The 'Positive Mental Health' Corona virus thread

[RapidRainbow]

There are a lot of posts of people worrying. I thought it could be helpful to share positive and assuring information in one thread.

For me, the most reassuring thing so far is the fact that of approx. 1500 people in the UK suspected to have and tested for CV have come back as negative.

Yes and how great that children just seem to get mild symptoms. We should be so thankful for that fact.

I didn't sleep well one night week thinking about it. I've been squirrelling away some extras, and am happy that I have everything I need. We've been having doubts about going on holiday next month, but do you know what, I think we're just going to go and enjoy it.

tud41 your post is excellent. I wish more people could employ such excellent critical thinking!

This "80% will become infected" soundbite is being trotted out on every panic thread, and it's total misinformation. This just wasn't said in the context people (on the other threads) are implying, it was an absolute worse case scenario and even then very unlikely (because it didnt even happen in China!) There's an interview with someone from the WHO, who was actually on the ground in Hubei province. He basically said that they were confident that you could walk around the fever clinics, walk up to the doors of infected wards and as long as you employed proper hygiene you would not catch it. He said something along the lines of, I wouldnt be hear talking to you all without a mask if I thought I was a risk. (That's not word for word but isn't far off). Again, this isnt widely reported anywhere.

One of the people on the plane from Wuhan made a video diary of his time in lockdown Wuhan and in isolation in Liverpool. He went shopping on the video and was working there. He didn’t catch it. I can’t remember his name, but he was Irish. Young lad, I think he was a teacher.

Watching him made me feel better, that he’d been there and didn’t catch it. He wore swimming goggles and a mask shopping.

Also I've been musing this over. Any of you seen the pollution levels drop over China since the lockdowns.

I do wonder if the death toll has been higher there because of lung damage from years and years of pollution.

I think they said that at the start, that the population had poor heath in the first place, due to pollution and smoking. Also their healthcare system isn’t the same are ours. Which is why so many wear masks on the commute because the air quality is poor.

Pmk

This table is well worth looking at. I can't stand BoJo but do think we have a handle on testing of the virus. Look at the figures.
Firstly the Country
Then the number of tests performed
Then importantly the number of tests performed per million of population

This is encouraging for anyone who is worried. If people think they might have it, they can be tested.

USA is shocking. just 1 test per million of population.

South Korea
109,591
2,138

Italy
23,345
386

Austria
2,120
235

Switzerland
1,850
214

UK
13,525
199

Finland
130
23

Vietnam
1,737
18

Turkey
940
11

United States
472*
1

• as of March 1. On March 2, the "Total tested" figure was removed from CDC's USA website.

I feel more reassured today. I do think the media need to dial it down now with the doom mongering.

Things that have helped me include turning off all my bbc news/sky news push notifications on my phone and only checking the news once in the morning and once in the evening.

Also the facts and reassurance on this thread and staying away from ALL other Coronavirus threads on here!

are they now hounding us into mass hysteria?

They are trying their best. It's their job to keep us reading and suckered in. Time to take a stand and stop listening to the doom and gloom. 👊

I’ll leave you guys with one more positive thought befor bed that when People start to talk about Spanish flu and the amount of people it killed etc. We need to remember that in 1918 the average life expectancy was about 50 so anyone that was 35 or older would have been considered old and vulnerable which is why it seems so many younger people died. Also clearly adding on 30 years of life expectancy is not just through medicine. Our bodies are much stronger now than they were 100 years ago and even if a flu like that came around now it would not kill anywhere near as many people as the Spanish flu did.

Crikey I've woken up with a dodgy stomach today, definitely anxiety related. We are supposed to be going to Disney on a once in a lifetime holiday, paid for all our family to go at Easter and I just feel sick constantly at the thought. It's overwhelming the worrying right now.

Please try not to worry Awks. As I said upthread, DH is 70, I'm in my 60s and we are off in a once in a lifetime long haul holiday in precisely one month.

My only worry is having to change the schedule, I am not worried about the holiday and nor should you be, given we (me and DH) are more 'vulnerable' given our ages and other things. If the health professionals or Government tell me I can't go, I will not go, but as that hasn't happened I am looking forward and planning.

Start googling all the lovely things you are going to do, the Disney rides, all the exciting things to do with your long awaited holiday. That's what I'm doing. I hope your anxiety eases.

@Awks - it is worrying I know. We also have a big family holiday booked for Easter. However, I’m just keeping an eye on things and looking at travel advice etc. If we are allowed to fly then we will go. If we are told we can’t then we will be covered by insurance and will have to reschedule. Not ideal but ... Let’s keep fingers crossed!

I am really struggling trying to look at the positives, so grateful for this thread. I have hardly been out the last few days but have to collect my grandchildren from school and care for them today and tomorrow and it has sent my anxiety into overdrive. Really need some positive thoughts.

@tud41 - think you are my new guru!

Just a small reassurance as well - the figure being batted around of infected people is still including all those recovered. So whilst they keep saying 50 cases in the UK, it’s only 27 people who have coronavirus as 13 have already recovered and been released from hospital.

I have been on a years waiting list for CBT to help cope with overwhelming health anxiety. By the end of last year, I had gotten to the point where I was thinking of taking myself off the list as I was starting to feel better but this has been like a bomb exploding in my head. I am glad I have found this thread. I follow many health anxiety groups on Facebook but talk about the coronavirus isn’t permitted or comments get turned off on most of them as the panic talk gets out of control so it’s overwhelmingly difficult for health anxiety sufferers to find solace anywhere. I had started to get a bit of a grip by only watching Dr John Campbell on YouTube and limiting the amount of news I watch or listen to but this morning on Good Morning Britain they were talking to the Chief Medical Officer and some of what he was saying has started to get my anxiety churning again. They also say this may not peak for several months as yet. I honestly don’t know how my mental health will withstand it.

I studied Spanish Flu a few years ago, and from what I can remember it's really not perfectly comparable. A hundred years ago we didn't have the same public health knowledge or practice, didn't understand transmission as well, or even really understand viruses (viruses are weird though). It was however responsible for the start of putting into place good practice for mass infection control, something we are now colossally better at, as a global community. A hundred years ago people were moving over the globe in greater numbers than had done so before but there wasn't anything like the communication between countries or authorities. The globe was also in a crappy state thanks to the war so the population wasn't in the best of health generally. I think children were similarly less likely to get it though.

Also China has the largest smoking population in the world which is bound to exacerbate things for them. We've come along way in this country to reduce smoking with the ban etc so that's likely to help fortify our defence.

Somebody on here recommended a facebook group - Doomsday Debunked Main Group. It is a lifesaver for me. The guy on there explains all the actual facts and really helps put my mind at rest. I highly recommend it if you are stressing - like me. I am on the train to London for work and have been feeling sick about it all morning due to anxiety. My mum has a lung disease so not good if she gets it and Im terrified of one of us passing it on to her. Reading that facebook page really helps though. Even for a bit.

With everyone practising good hygiene at the moment, we could see rates of other infections reduce like flu and norovirus

@Awks try not to panic at the moment about your holiday. Last time I poke florida had 3 cases the population of florida is about a third of the UK so actually at the moment you are probably more likely to catch it in the UK than florida...

Also disneyworld is possibly the cleanest place I have ever seen and I'm sure they will be increasing how clean they are even more In light of this..

Going back to Spanish flu as well its not like now where one tweet and the whole world knows.. Most messages were done by telegraph etc which would have taken a long time to warn other countries about any new viruses and they would have taken hold befor any country had time to prepare.

Looked not poke haha

Decision Time on BBC R4 at the moment might be worth a listen on catch-up. Hypothetical Cobra discussion.
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