The psychology behind the denial of the coronavirus


The coronavirus outbreak, as devastating as it is, also offers a unique view into the human psyche and the way people choose to respond or make up the dominant epidemic psychology

We have seen a mixture of resilience, empathy, altruism and people turning to faith

But there is another very strong aspect on display in many cases, denial

Before talking about that, it is extremely important to look into how we respond to stress

According to DSM-5’s section of Trauma and Stress Related Disorders, an experience that is unexpected and challenges our wellbeing or integrity in any way, often leads to a traumatic response from the recipient, regardless of their age

The traumatic reaction may involve sleep disturbances, nightmares, changes in cognition, shift in moods, motivation and appetite

A recent research (Wang et

al

, 2020), conducted after the coronavirus outbreak in China, suggested that there was an increased level of anxiety, stress and depression in people

 Past studies on psychological impact of outbreaks, such as Ebola, elaborate the same notion that stress, panic and traumatic reactions are normal to uncertainty

The helplessness involved in the entire process and the realisation of the inability to save one’s self and loved ones kicks in hard during such times

Furthermore, even evolutionary psychology tells us that survival instincts are bound to kick in the crisis situation we are in today

Survival instincts could also be coping mechanisms, as explored by Austrian neurologist, later turned psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, whose theory stated that when a human being is threatened with unpleasant experiences the death instinct is triggered in them and they instinctually (automatically) resort to sanity restoring strategies or coping mechanisms, which he called ego defence mechanisms

Some defence mechanisms have been parts of popular culture, such as projection (of fear), displacement (of anger) and sublimation (of urges into artistic pursuits)

As discussed before, the most common aspect of human psyche that can be seen today is denial, which in fact is an ego defence mechanism

Anna Freud explains in her book ‘The Ego and The Mechanisms of Defence’, that denial often happens without any insight on part of the person exhibiting it

It simply means that many of us do not even know we are in denial, until much later or in some cases at all

Those in denial could include those facets of the government that still think a debate on mosques is a better idea than a total ban during the COVID-19 outbreak

This in turn contributes to the epidemic psychology of the country and downplays the scale of the problem, whereby if the government does not ban congregational prayers, is the pandemic really that bad? A lot of political representatives, as well as the recent message in place of our ringtones on our mobile phones, reiterate the message that the coronavirus, may be dangerous but not life threatening can again add to denial as a collective response and impede the implementation of necessary policy necessary in the times of a crisis, whereby some people may not socially distance or may not stay at home

Even leaders like US President Donald Trump are guilty of being in denial and endangering their public

I also dealt with the denial of my elders, where scared by their own mortality or the unexpected nature of the pandemic, some older members of my family refused to pay heed to the directions of social isolation

A quick search on the internet showed that I was not facing this problem alone and many elders, confirming my belief that this too is a result of denial of the actual threat posed by the situation

The denial is particularly evident in instances where people have run away from enforced quarantine after being diagnosed, putting not only their households but adjoining areas at risk

Such instances are motivated by the attached social stigma to being diagnosed, bad conditions at quarantine facilities, coupled with a strong sense of denial about the consequences of not getting adequate treatment or being contagious

It is normal to be scared in the time of a pandemic and to especially hate on those that may not be practicing social distancing correctly or downplaying the coronavirus threat, but as the theory of denial suggests, these people may not even know that this is a reaction to feel safe

It is the need of the hour to support each other, even those who seem brazenly unaffected by the crisis and continue to indulge in life like nothing has changed

We need to help those around us work their way to better coping mechanisms in this crisis so that they may actually stay safe and our epidemic psychology converts into one of hope and perseverance



Date:02-Apr-2020 Reference:View Original Link