Covid19 virus: how much worrying is too much worrying?

It’s important to differentiate normal worry from neurotic worry and anxiety. Let’s face it, unless you’re living in a cave, you’re going to feel some stress, anxiety, and worry over the spread of this virus. Normal (perhaps a better word would be “understandable”) worry/anxiety can be defined as a proportionate reaction to this pandemic. A proportionate reaction is grounded in the present, NOT the future ‘what-iffing.’ It’s a realization that some of our emotions are, in fact, unavoidable. And perhaps a major difference is that a proportionate reaction deals with being “concerned” rather than being worried. Let me explain.

Concern deals with factual and smart reactions to what’s going on in your life today. It’s being prudent, washing your hands and avoiding crowds; it’s fact based. Worrying, since it deals with future outcomes of chaos, cannot be a fact-based (since no one knows the future). Therefore, worry must be an emotional fiction. And therein lies the key; you want to be limiting yourself to facts, NOT emotional fictions.

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