by Michael J. Herkov, Ph.D.
The COVID-19 virus has, within a matter of weeks, upended our lives and led to drastic changes in our lives including work, school and shopping. Not surprisingly, such change can result in emotional distress.  While feelings of fear and anxiety are unpleasant emotions, they serve as important internal motivators for us to take action to deal with some potential danger. However, when excessive, they can dominate our thoughts and affect our lives in a number negative ways (e.g., impaired sleep, constant worry, incapacitation, decreased immune system).  As a practicing clinical psychologist for 30 years and a lifelong Orthodox Christian, I have been asked to provide a perspective and some insights on how to emotionally cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Trust Your Faith- You might be surprised that a psychologist would start off this discussion with a recommendation of turning to God.  However, research is clear that people with a strong belief in God respond better to a whole host of psychological stressors including anxiety, depression and grief. This is a time to pray and reach out to your parish priest for guidance and scriptural comfort. The peace and comfort you will receive from God will dwarf every other suggestion below.  Jesus has told us “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:28) and “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Where could we possibly find more comfort and protection than from God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?  
2. Emotion is a Cognitive (Thinking) Process- Our emotional response is the result of how we attend to and interpret information.  For example, the noise that we hear in the night that wakes us up from a sound sleep into a panicked terror is not the noise itself, but the cognitive attribution we assign to that noise, i.e., some stranger is coming up the stairs to harm us.  If we interpret that same noise as that old air conditioning unit turning on, our emotional response is totally different and we can quickly drift back to sleep.  Here are some specific steps you can take to alter your cognition of events and thus your emotions.
   1. Limit Exposure to Media Coverage- While knowledge is important in managing anxiety, too much or the wrong kind of information will only increase our fears.  We live in a 24-hour news cycle with constant “breaking news” that is often sensational and hyperbolic.  Viewing such information will only increase your anxiety.  Think about how you feel after watching TV or getting some new piece of dire information such as the death toll in Italy or the number of cases in New York City.  Has it ever made you feel better?  Solution: Stop exposing yourself to such information.  You already know all you need to know about how to deal with the threat of infection, e.g., wash your hands, avoid touching your face, practice social distancing, etc.  I am not recommending that you become an ostrich.  However, constantly watching the news or checking your phone about the virus is kind of like a person about to go swimming in the ocean after watching Jaws I, II and III.  How do you think that will work out? 
   2. Processing Information- In dealing with anxiety, it is also important to look at what information we attend to and how we interpret that information. As humans, we are prone to a number of cognitive or “thinking” errors or distortions that lead to unnecessary emotional distress. Several of the more common are:
      1.  Filtering- This is selectively focusing on the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring or filtering out more positive or comforting facts.  This error is particularly harmful in dealing with something like COVID-19.  For example, at the time that I wrote this piece, there were 33,070 cases in the US and 458 deaths; those numbers will continue to rapidly increase.  Focusing on these two statistics will increase your anxiety.  Solution: There is another statistic there; a death rate of 1.3%, which has been relatively steady.  While even one death is tragic, you may have less distress if you focus on the 98.7% of people who have gotten the illness and lived.  This number is even more promising depending on your personal demographics, i.e., not a single person in the US 19 years old or younger has died from the disease.  In fact, the vast majority of those in our most vulnerable group, the elderly, survive this illness.  Thus, what information you focus on will have an impact on how you feel. 
      2. Catastrophizing- This is when we take a situation in our mind to the worst possible conclusion.  This may include images of people dying in the streets due to insufficient hospital beds or ventilators; the total collapse of society or food shortages due to quarantine.   Solution: Reject these premises.  There is no data to support any of that.  Focus rather on the positive that the country is mobilizing our vast government and private industry resources to deal with these issues (e.g., Ford and GM converting their factories to turn out ventilators) rather than the doomsday scenario. 
      3. Mindfulness- This is a psychological principle that was actually taken directly from the teachings of Christ.  It involves staying in the moment and doing what we need to do right now; not dwelling on the mistakes of yesterday or the fear of tomorrow (“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.” Matthew 6:34).  Solution: Focus on what you need to do now.  While some of this is related to COVID-19, your life is much more than that.  Continue to live your life while following guidelines to reduce your risks.  
3. Seek Professional Help if Needed- If you find that your anxiety is still overwhelming, seek professional help.  While many clinical practices have modified hours due to COVID-19, there are a host of online counseling services that are available.