COVID-19, cognitive dissonance, and coping

COVID-19, cognitive dissonance, and coping



“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function”

F Scott Fitzgerald



Thanks to social media, there are about as many views on the COVID-19 pandemic as there are people. Many of these play to our collective wishful thinking (“this is little more than seasonal flu; we are overreacting!”), and some even convince us by their quasi-scientific reasonableness. And then there are some true experts, who make their case with data (“dying of versus dying with COVID-19”; https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/). On the other hand we have the messages from world leaders, who have all, rather unusually, sprung into action. And even if we don’t take their word about the gravity of the situation, there is the constant barrage of images and numbers from hysterical mainstream media. Lastly, and most pertinently of course, the confusion is regarding issues related to our own mortality. This is a level of cognitive dissonance that we as a population have never experienced in our collective lifetimes!



Now, you will all agree that the vast majority of us wouldn’t fall under the category of Fitzgerald’s “first-rate intelligence”, and we most definitely aren’t stable geniuses, who can both endorse and brush aside sound advice all at the same time! So, for most of us, being subjected to opposing viewpoints and messages, leads to intense anxiety. And the social distancing doesn’t help either! The dissonance and anxiety is even more acute for over a quarter of the world (South Asia and parts of South-East Asia) where, perhaps the epidemic is trailing Europe and North America. (Perhaps not? Who knows!) We look on, with foreboding, at the carnage wreaked by the virus elsewhere, secretly hoping in the back of our minds that it will be different here. After all we have far fewer cases, don’t we? (Oh! But we aren’t testing enough!). Maybe our governments acted well in time and we’ve managed to nip the epidemic in the bud? (No! social distancing and lockdowns can only flatten the curve, we will end up having just as many cases, but spread over time!) Maybe it’ll get too hot for the virus, and we may have some sort of immunity too, what with all the malaria and the BCG vaccinations. (It’s all conjecture and wishful thinking! You’re just burying your head in the sand!) And then there are those exponential growth curves and the ubiquitous tickers counting away the number of cases! There’s enough going on to lead people to commit mildly heinous acts, none of which may relate to producing a baby boom as some anticipate (https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/04/03/will-the-coronavirus-lockdown-lead-to-a-baby-boom).



Calming the mind

What can be done to reduce our collective anxiety? The simple answer is of course to focus on the facts and act accordingly. The key to this lies in our ability to separate facts from speculation. While it is never easy to do this, a good guide to the facts at this point in time, ironically, is what your governments believe! All else is conjecture. You can draw hope from speculation, but it should not guide your actions. Thankfully, most governments around the world have based their advice to their peoples on solid facts and sound science. So, it will be calming to trust, for once. Trust that good judgement has prevailed all round, and faithfully follow your governments’ directives. Call me naïve, but I would put down the transient trustworthiness of politicians as an unintended consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. For people who aren’t yet in the thick of the epidemic, whatever else anyone may say, it would be wise to presume that outcomes will not be greatly different for you than for the rest of the world. Thankfully, here again, government actions are consistent with this belief. So, dear reader, the key to resolving the dissonance is to trust in the science, act accordingly, and hope for the best.