Staying Informed Without Getting Overwhelmed During COVID-19

Question: It seems like they’re constantly coming out with new or changing information regarding COVID-19. How do I find the line between staying informed and consuming so much news that it makes me anxious?

Response from Rhoda Olkin, PhD: This is a timely and very relevant question for all of us. We are more isolated as we shelter in place, while we consume more news. The information regarding COVID-19 can feel contradictory and confusing. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, there are starting to be clearer trends as medical professionals learn more about this new coronavirus. Masks and social distancing are the main factors that reduce transmission of this highly infectious disease. Where can one turn for reliable information? I recommend listening to medical professionals, and not to politicians. Good sources are the physicians and researchers who appear regularly on MSNBC, and those from Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington. I pay attention to Dr. Fauci, as he is very experienced in pandemics. And I try not to pay too much attention to what my friends say—although many of them are very careful, others are more casual. It’s no use arguing because, ultimately, we each make our own decisions. I err on the side of caution, but I’m privileged in that I live in a house with a backyard and have a job I can do online. Others have fewer options, are frontline workers, or need a paycheck. Obviously as polio survivors we have special fears about getting the virus, whether because of worries about our breathing or a history of negative hospital experiences. We know that a vaccine can wipe out some diseases. But the initial COVID-19 vaccines are more likely to be like the seasonal flu vaccine—about 50% effective, and only for a limited time. Thus, it seems we are in this for the long haul. Therefore, choose one to two trustworthy sources, stick with those only, and ignore the rest.

Use your own best judgment—I trust you. Be mindful as well of what else you are doing with your time. Balance is key. If news and staying informed puts drops of anxiety water into the glass, you need to do things to take the water out of the glass, so that it never spills over. Reading fun things, creating, planting and gardening, laughing, deep breathing— these are ways to decrease the water level. And remember that this too shall pass, even if not as quickly as we would like.

Post-Polio Health (Vol. 36, No. 3, Summer 2020)