under 50, normal BMI, no underlying conditions. So while I absolutely don’t want to get it, there’s no reason for us to think it will be fatal if we do. Hopefully, the medical community will have effective treatment methods when we do get it. I’m much more worried about the economy and the impact on my small business.

 

[Colleen27]

I think personality probably matters even more than risk for most people. As a species, we're terrible at making objective evaluations of risk and I think we're seeing that right now on a large scale.

I'm not a worrier in general. My husband and I are both young enough not to be high-risk on that alone, but I am overweight and he does smoke, so it isn't that we're super-low risk. Our community has only seen mild impact from the virus but our metro area is a hotspot and DH works in the heart of Detroit, so it isn't that we're isolated from the impact of the virus. We have both known multiple people who have had the virus, several seriously, one of whom died, so it isn't that we don't know how bad it can be. But I am a data/research geek, and familiar enough with history to know that as pandemics go, this is really quite mild no matter how shocking the numbers on the nightly news feel to us in a culture unaccustomed to deaths from communicable disease, and I think that perspective and my general tendency to go with the flow even when life drops me into the rapids has made this a less anxious experience for me.