Threat or challenge?

Once again, I found this article by Dr. Bethany Teachman incredibly valuable. In it she discusses two ways of looking at Coronavirus: as a threat to be feared and defended against, or as a challenge to be met.

The article advises not running away from your fears, but instead using this time to deal with them. It reminds me of years ago, when I was the primary salesman for my brand-new packaging company. Back then, my biggest challenge was leaving my safe place…my home.

I was afraid of travel, talking with people I didn’t know, trying to get them to like me, or at least trust me, and ultimately purchase goods from my young company instead of our more-established competitors.

The fears of agoraphobia may be imaginary, but their effects are real. And when you consider how many people suffer from anxiety, you realize it’s a serious problem for our society, both in terms of health and the health of our economy. For a long time, I was constantly testing myself, never ‘dropping my armor’ to see if I could take these fears head-on to move forward in a positive manner.

Once again, University of Virginia psychology professor Bethany Teachman nails it! She writes, ”feeling threatened can make you hyper-focused on monitoring for signs of danger, which can in turn mean consuming terrifying stories about COVID-19 almost non-stop.” She goes on to advise thinking of the threat as a challenge.

Essentially, this involves switching your thought process. I remember the day I first realized that my illness had a name, and that many people suffer from this type of negative thinking. I was able (over time) to learn how to cope with the beast, accept that it’s my cross the bear, and develop the necessary tools to manage the condition.

This COVID is real. And so were the thoughts in my head. By looking at this pandemic as a challenge that we’re going through, we can take steps to deal with it, and understand that sometime in the near future we will be at peace. This can help condition our minds to look at negative things as a challenge and an opportunity grow. Feelings aren’t facts, unless you want them to be.

Be well, and thank you Profesor Teachman!

–Brian