Controlling the Panic
Cases of swine flu, or H1N1, are climbing and spreading to more states. At least 141 people in the U.S. have been infected, and one Mexican boy visiting Texas has died. Many more cases will be diagnosed—likely many thousands—before the spread of the illness ebbs. Public health officials and journalists warn of a pandemic, an epidemic of infectious disease that sweeps across a large geographic area, such as a continent, or around the whole world.
The toll of this new flu may turn out to be disastrous, but there’s no current evidence that a calamity is brewing. Thus far, every American who has contracted the illness has survived. Even if there turns out to be 250,000 cases this year, the number will still be dwarfed by the toll of diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, depression and alcoholism on our population.
What the 141 cases of H1N1 flu have already proven, however, is how vulnerable we are to panic. Americans are on edge, uncertain about the economy and uncertain about the direction our President is leading us. Ultimately, for all but those with the steadiest of nerves and most solid sense of self, we are a nation collectively experiencing a sense of impending doom—one of the hallmarks of panic disorder. H1N1 may or may not cause serious physical suffering for our population, but its emergence will cause serious psychological suffering for a nation already traumatized by deep doubts about whether the solutions to our collective problems reside in bailouts, embracing dictators and apologizing for our national shortcomings.
Some might say that connecting our reaction to H1N1 flu to the economic crisis and cultural crisis at hand is too great a leap, that we are as steady on our feet emotionally as a population as ever. I don’t think so. I’ve been at my work 16 years, seeing adults and adolescents facing every imaginable twist and turn of fate. Never before I have seen as many individuals who feel disempowered, unable to mount any resistance (words intentionally chosen) to the stressors impacting them.
Our psychological resistance to trauma of any kind is down right now. That’s one reason that Air Force One flying low near Ground Zero was such a grand faux pax: It re-traumatized thousands of people who don’t have emotional bandwidth to spare. It’s even possible that our psychological stress could reduce our resistance to physical illnesses, including H1N1.
It’s time for a real public health initiative, rolled out through private health care providers and, perhaps, community health educators, that targets two certain epidemics already sweeping the nation: anxiety and depression. They may not be spread by coughing and sneezing, but they have the capacity to paralyze us emotionally and cost our nation dearly.
Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His newest book, “Living the Truth: Transform Your Life through the Power of Insight and Honesty” has launched a new self-help movement. Check out Dr. Ablow’s website at livingthetruth.com.
Tags: disease, Dr. Keith Ablow, economic crisis, flu, H1N1, joe biden, obama, pandemic, Public health officials, Swine Flu, Texas
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why does our goverment think that we are so stupid..todays people are much smarter and observant of everyday things..i cant help getting frustrated by the bs that all of our gov throws at us..when will we the people stand up to the wrongdoings and bull…
I think most people who dealt with the Y2K scare and the very real picking up the pieces after 911 tend to be better informed and more critical thinkers overall. Of course we feel a little battle worn with this changing economy. Of course we are aware we can be blindsided by the unknown. But in the end I see more and more people say “you know what? I handled that and I can handle this too” about so many things. Maybe I’m in a different place, but I see less anxiety and depression and more self responsibility than I used to.
Excellent write. The whole pandemic thing is just a smokescreen to take peoples’ attention away from real issues, like the financial chaos at the moment. 35 000 or more people day of ordinary influenza every day in America and thousands (no proper records kept) of people die of Aids and Malaria every day in Africa! Remember SARS, another pandemic that whimpered out! Someone controls these things for a reason. I would like to know the reason. Anyway, don’t worry readers, you are more likely to be killed in your bath, or crossing the road, so relax. Stess kills!
One more disease to add to your list of those that are causes of illness/death. . . obesity. Last week in the U.S. there was 1 death from swine flu and 5,769 deaths from obesity.
D. Barnett
http://www.weigthlossforwellbeing.com?ck
We all have to pay more attention to our health.Especially with the flu going around. If you live somewhere that the flu has spread to you need to take the proper precautions to assure that you are not infected as well. If you have any symptoms, even a small cold, you should not leave your home. You may be infected already and if you are not, your low immune system is not able to handle anymore stress.
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the media has completely blown this issue out of proportion http://www.getrealblog.net/blog.html
A key to understanding our anxiety, is that this strain of influenza is one that we have no immunity against thus far. Also, the fact that it is composed of avian,human & swine strains is unnerving, to put it mildly . To allay the fears of people, reason should take priority over a ratings” share” battle.The basics should be gone over i.e THOROUGH hand washing, if running a high fever- quarantine yourself from senior or very young members of the family or coworkers for that matter.For obvious reasons ,management could reasonably & legally , require a MD.s diagnosis of any employee calling in sick .Our elected officials and media have to act responsibly now to be considered credible in the future.
My wife has been treated for depression, bipolar, you name it since she was bitten by something in Alabama in 2003. She was tested for tick bite 2 weeks later no meds worked, neg. so they stop antibio early. now she’s back to start. No one knows . I believe most people been treated for depression/bipolar are suffering from dracular diasease ( bitten by a blood sucking bug). Think about how many are bitten. This is a larger problem than flu. Why isn’t more research done. I read 30 million people take meds depression/bipolar. All have the same symptoms, start out feeling strange then pain,fever,sleepness,anigity, heavy fast heart beats and ect. Something needs to be done