By Isabel Keane, Rockland\/Westchester Journal News<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the pandemic worsens, and many grow tired of following restrictions, now isn\u2019t the time to let your guard down. According to public health experts, \u201cCOVID fatigue\u201d has contributed to the spike in positive cases in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People may be tempted to escape the cold and spend the winter months indoors with their loved ones. Especially after months of virtual events and socially distanced gatherings, some people are growing tired of wearing masks and following certain guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wendy Keller, a practice administrator at Newburgh-based Behavioral Health Services of the Hudson Valley, described the phenomenon of COVID fatigue the way someone might talk about running a marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like we saw the finish line and now we\u2019re realizing there\u2019s a spike, and another wave is coming,\u201d Keller said. \u201cAnd we don\u2019t want to accept that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much like marathons \u2013 grueling and seemingly endless \u2013 getting to that finish line requires stamina. But it’s within our human capabilities, public health experts and psychologists say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding healthy alternatives to activities we once took comfort in is crucial as we see an increase in cases, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPandemic fatigue is not about people wanting to be jerks. It\u2019s not about people wanting to harm other people. It\u2019s about fear and denial,\u201d Keller said. \u201cIt\u2019s about desperately craving something that\u2019s comforting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a society we\u2019re not great at delaying gratification \u2013 we want to feel good and we want to feel good now, Keller said. But in 2020 that\u2019s easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very used to instant gratification. If you have a question, you can Google it. If you want something, Amazon brings it to you two days later. We are not great at delaying gratification \u2013 and that\u2019s really all we\u2019re being asked to do while scientists develop a vaccination so we can be safe,\u201d said Keller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The newness of these changes \u2013 wearing masks, distancing six feet from others and washing hands \u2013 has worn off. The adrenaline that kept mitigation strategies intact has been replaced in part with stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you layer the pandemic with the political and social unrest that we have been faced with, people are more vulnerable to breaking rules and seeking out the things that would provide them with a sense of comfort. The things we\u2019re familiar with make us feel like we\u2019re in control,\u201d Keller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between being isolated and being unable to see an end in sight, many long for normalcy, but when we stop resisting that urge and go for what would provide us with a quick sense of comfort, we begin seeing spikes in cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that the cases we see now are the result of maybe two, three weeks or a month ago,” said Dr. Mark Kittleson, chair of public health at New York Medical College in Valhalla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a psychological perspective, riskier behavior like large gatherings where no one wears masks, or super-spreader events, are caused by the fear of losing what we once had, according to experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re wanting to go back to the things that are familiar to us, rather than live in fear or admit that we\u2019re still at risk,\u201d Keller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Jen Buchwald, a clinical psychologist at the Hudson Valley Center for Cognitive Therapy in Upper Nyack, echoed that sentiment, noting other emotions often tie in with fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you think about the stages of grief, there’s denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I think those stages really mirror what people are feeling,\u201d Buchwald said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“For people feeling anger, it’s a question of ‘who’s to blame for this?’ Or rather, they are angry toward their financial situation or so angry for people they know who have gotten sick or have died,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s also the bargaining stage of \u201cwell, if I do this activity, but don\u2019t do that activity, am I OK,\u201d she added, noting people tend to look at these situations categorically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viewing the pandemic as an ever-changing situation is necessary, according to Buchwald.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople may be thinking \u2018Oh, I was doing X, Y, and Z in the summer and I didn\u2019t get sick so I can keep doing that,’\u201d Buchwald said. \u201cBut they may have been able to do those things safely when the infection rate was low. It\u2019s important to be evaluating the infection rate in your area, and basing your calculations around that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stress and anxiety \u2013 two things we\u2019ve seen no shortage of this year \u2013 also have an impact on the way our brains process the information we use to make our decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a phenomenon studied in social psychology called cognitive dissonance and that\u2019s when there\u2019s a conflict of information that causes stress,\u201d Buchwald said. \u201cTo dissolve that stress people choose one side over another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A common example of this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomeone who is a cigarette smoker hears about how smoking can cause cancer. That\u2019s going to cause stress for them, and so they\u2019ll either decide to give up smoking, or that they\u2019re not going to believe that smoking causes cancer,\u201d Buchwald said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to the pandemic, to relieve stress and dissolve anxiety, people will \u201cbasically convince themselves that either they themselves are not at risk or their family or community members are not at risk. They stop thinking about it in order to not feel that type of stress of anxiety,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Younger people especially are susceptible to this kind of thinking \u2013 and while they themselves are not at risk most of the time, experts warn of the possibility of spreading the virus, according to Keller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But if they give it to their parents and their parents give it to their grandparent \u2013 who dies \u2013 they’re going to feel horrible. That’s a horrifying idea,” Keller said. “One of our defense mechanisms is to deny that. Who wants to think of that? That’s a terribly painful possibility and so we put it out of our minds. We tell ourselves we’re not at risk.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asymptomatic spread is a huge issue and cause of many coronavirus cases, and deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo much about this virus is secretive \u2013 people could be walking around with a virus that could kill other people and not even know that they have it. It is depressing. It is a very natural thing to feel very sad about what\u2019s going on,\u201d Buchwald said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s also the issue of not knowing how long the lasting symptoms or effects from the virus will stick around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And we don’t know yet if all those people are going to get totally better, or if it’s always going to be that way for them,” Buchwald said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another reason people might not be following public health and safety protocols? Sometimes our logic isn’t consistent with what\u2019s backed by science and medical professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t have any questions getting in their car, thinking it\u2019s relatively safe, even though it was science that created the car,\u201d Kittleson said. \u201cAnd yet when it comes to things like vaccines people sometimes become skeptical. I don\u2019t understand that logic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keller added to this point, noting \u201ctrust is not something people are really feeling right now. You have to try to trust the institutions we have, like the CDC and Department of Health. I know it\u2019s very hard to do in this social, political and economic environment \u2013 but follow their guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite this, health professionals say there is reason to be hopeful, pointing toward vaccinations expected to be publicly available in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There is an end in sight. And I think if we can focus on that, it makes it a little easier to make sacrifices today,” said Buchwald. \u201cI think it\u2019s helpful to think in terms of \u2018at least this.\u2019 Like, \u2018at least we have technology,\u2019 and \u2018thank goodness there are people working in supermarkets and food delivery.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think most people realize this is a serious infection out there,\u201d Kittleson said. \u201cYou may feel handicapped to what you can do. It\u2019s fairly simple: wear a mask, keep physically distanced from people, stay around familiar people, wash your hands. Those kinds of things can take care of an awful lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other tips from local experts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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