It is midnight and I’m feeling anxious. I am hearing my daughter cough—she and I returned from New York City four days ago. I’m highly aware of what is known about the incubation and symptom development of the coronavirus. What if she, I, and all the others flying home from NYC last week became the latest vectors of this disease? I have a feeling of dread that I can’t shake, and it’s fueled by the fact that I can’t protect her from any illness, let alone coronavirus.

Anxiety is natural. It’s to be expected in times like these. The news cycle keeps us up to date on every change in the number of infected persons, or the number likely to die. There is a sense of foreboding about whether oneself will get sick, or whether our children or parents will fall ill. We rightly worry about what will happen to the economy and our financial well-being. And, it’s not as if anything else goes away—there is still work, financial obligations, an impending presidential election, countries at unease, and climate change. It is easy to reach the point of feeling on edge, irritable, anxious, or overwhelmed. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel some of those feelings tonight.

Turning the Anxiety Around

Here are some helpful tips to consider as you grapple with the uneasy feelings associated with the coronavirus:

1. Accept It – It’s important to accept that this is happening; it’s real. Don’t pretend that it’s not. Look for the middle ground here—avoid the Armageddon predictions, as well as the pundits who say this will be over in a week. Accept that your partner, your children, your friends, your parents likely have some level of anxiety—some more than others. Be willing to share those feelings—sharing does not mean that one is weak. That honesty may make one feel less isolated in learning that others feel the same way. Talk to your kids to understand their feelings. My daughter asked me why I was buying extra groceries when I had told her that I wasn’t scared. Her question opened up a wonderful conversation; I am so glad she asked.
2.  Be Informed – Keep yourself informed, but, don’t fall for the endless news cycle and the counting of the numbers of people who have become infected, or what the politicians are saying. Use legitimate sources such as the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control websites. Listen to the science. Know what your public health authorities are saying so that closures don’t come as a surprise, and you are aware of mitigation efforts.
3. Recognize our Burdened System – Try to understand that the healthcare system is under strain right now. The coronavirus is additive—none of the other needs for healthcare have gone away. This means that triaging is critically important and because for the vast majority of cases—those with mild and moderate symptoms—the care is symptomatic, there is no cure. Demanding to be seen because of cold or flu symptoms doesn’t serve anyone. Those with documented fevers, and with shortness of breath or labored breathing, need to be prioritized and seen first.
4. Take Advantage of the Time – If you are now working at home, embrace some of the time you’ve saved in not commuting. Use this time to go for an outdoor walk, or to do yoga in the house. Start journaling. Engage in self-care, and care for those who live with you. Read your child an extra story, cook a hot breakfast, watch something that will make you laugh. All of this will support your ability to focus while you are at working from home. And if you are still needed in the office, use this time to focus on the task at hand. Remember to engage in handwashing, and social distancing. Use your commute to focus on something other than the coronavirus. Listen to a book or find new music. While at work, think about starting a desk exercise routine.
5. Recognize the Challenges – Realize that working from home and social distancing can be hard, especially in our tech-enabled world. If you are someone who travels a great deal for work, and those travels have been placed on hold, understand that you might become antsy at being grounded for weeks on end. Your routine, and the routine of your family has been upset. Talk about it. Understand that while it may be hard for you to stay home, it may be hard for your family to change their usual routine that takes place in your absence. It will take time to adjust and that’s okay. That’s the reality.
6. Maintain a Routine – Do your best to keep your usual schedule, and keep your kids on their schedule, too. This isn’t a holiday. It’s a time to be productive at home during the usual work and school hours. It’s a time to get a full night’s sleep. Print worksheets for your kids. Read. Keep screen time limited to educational activities. If going outdoors is an option, stay active outside. If it’s not, access an exercise program online. Checkout online books from your local library. Play a game. Do a puzzle. Watch television or stream some of the content you’ve been wanting to watch—but not for endless hours. I have ordered a PSAT prep book, and downloaded DuoLingo for my daughter. While she’s not so happy about that, those unpopular choices are the right thing to do.
7. Seek Help – Finally, if the anxiety is affecting your ability to carry out your roles, seek counseling. While face-to-face visits may not be possible, look for telemedicine or tele-behavioral health providers. If these are not an option, seek support through app-based services. Apps that focus on cognitive behavioral therapy or problem-focused therapy may be helpful. Look for apps that support relaxation, medication, and techniques to deal with insomnia.

As our country engages in mitigation, and promotes self-isolation and quarantine, realize that none of this is easy. But it is necessary. You aren’t in it alone—the whole community, even most of the world’s population is adjusting to this new state of life. By participating in what is best for the community, you are taking control of the anxiety by doing something to fight the spread of coronavirus. It’s important to recognize the critical role you are playing in this fight. Thank you.

To learn more about what Magellan Healthcare is doing to support clients during the  COVID-19 pandemic, visit  MagellanHealthcare.com/COVID-19.

To learn more about Magellan Health’s corporate response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to view Magellan’s available resources click here: https://www.magellanhealth.com/news/covid-19/

When I was a child visiting my grandparent’s Iowa farm, I would often hear stories of how my mom and her eight brothers and sisters lived during the war efforts of the 1940’s. My grandma described a common purpose—that sense of pride that the family rationed and repurposed. Their singular focus was that the good of the individual was less important than the whole of the country, even the world.

Watching the coronavirus make its way across the world and rapidly grow in the United States, I can’t help but think of those stories. As the shelves of Costco and Sam’s Club stores emptied this weekend, and school closures were announced community by community, it made me realize that our time to step up is now. Our singular, collective focus needs to be mitigation and in order to be successful, mitigation efforts need to be embraced and enacted on by us as individuals.

What is Mitigation?

Mitigation is a strategy to reduce the seriousness or impact of a natural disaster, such as a pandemic. The goals of mitigation include minimizing morbidity and associated mortality, avoiding an epidemic peak that overwhelms healthcare services, keeping the effects on the economy within manageable levels, flattening the epidemic curve to wait for vaccine development and manufacturing to reach populations, and actively pursuing the development of antiviral drug therapies. Practically, mitigation relies on social distancing—measures that are taken to restrict when and where people can gather to stop or slow the spread of infectious diseases such as the coronavirus.  Social distancing measures include limiting large group gatherings, closing buildings and canceling events. However, for mitigation to be successful, individuals, even those who are asymptomatic, must be willing to self-isolate.

Self-Isolation Challenges

In a society as mobile as ours, and where high degrees of social contact is the norm, self-isolation is challenging. For instance, if one has become accustomed to eating meals outside the home, the transition to grocery buying and cooking may seem formidable. If one is used to getting together with friends to play cards, go running, have a beer after work, the loss of those types of activities will create holes in one’s social network.

We are fortunate to have an infrastructure in which many people can work from home and education can be delivered virtually. Workers who cannot isolate because the nature of their work cannot be done virtually, must take precautions. While in the workplace, distancing at least six feet, maintaining high levels of handwashing and the use of hand sanitizers is a must.   When returning home, it is best to avoid being in the presence of those most vulnerable to coronavirus—elders and persons with underlying comorbidities. It is also important to acknowledge that one may feel anxious and may not have all the answers that our members or clients are seeking. Maintain lines of communication with co-workers and supervisors. For those who are new to work at home, talk to coworkers for whom this has been the norm to get some advice on structuring the workplace and the day. And don’t forget that you can use technology to connect with friends. Facetime, Skype and other video conference capabilities are a great way foster your relationships during social isolation.

Mitigation is a critically important strategy to quell the spread of the virus. It has been beneficial in China as new cases are now falling. In areas where community spread is mild, targeted isolation of high-risk people, or those who may have come in contact with the virus, can be implemented. Even inside households, those with symptoms should keep distance from the healthy. And, even if you are asymptomatic, but have been in a high-risk area or where there is growing or wide community spread, it is important to maintain social distancing and self-isolation.

Social distancing and isolation are not easy—but I am trying to look at them as the Victory Gardens of my mother’s childhood. I hope that 50 years from now, my grandchildren will hear stories of how the United States and the world beat back the coronavirus, and I hope that my children who are on this journey with me now will reflect and recognize the importance of a global community, productively working together for the common good.