November 3, 2021

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How to stop fixating on the daily COVID numbers

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Credit: AI-generated image (disclaimer)

Daily updates of COVID case numbers have been part of our pandemic lives. These numbers are reported, analyzed and widely shared. They're conversation starters, and with good reason.

Until recently, daily numbers had direct consequences. Officials used them to make decisions that significantly impacted our lives. No wonder many of us were glued to the daily media conferences or kept an eye on our announcing the numbers.

But as Australia opens up, we've been warned to expect higher case numbers. And with so many of us vaccinated, we've been told to not follow the case numbers so closely. Instead, we should be focusing on the rates of people hospitalized with COVID.

Why is it so hard to disengage from daily case numbers? What should you do if, like a car crash, you can't look away?

Why are some people fixated?

Rising case numbers can provoke anxiety, whether it's because of increased restrictions or concerns about you or a loved one being infected.

However, some people, especially those vulnerable to anxiety or who have already been diagnosed with it, may continue to fixate on daily case numbers, despite advice not to. This fixation is likely to increase their anxiety, particularly as case numbers rise.

Some people seek out and pay greater attention to information around them they perceive to be a threat. This tendency, known as attentional bias, is thought to have an evolutionary basis. To survive, paying greater attention to risky things around you may help keep you safe and increase your control over the situation.

Looking out for information that might affect your safety—such as COVID case numbers—is normal and can lead to helpful behaviors, such as following social distancing rules.

But too much is linked to anxiety. So, fixation on daily case numbers, particularly when it does not serve a specific purpose or impacts day-to-day functioning, is unlikely to be beneficial.

How we interpret the numbers also matters

Understanding COVID trends is important as it can lead to helpful behaviors, such as getting vaccinated. However, exposure to COVID information can be a problem if it results in catastrophising to the point where it's having a significant detrimental effect on our psychological well-being.

What is attentional bias?

With increasing rates of vaccination, daily case numbers are less accurate indicators of threat to our well-being than earlier in the pandemic when vaccination levels were low.

That's because high vaccination rates reduce the rate of transmission and severity of COVID-19.

So case numbers no longer signify the implementation of the types of public health measures we've been used to (such as state-wide lockdowns), or the likelihood of becoming unwell due to COVID.

What if you can't look away?

If you are fixated on the numbers and it's doing more harm than good, you may need to make some changes.

But you do not need to avoid the numbers, even if they are causing some distress. Staying well informed from reliable news sources is an important way to maintain well-being during the pandemic. Totally avoiding the case numbers is unlikely to improve anxiety in the longer term. That's because avoidance does not address the source of your anxiety.

What you can do

Here's what we recommend instead:

If you need any extra support

If you're struggling to disengage from the case numbers or other COVID-related information—and this is causing significant distress or having a negative impact on your life—you may need extra support.

Speak to your GP, who can provide a referral to a mental health professional.

Online resources or support include: Lifeline, 13 11 14; Beyond Blue, 1300 22 4636; eheadspace; MindSpot; or This Way Up.

Provided by The Conversation

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