Thriving and coronavirus – In this new blog, Thrive Programme Coach® Daniel DesLauriers, based in Northern Ontario (Canada), reflects on the similarities between the coverage/impact of Coronavirus and of the SARS virus back in 2002, and highlights how we can all be more thriving in the way that we view and react to global virus outbreaks…
As we all are aware now, unless one has completely isolated themselves from the news, another virus outbreak is upon us. Namely the Coronavirus, which was recently declared a ‘global health emergency’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO), mostly due to how quickly and globally the virus had spread (not unexpected given the volume of international travel and how interconnected the world has become). The most recent update on the spread of the virus from BBC News is as follows;
“The centre of the virus is in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and most cases have been in the city and the surrounding province of Hubei. New figures show the virus has killed 636 people and infected 31,161 in mainland China, the country’s National Health Commission’s said. It has spread overseas with confirmed infections in at least 25 nations. So far, there have been only two deaths outside of mainland China – one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.”
For the older generation of us this will undoubtedly bring back memories of SARS, another global virus which took hold in in 2002. Then, as now, there was mass media coverage and a lot of hysteria surrounding the event. There were even a bunch of concerts like one held outside Toronto (Canada) to get people out again because people had isolated themselves in fear.
So how does this pandemic and The Thrive Programme align, and how do we use the knowledge and insights from the programme for ourselves and to help others who may be struggling with this particular issue at the moment? Especially the emetophobics out there and those with generalised health anxiety, who typically have more extreme reactions to these kinds of health-related news stories.
Well there are many aspects of the program that would help someone navigate this problem (I encourage you to purchase the book or arrange a consultation with one of our consultants if you’d like to learn more). I am going to narrow my focus here to one particular aspect: PERSPECTIVE.
“So far, there have been only two deaths outside of mainland China – one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.”
BBC News, 7th February 2020
The ability to maintain perspective is intimately linked to our thinking. If you are someone who is accustomed to catastrophising, tend to brood about things and have very black and white thinking (something you will learn in the programme itself), you will tend to see this virus as something much bigger and more frightening than it actually is. Combined with the constant barrage from the media you can easily see how this would become a big problem.
In the end SARS, according to the World Health Organisation, affected 8,098 with 774 deaths in 17 countries. The fatality rate was 9.6% of those affected. Although the current Coronavirus is spreading quickly the fatality rate is currently 2.2%. In addition, very little mention is made in many news stories of the fact that most of the deaths from Coronavirus are in the elderly or those with pre-existing health conditions, rather than those in overall good health.
To put it in PERSPECTIVE, the average flu kills between 600-10,000 in the UK and 12,000-61,000 in the US (CDC). Though of course you don’t see constant media coverage or the mass hysteria for this, because it has become a more ‘normalised’ virus for people to contract (an article from a thriver and journalist last year explains exactly why some issues garner more ‘sensationalised’ news coverage than others – find it HERE).
The ability to maintain perspective in the face of a viral outbreak or in any aspect of life is a key to Thriving. This is why many of those who complete our programme report that not only have their original symptoms gone but they find dealing with many aspects of life – including a viral pandemic – far easier to navigate.
In conclusion, whether you are listening to the news or navigating Social Media, remember to please maintain PERSPECTIVE! It will make things much more pleasant.
Daniel DesLauriers is a Licensed Thrive Programme Coach® based in Canada. You can find more information about him – including contact details – on his Coach web page by clicking HERE. Thriving and coronavirus.
