Coronaphobia, Herd Mentality, Opportunists, And The Dunning Kruger Effect
Coronaphobia
In December of 2020, Alisha Arora and some of her colleagues defined Coronaphobia as an excessive triggered response of fear of contracting the virus causing COVID-19, leading to accompanied extreme concern over physiological symptoms, significant stress about personal and occupational loss, increased reassurance, and safety-seeking behaviors, and avoidance of public places and situations, causing marked impairment in daily life functioning. In the paper, the author urges politicians and media personalities to refrain from scare tactics to minimize the condition. 1 Unfortunately, as John Adams famously stated, “Fear is the foundation of most government.”
Coronaphobia and other psychological stress lead to many different pathologies, including:
Psychosis
Depression
Bipolar disorder
Suicide
agoraphobia
Brain atrophy
Memory problems
Reduced cognition
Poor learning
Impaired immunity
Cancer
Hypertension
Cardiovascular disease
Appetite dysregulation (over and undereating)
Ulcers
Low stomach acid
GERD
Gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases like IBS
Leaky gut
Low bowel motility
Anorexia
Obesity 2
Comorbidities For Covid-19
The CDC's graph below lists the underlying diseases most associated with Covid-19 hospitalizations. 3
Anxiety Is Double Trouble
Ironically, coronaphobia is a comorbidity for Covid-19. Notice how the top ones are all related to metabolic health. High blood pressure, high triglycerides, poor cholesterol ratios, high blood sugar, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease are all very common and represent manifestations of metabolic syndrome. Many of my posts talk about ways to improve your metabolic health, like this one.
Since stress itself can lead to poor metabolic status, I thought I should point out to you that it looms right in the middle of Covid-19 comorbidities. So in a way, anxiety is double trouble since it is a comorbidity itself, but it also leads to several other comorbidities that compound cases of Covid-19. The graph below should hopefully help reduce your stress. It shows the overwhelming odds of surviving Covid-19 should you have a case.
Fear and Anxiety Can Lead to Irrational Thoughts
Anxiety and fear can lead to all sorts of behavioral issues, ranging from poor memory to psychosis. Coronaphobia's definition includes increased reassurance and safety-seeking behaviors as part of it. I am glad the authors had it in their definition because a population that wants increased reassurance and safety can be targeted and taken advantage of. Coupling safety-seeking with disordered thinking is even worse. History shows those suffering from this combination may adopt absurd thoughts to help them cope with their anxiety. Rubbing a lucky rabbit's foot is a relatively benign illustration of ridiculous behavior. But since it harms no one and benefits the believer, we need not be concerned.
Panic Is Contagious
Sometimes the masses adopt outlandish ideas to quell their anxieties, especially in the midst of overt scare tactics. Historically, generalized stress, including epidemics and natural disasters, is nearly always central to outbreaks of mass hysteria. The witch trials are a good example. For three centuries, numerous villages blamed witchcraft for plagues and other misfortunes. Witch-hunts resulted in the trial, torture, and execution of tens of thousands of mostly women victims. 4 Unfortunate incidents like the witch massacres are all too common.
"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one."
― Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Beware The Opportunists
Underlying fear leads to irrational thoughts that are then acted upon, sometimes in terrible ways. As I stated earlier, epidemics and natural disasters are nearly always central to outbreaks of mass hysteria, but strong personalities often convince the fearful into action. In The Art Of War, Sun-Tzu famously stated that "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity." Often, the panicked masses believe they can be rescued from their plight by a strong individual, group, or government because leaders preach comforting messages of rescue. Conversely, those who recommend differing solutions are met with anger by the fearful. The reason is that the panicked and fearful new belief system brings a sense of calm hope, and anything that might cause doubt in it will be dismissed.
The Way Of The Opportunist
Imagine a scenario where half the population believes that rubbing a lucky rabbit's foot will protect them from evil. However, the other half does not believe in the magic of the rabbit's foot; instead, they try to go on with their lives and take their chances against evil. Of course, there is no reason these two groups can't coexist, but the opportunistic leader of the rabbit's foot group will find his support weakening if his followers stop believing in the power of the rabbit's foot. Because the comfort found in belief in the power of the rabbit's foot brings a sense of calm, the natural tendency of the group is to reject the nonbelievers. The leader will use this to their advantage resulting in a schism between the groups. Inevitably, the leader blames the nonbelievers for the continuing ills suffered by the population. As the gulf between them widens, if the leader can maintain power, the nonbelievers will lose their rights, become shunned, marginalized, and potentially jailed and executed.
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins...”
A Look At History
Now that we have a basic understanding looking at the alcohol prohibition from the 1930s will make more sense. Overnight, the alcohol industry was no more, people lost their jobs, and suddenly something legal one day was a criminal act. Then, ALL people who drank alcohol became criminals and were regarded as a potential danger, not just those who drank to excess and broke the previously existing laws by hurting or killing others while inebriated. Suddenly, anyone who drank even a tiny amount seemingly could hurt themselves or others. The reality is that most people who drink alcohol do so responsibly and are no threat to themselves or others. But during prohibition, the vast majority's idea that alcohol could be consumed in reasonable quantities was dismissed by the government and their supporters. After years of criminal gang wars, raids, violence, and arrests, finally, Americans regained their senses, and the law was overturned.
Fight Fear Through Strength
It is incumbent upon us to not let fear and anxiety get the better of us, whether as individuals or as a society. So the first thing you can do is to be strong. Stong of mind and of body. Most of my posts cover topics of being physically resilient, so I will not cover that subject today.
What We Can Do Today
How can we strengthen our mindset? The same way we improve our bodies. Solid sleep, nutrient-dense foods, being active, and pursuing friendship over strife will lead to much healthier attitudes. 5,6 In short, put your own house in order. When we all do this individually, we all collectively benefit.
Do these simple things:
Sleep at least eight hours (make sure you don't have apnea)
Eat a nutrient-dense diet
Manage your stress
Stay active
Maintain good relationships
Be curious and learn (NEVER THINK YOU UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING)
How to achieve all of the things can be found in this post.
We Are Not As Smart As We Believe: Understanding The Dunning Kruger Effect
The Dunning Kruger Effect explains a common phenomenon that can be summed up by the phrase, " A little knowledge is dangerous." The graph above illustrates that those presented with a novel subject tend to believe it to be simple. As a result, they learn a small fraction of the total knowledge of an issue and believe themselves to be masters of it. The result is unfounded confidence in the new subject. However, if they are diligent and keep studying the finer points, they realize almost endless nuances, and their confidence wanes. We see this effect constantly in our lives. Learning to drive is a good example. Young drivers are much more prone to accidents than seasoned ones. We can avoid the Dunning Kruger effect by being good students and by striving to learn and question the validity of what we hear. This is a difficult thing to do but a worthwhile endeavor.
Recent events have resulted in a bombardment of virology, epidemiology, death statistics, immunology, PCR technology, public health policies, and more. Each subject is complex by itself; together these subjects intertwine in an endlessly confusing way. The only way forward is for everyone to stop panicking, communicate civilly, cooperate, and unite. As they say, united we stand, divided we fall.