One year ago today, I held my first YouTube livestream on psychology, mental health and the coronavirus pandemic #covid19nz Here’s the link: Psychology of the Coronavirus Outbreak | 2019 – nCoV
The spread and impact of the novel coronavirus has seen the implementation of various forms of managed isolation and / or quarantine arrangements (MIQ) around the world. This blogpost is all about the different psychological impacts that being in quarantine can have on people, what the causes might be, and what we can do to help minimise those impacts.
With the plane carrying people home from Wuhan scheduled to arrive in New Zealand later today, and the people then being screened and transported to a designated quarantine facility for 14 days. I wanted to talk about what we should be doing to protect and care for those health and welfare workers who will be working in environments where they potentially may be exposed to the novel coronavirus.
… if people feel cornered or blamed, then they’re more likely to hide away, and possibly break quarantine to try to get support, or because they feel scared and targeted.
There is a lot to think about when considering the impacts on individuals and communities affected both directly and indirectly and for those concerned about the spread. I want to look at some cognitive biases that might alter how we perceive the risk of the coronavirus, and how susceptible we might be to it, and how we might over-react, under-react, and how we can change or calibrate our reactions. But, let’s start with some background…