To know Faye is to love Faye! When she reached out and asked if she could do a special guest blogger piece, of course, I welcomed it with enthusiasm. So below is what she asked me to share with you and as you can imagine it's pure gold. Thanks, Faye, and to all of you who read this blog- stay healthy!
From the desk of Faye McNall:
The human experience is such that we all live with stress. Stress is part of life. There is stress which we learn to handle all the time, such as dealing with the declining health of elderly parents, fear of a cancer screening or concern for job security. Rarely, some of us have to cope with individual tragedies that are incredibly stressful: a house fire, a missing child. The difference is that instead of experiencing personal stress, we are now experiencing stress as a group, a nation, a world. Every so often, throughout history, major world events occur which trigger this kind of stress. Think of a herd, all panicking simultaneously, as the predator approaches.
I often think back to my happy childhood in the 1950’s. Dad’s work brought home enough money that we always had plenty of food, nice clothes and toys, a warm house and a little camp on a lake. Back in those days, moms stayed home, kids played outdoors all day crossing from yard to yard, without worry about danger. However, the scary specter that haunted us all as kids came from the “duck and cover” drills conducted in our schools, where we practiced what to do in case of a nuclear bomb attack! The yellow triangle signs on buildings indicated fall-out shelters and some families had personal bomb shelters stocked with supplies, “just in case”. Diseases were scary too! I remember pictures of kids my age in iron lungs, sick with polio. I felt the danger.
Overall, our modern Western society has been fortunate with regard to seminal events which provoke large scale fear. The last time we experienced this was 9/11. Three thousand people were gone forever, and our nation had been attacked. Stores closed; groceries were in short supply. But then slowly things came back to normal. The whole experience changed our way of thinking and we moved on, more cautious now. Once again, the fear is upon us... and fear generates panic.
I worry that I might get the virus. Although not a high-risk, I worry that I could pass it on to a loved one who has health issues. I worry that there won’t be basic food supplies available at the market, such as bread or eggs. In a reaction to this fear of going without, we hoard what we can, while throwing reason and logic to the wind. I must hold myself in check. My fridge, freezer and pantry are well stocked. I don’t need to go to the store today or tomorrow, but I want to go in and get that extra dozen eggs! Common everyday objects and tasks induce fear of infection. I fill my gas tank wearing gloves and holding a disinfectant wipe. The keypads at the market and the bank are fearful vectors of the virus. When I open a shop door without using a barrier, alarm bells go off in my head until I can use the hand sanitizer.
But then I try to put it all in a historical perspective. Imagine the stress of surviving the Holocaust! I have read about the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1917. Family members died, one after the other. Occurring during WWI, soldiers who were our sons, fathers and husbands died in battle and more died of the flu, far from home. There was no way to stay in touch with them or ask how they were doing. We have it so much better now. We may miss seeing loved ones, separated by the absolute necessity of staying in isolation, but we can communicate so effectively. Despite the fact that we are each in a separate bubble of space, we have to get out of our heads and the tiny world we have around us now. We have to “think outside the bubble” and get beyond this. We have to suppress feelings of panic and put things in perspective. Will you live if there is no bread in the market today? Yes! As the news reports that there more cases of coronavirus every day, keep in mind, more people are being tested now. As a CDC expert explained, what we are seeing now for greater numbers is a result of where we were at two weeks ago, since the virus takes a while to produce symptoms. So, as we started to take isolation measures seriously about a week ago, eventually the infection rate will peak and decline. In the meantime, it helps to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. So, if you are on the front lines of healthcare, going into work at a hospital every day, take care of yourself too. And if you are blessed with being able to stay at home, use your time wisely and stay safe.
From the desk of Faye McNall:
The human experience is such that we all live with stress. Stress is part of life. There is stress which we learn to handle all the time, such as dealing with the declining health of elderly parents, fear of a cancer screening or concern for job security. Rarely, some of us have to cope with individual tragedies that are incredibly stressful: a house fire, a missing child. The difference is that instead of experiencing personal stress, we are now experiencing stress as a group, a nation, a world. Every so often, throughout history, major world events occur which trigger this kind of stress. Think of a herd, all panicking simultaneously, as the predator approaches.
I often think back to my happy childhood in the 1950’s. Dad’s work brought home enough money that we always had plenty of food, nice clothes and toys, a warm house and a little camp on a lake. Back in those days, moms stayed home, kids played outdoors all day crossing from yard to yard, without worry about danger. However, the scary specter that haunted us all as kids came from the “duck and cover” drills conducted in our schools, where we practiced what to do in case of a nuclear bomb attack! The yellow triangle signs on buildings indicated fall-out shelters and some families had personal bomb shelters stocked with supplies, “just in case”. Diseases were scary too! I remember pictures of kids my age in iron lungs, sick with polio. I felt the danger.
Overall, our modern Western society has been fortunate with regard to seminal events which provoke large scale fear. The last time we experienced this was 9/11. Three thousand people were gone forever, and our nation had been attacked. Stores closed; groceries were in short supply. But then slowly things came back to normal. The whole experience changed our way of thinking and we moved on, more cautious now. Once again, the fear is upon us... and fear generates panic.
I worry that I might get the virus. Although not a high-risk, I worry that I could pass it on to a loved one who has health issues. I worry that there won’t be basic food supplies available at the market, such as bread or eggs. In a reaction to this fear of going without, we hoard what we can, while throwing reason and logic to the wind. I must hold myself in check. My fridge, freezer and pantry are well stocked. I don’t need to go to the store today or tomorrow, but I want to go in and get that extra dozen eggs! Common everyday objects and tasks induce fear of infection. I fill my gas tank wearing gloves and holding a disinfectant wipe. The keypads at the market and the bank are fearful vectors of the virus. When I open a shop door without using a barrier, alarm bells go off in my head until I can use the hand sanitizer.
But then I try to put it all in a historical perspective. Imagine the stress of surviving the Holocaust! I have read about the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1917. Family members died, one after the other. Occurring during WWI, soldiers who were our sons, fathers and husbands died in battle and more died of the flu, far from home. There was no way to stay in touch with them or ask how they were doing. We have it so much better now. We may miss seeing loved ones, separated by the absolute necessity of staying in isolation, but we can communicate so effectively. Despite the fact that we are each in a separate bubble of space, we have to get out of our heads and the tiny world we have around us now. We have to “think outside the bubble” and get beyond this. We have to suppress feelings of panic and put things in perspective. Will you live if there is no bread in the market today? Yes! As the news reports that there more cases of coronavirus every day, keep in mind, more people are being tested now. As a CDC expert explained, what we are seeing now for greater numbers is a result of where we were at two weeks ago, since the virus takes a while to produce symptoms. So, as we started to take isolation measures seriously about a week ago, eventually the infection rate will peak and decline. In the meantime, it helps to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. So, if you are on the front lines of healthcare, going into work at a hospital every day, take care of yourself too. And if you are blessed with being able to stay at home, use your time wisely and stay safe.
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