How to Talk to Your Kids: Assuaging Fears during the Coronavirus Outbreak
TeleTherapy Mental Health Support to Help With Coronavirus Stress and Anxiety
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We have counselors ready to talk to you by phone, video conferencing or in office to help you work through your fears and anxiety. We can help you with what to say to your children.
Coping with these feelings and getting help when you need it will help you, your family, and your community recover from a disaster. Connect with family, friends, and others in your community. Take care of yourself and each other, and know when and how to seek help.
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Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus
Don’t avoid the topic. Children have already heard about the virus from the news, at school, or have seen people walking around wearing masks. When we avoid talking about important topics such as the coronavirus, it conveys to children that the topic is “off limits,” which can increase worry and anxiety in children. Stay calm. When talking to your child about the coronavirus outbreak, first make sure you are aware of your own feelings of anxiety or fear. If you’re calm and reassuring, your child is more likely to be calm. If you’re anxious or frightened, they will respond accordingly.
Reassure child by providing factual information. Stories on social media and the internet can be misleading. Some have inaccurate information and could lead to increased anxiety and worry. It is important to provide your child with age-appropriate factual information. For example, you can reassure them that health care workers are working hard right now to help keep people safe. You can also explain to them that the coronavirus is not as common as the flu, and that the scientists who study the virus think that most of the people who get sick will be fine, especially children.
Learn more here about how to talk to your kids about the Coronavirus.
Under quarantine?
A person living in Venice recently described the dynamic playing out around her, as Italy enforces strict social-distancing measures. She writes:
“There is an eerie silence throughout this city now, a drawn look on the face of anyone who is scurrying around the streets (as I still am), an accusatory dynamic between friends and family as each person tries to insist either that they are right in NEVER leaving the house or alternatively that they are right in STILL leaving the house… No-one seems to be able to accept the free decisions of others at the moment, from the government right on down, and I find that worrisome.”
Psychiatry professor Rima Styra and her University of Toronto colleague Laura Hawryluck, a professor of critical care medicine, researched quarantines during the SARS outbreak and found that 29% of those quarantined showed signs of PTSD, and 31% had symptoms of depression following isolation.
What to Do When You’re Alone
Despite the confusion over exactly how and when to quarantine, millions of people around the world will inevitably have to drastically reduce social contact and spend time in isolation to combat coronavirus. Frank McAndrew, an evolutionary psychologist at Knox College in Illinois, notes that enforced quarantine is particularly distressing. “Being quarantined gives one a sense of being at the mercy of other people and other uncontrollable forces such as an epidemic. This leads to a feeling of helplessness and uncertainty about the future that can be very unsettling,”
Ultimately, though self-care is important, professional treatment is crucial for a wide range of mental health problems. The mental health implications of isolation do not mean we shouldn’t quarantine. It’s essential to follow medical professionals’ guidance on combating coronavirus, just as it’s important to recognize the difficulties. In times of isolation, we can support each other by recognizing mental health struggles and providing comfort even from afar.
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