Coronavirus

Toilet Paper, Hand Sanitizer, and Baby Wipes.... Oh My!

I've been wanting to write about the coronavirus for a few days now.  But didn't know how I wanted to start this discussion.  Did I want to discuss how people need to take precautions?   Did I want to discuss how fast toilet paper and hand sanitizer was sold off the shelves? Or did I want to discuss what drives people to do certain things..... FEAR!

How about a little bit of everything starting with some historical information.  For those that don't know, coronavirus isn't the first pandemic that the world has faced, SURPRISE!  That's right, this is just one more in a line of pandemics that the human race has ever gone through.

Instead of rehashing them all, let's first discuss how people need to take precautions.  First and foremost this is a virus, it is contagious.  Health care professionals are saying to wash your hands and keep everything sanitized.  Easy peasy right?  You would think so, but for some reason people have to be reminded.  Health care officials also added, do not touch your face.  Try not to congregate in large numbers.  Some states have no congregating in groups larger than 1000 to now no groups larger than 100.  Some schools and businesses are closing, some are staying open.  Around the world more people are getting sick, some recovering, some dying.  Countries are closing their borders

I went to the grocery to do my usual shopping and bought the usual staples.  I meal planned for the month, but I do that all the time.  I hate shopping so try to get most of my groceries once a month with only having to get items that I may have forgotten or run out of before I go again.  Now that you know more about my shopping habits than you probably wanted to know, let's continue.  About 1 week after going to the grocery I saw the 1st video about people fighting over toilet paper (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVHYTdGUAZM).

When I went to Walgreens to pick up a couple of items, the first thing I noticed was a sign on the door limiting purchases of certain items:  toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and thermometers.  As I was getting my items I noticed all of the toilet paper, hand sanitizers, and baby wipes were all gone.  What I also noticed was that there was plenty of hand soap and bottled water on the shelves. 

Now lets talk about fear, people that feed on fear, and people that profit from that fear but in reverse order.

Profiting from fear:  My initial thought upon seeing the empty shelves was that people are afraid of being without toilet paper if they are quarantined.  Something that I may see as irrational is rational to them.  This is their life, their experience, their belief.  What I did find was that there are people that tried to profit and some that succeeded in profiting from that fear.  People that went and cleared out shelves in multiple stores.  Filling up U-haul trucks, and setup their stores on Amazon and Ebay and began selling some items at a markup of over 2100%  and no, I didn't forget a decimal.  People see empty shelves and the fear of not having that item sets in, they will pay to get the items because it must be important if the shelves are empty.

Feeding on that fear:  Let's empty the shelves.  Health care professionals are stating to use hand sanitizer. People are going to dollar stores, groceries, drug stores and clearing out the shelves of hand sanitizers and baby wipes.  Some people may be thinking, What's going to happen if I get quarantined with my family and I have a baby?  The fear has settled in.

Fear:  Now that I have simplified, glossed over if you will, what happens when fear sets in.  Let's discuss this thing called fear.  First and foremost, fear is a normal emotion.  Some people will state that a persons fear can sometimes be "irrational".  I'm not going to judge.  This is  my simple take on panic which I believe starts with a fear of the unknown, a fear of what may be, a fear of not being able to stop something from happening, and a fear of not being able to protect those that are under our protection, ie parents, grandparents, the children.  As with every pandemic that has ever occurred, there is conflicting information which feeds this fear.  Some questions that may occur:  Who do I believe? How do we stop the virus?  I don't want it, is my health good?  I have allergies, will I have to explain my allergies? What if I sneeze will people think that I have it? I have parents that I take care of, am I putting them at risk? I have to isolate myself because I can't trust other people are taking the same  precautions as me.  

I believe that in a lot of ways we have been programmed to fear the unknown.  If we don't have the experience in dealing with something, we need to keep it at arms length until we are better informed.  But how do we open ourselves to the information?  How do we believe what we've been told?  I feel that if you look at a thing, recognize it for what it is, acknowledge the fact that you have limited control or even no control over a thing, then fear can be minimized. In other words an acceptance of the unknown.  What we have now that the human race didn't have during other pandemics like the Black Plague is better medicine, a better understanding of the human body, and shared information across the globe. 

Taking precaution is helpful not just for yourself but for others.  Thinking that you have super powers or that it won't happen to you is just another risk that isn't needed or warranted.  Understanding the information that is out there is key.  Ask the questions that are bubbling inside instead of thinking you know all the answers already.  Do your own research if you are capable.  Once again that is something that our ancestors didn't have.  We have so much at our fingertips that they didn't.  Make sure that the websites you are getting your information from are credible.  Stores will restock, don't pay exorbitant amounts of money on items out of that fear.  Make sure that the precautions that the health care professionals are stating are followed.  Wash your hands, sanitize items before touching them, and don't put your hands on your face.

For your own mental well-being,  talk to your friends and family it doesn't have to be in person but can be by phone and/or on social media.  Don't completely isolate yourself,  fear can also be your own worse enemy.

What I have written above is just my belief.  I do wish and pray that everyone is safe both mentally and physically.