Grateful, not Fearful
How to stay calm in the face of worldwide panic
It is stressing to live during a pandemic. I get that. I see the panic at the gas station, the grocery store, and especially on social media. I know that numbers of cases, rates of the contagion spreading, and deaths reported can be terrifying and confusing. Everything everywhere is flashing fear at us.
Yesterday, before going grocery shopping, I told my four-year-old (who is a naturally anxious and worried all the time) that there is a new germ that is making people sick. This new germ is making people scared and worried, and we might see some people acting different at the store. Then I took his little face in my hands and looked him in the eye and said, “Mommy is not afraid. Mommy is not scared, okay?” And that’s the truth.
Sure, I don’t want my family and friends to get sick. I worry about my parents and in-laws as they are in the “high risk” category. I made sure we have a good supply of food so that, if things get bad, or we have to be quarantined, we will be okay. I’m not ignoring the fact that a rapidly spreading contagion has surfaced and is disrupting the entire world. But I’m not afraid.
To explain why I’m not afraid, step with me back in history for a bit.
Eurasia: Mid 1300s
It is now known by many different names. Black Death, Bubonic Plague, The Plague, the Black Plague, or Pestilence. Although no definitive cause is known, it is most commonly attributed to the bacteria Yersinia pestis. It manifests in three forms, listed most common (and least deadly) to least common (and most deadly): bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. Today we know all this. If you were living in Eurasia during the peak of the plague outbreaks, you had no knowledge of how it contracted or spread. All around you people were getting ill and within a week they were dead. Entire villages were wiped out, families gone overnight. Fear was rampant. People turned to blaming those of different ethnic or religious backgrounds as the cause of plague. No one understood it and because of that fear ran high. It is estimated that up to 60% of the population perished, most during a four-year peak in the disease. Can you even imagine that?
The World: 1846–1860
Although there have been many outbreaks of Cholera throughout world history, this outbreak reached far and wide. Starting in India it traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the America’s via water trade routes and migration centers. Many believed that the disease was spread through the air (called “miasmata” and also the supposed cause of the Black Death). This outbreak was before the development of antibiotics, and even the discovery of the correlation between germs and disease. It killed over one million people worldwide, including former U.S. President James Polk. During the worst year of the epidemic for the U.K. a physician named John Snow discovered that large amounts of cases were near one central pump in a poor area of London. Thankfully he was able to convince government officials to remove the handle of the pump and the number of new cases dropped dramatically. Until then, no one knew much about what was killing and making ill so many of their friends.
The World: 1918–1920
During the First Great War (World War I) a much quieter enemy hit close to nearly every home, including those in the Pacific islands and the Arctic. It was the Spanish flu. It took the lives of about 3% of the world population (death toll estimates are 17–50 million). Although that number may seem small, it sickened roughly 27% of the population, causing stores to shut down, hospitals to be overrun, and the economy to be disrupted. Although the flu didn’t come from Spain, to keep morale up during the war, only neutral Spain’s real numbers of those affect were reported. Unlike most infectious diseases, which wreak havoc on the young and old, this one seemed to affect the young adult population the most. This was especially difficult to face as most of the young and healthy young men were on the front lines of the war, malnourished and with poor hygiene, living in close proximity to one another- a ripe breading ground for infectious disease. The illness was rapid and widespread and then it left almost as quickly as it came in. In a time of unrest and uncertainty, it was one more thing to be afraid of.
Now
Now that you’ve had a little history lesson can you see why I’m not afraid? We have KNOWLEDGE, we have INFORMATION, we have MODERN MEDICINE. Yes, numbers being reported every day may seem frightening, schools, sports, and cities shutting down may terrify you, and a new virus with little understanding of it can seem like the end of the world. Facts are important to help us understand and stay ahead of these pandemics. The experts of the world are advising shutdowns and limited events to help us quell the spread of the disease. We live in a miraculous time when instantly we can be advised on what to do to keep ourselves and our families safe. I am grateful for that. I am grateful I didn’t live during the Black Death, major Cholera outbreaks, or even the Flu pandemic (thank you vaccines!). Although still present in today’s world, each of these diseases is understood and has treatments and preventative measures. I am grateful, not fearful. You should be too.
