coronavirus worries - Anxiety struggles

[CloeDee]

hi guys,

I'm probably being over-anxious ( i do suffer from anxiety ) i'm completley freaked out about this coronavirus... i stay in Glasgow in scotland so there are no mention of the virus here but i'm totally freaking out, i have a hospital appointment tomorow and i have convinced myself me or my partner are going to catch the virus.

Don't really know what advice i'm looking for, any one feeling the same or feeling overly anxious about something they have no control over

I am freaked out about attending my hospital appointment tomorrow incase there are some unknwon cases there

anyone?

Anxiety is horrible & I really feel for you. But you are more likely to catch regular flu than corona virus.

Maintain good hand hygiene (washing with soap, not using antibac gel) is the best thing to do.

There are no confirmed cases in the UK

Anxiety is horrible, and you need to recognise that this is what your problem is, not the risk of coronavirus (which is infinitesimally low - no confirmed cases in UK). It just happens that coronavirus is what your anxiety has latched on to right now - it it weren't this, it would be something else. Your fears are caused by your anxiety, not by reality - you are safe. Keep reminding yourself or that.

I feel like it's more a risk to miss the appointment than getting Coronavirus, it's not even here and even if it was I imagine normal flu would be easier to catch and that's not common in itself!

As a registered healthcare professional I urge you not to worry. Coronavirus is basically viral pneumonia, so far only 106 people have died from it (in the world). Compare this to the common cold or bacterial pneumonia 106 people probably die from this everyday but they have underlying conditions that make these illnesses worse. I'm not sure why there has been such huge media coverage of this, but I can assure you that you're safe to attend your appointment :)

Anxiety is a bastard
The best thing you can do is to try to pretend you never heard about coronavirus and go to the hospital appointment and carry on as though nothing has happened.

Some great advice above. I also suffer from anxiety and I know how easy and upsetting it is to get totally fixated on things. The only thing that really helps me is to focus on the facts. When you focus on the numbers the mortality rate is really quite low. I read recently that over 6k people have died worldwide in the current flu season and I didn’t see it flashed all over the news.

The media love to get us riled up about something. A couple of weeks ago WW3 was starting and now we’re all going to die in this pandemic. In a couple of weeks there’ll be some new crisis.

Are you currently seeking help for your condition? If not perhaps you speak to someone in the hospital about your anxiety. Pregnancy symptoms can exacerbate anxiety and there are probably midwives attached to the hospital that provide support and counselling.

There are tens of thousands of pregnant women in Wuhan right now. Worry about them, instead.

Hi CloeDee, how are you getting on? How far gone are you?

I totally empathise with you. You are justified in feeling anxious - coronavirus is massively risky for pregnant women, and with supressed immune systems we are more likely to catch it.

I caught a virus in the winter and the 36 hour high fever caused a miscarriage at 9 + 4.

I'm now 11 weeks PG and terrified of catching coronovirus and getting another fever.

No, there is not more risk of flu - the flu jab protects those pregnant women who got it.

The risk of death is not what pregnant women are worried about. I am not scared of it killing me, I am scared of the fever which will likely kill my unborn baby in the first trimester or cause severe helath issues in the 2nd or 3rd.

Of course it's best for us to stay positive and we will probably be absolutely fine if we take all the standard precautions, but the anxiety of pregnant women is legitimate, there is so much more at stake.

Pregnant women are being overlooked, and the poor women in their first trimester in Wuhan/Hubei etc. have not even been reported on.