These worries are definitely legitimate, as 500,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19. But, when your anxiety and fear of the virus start to overtake your life, you could have a condition called coronaphobia. Researchers coined the term “coronaphobia” in a paper published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry in December. It’s defined as “an excessive triggered response of fear of contracting the virus causing COVID-19.” It can lead to an excessive concern of symptoms, increased “safety-seeking behaviors,” stress over loss, and avoiding public places and situations—to a point that it interferes with your daily life. “It’s an exaggeration of the symptoms or focusing on the symptoms, so any little twinge in the body can be interpreted as a symptom of coronavirus,” says Dr. Susan Albers-Bowling, PsyD, a psychologist at Cleveland Clinic. “I’ve seen many patients who have had this, so it’s a very real condition.” People are on especially high alert, she says, since COVID-19 comes with a range of symptoms that mimic a cold, flu or allergies. Since COVID-19 is weighing on all of our minds, Parade.com asked mental health experts to explain what coronaphobia is and discuss some of the signs that you have it and how it can be treated.
What exactly is coronaphobia?
Coronaphobia isn’t technically an official diagnosis. Albers-Bowling says it’s a subset of obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder, a phobia, or a type of hypochondria. Certain things like seeing news stories about coronavirus, masks, or talking about the virus can trigger an exaggerated fight or flight response. “Almost everybody in the world is freaked out about the impact of the virus,” says Dr. Steven Dubovsky, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo. “There’s a population of people who are excessively anxious about catching the virus, being incapacitated or dying from it or giving it to other people.” While the pandemic is an unprecedented event that does warrant some concern, he says people are constantly bombarded with information about COVID-19, and the information changes often and is sometimes contradictory. That’s intensifying the fear and anxiety. “The pervasive sense of danger and lack of certainty, I think, are making a lot of people feel vulnerable,” Dubovsky adds.
What are signs you have coronaphobia?
It’s good to have a certain amount of concern over your health and to take necessary precautions to help protect yourself and others from COVID-19, like wearing a mask, social distancing, washing your hands and staying home when you’re sick. “Where it becomes a problem is when it interferes with somebody’s daily functioning,” Albers-Bowling says. People with coronaphobia might have trouble sleeping, overeat or under-eat, get panic attacks or struggle to concentrate. “One of the biggest results is a lot of avoidance behavior and isolation, that to control the fear, people just don’t go out of their homes or avoid people,” she adds. “To some extent, that’s OK because it’s related to social distancing, but we need connection and support during these rough times.” Someone with coronaphobia experiences significant distress over any aspect of COVID-19, Dubovsky says. They may refuse to go to work or to the store because they feel it’s not safe, go overboard with sanitizing groceries or other items, or spend too much time watching the news or researching the virus. “If you’re feeling like you’re not safe anywhere and that you can’t do your daily activities, or it’s taking excessive amounts of time and energy to carry out everyday tasks, then you have a problem you need help with,” he emphasizes.
Who’s most susceptible for coronaphobia?
Everyone worries about their health to some extent. But, some are more likely to feel extreme anxiety over their health and are at a higher risk for coronaphobia. They’re overly preoccupied for their health and constantly monitor their body for symptoms. “Those are the people who have more somatic symptoms,” Albers-Bowling says. “They’re much more sensitive to taste, touch, textures, things like that. Those would be people who are more susceptible to having fears around coronavirus.” Research published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders found that people with high “disgust proneness,” or the tendency or sensitivity to disgust, before the pandemic were more likely to experience high coronavirus anxiety. People who weren’t cared for adequately as children may be more susceptible, Dubovsky says, “They look for something that’s going to justify getting care-taking in the form of medical care, meeting their needs symbolically.” Anyone predisposed for anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder or with an easily triggered fight or flight response are more susceptible, too. If you’re prone to having a phobia, you could develop coronaphobia and alienate or isolate yourself from others. “This is also increasing the sense of danger that people feel, and when people feel more vulnerable, they don’t know what to do,” Dubovsky explains. “They feel like they’re in danger, they feel there’s no one to lean on, and they become more anxious and avoid anything that causes that anxiety.”
How can you treat coronaphobia?
If your coronavirus anxiety is affecting your ability to function, talk to a mental health professional, Albers-Bowling urges. Coronaphobia is treatable. You may need cognitive behavior therapy or medication to reduce your anxiety, or you might have another underlying mental health condition that needs treatment. “I talk with my patients about focusing on what is versus what-ifs, because when they start to get into the what-ifs, their mind starts to spin and catastrophize of all the possible events,” she says. Acceptance is another area Albers-Bowling focuses on—there are some aspects you can and can’t control. “This one is tough for people because there are certain aspects of the coronavirus we can control, washing our hands and wearing a mask,” she says. “But there’s such a big unknown factor that we can’t control. And that part we just have to accept, which is very difficult.” Deep breathing and grounding exercises also help people move out of their heads and allow them to focus on what they can control. Generally, make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D, which can improve your immune system and lowers your risk for depression and anxiety. Eating well, sleeping, exercising, limiting your coronavirus media consumption and getting outside could help, too. Next, read about COVID-19 embarrassment. Sources
Dr. Susan Albers-Bowling, PsyD, psychologist at Cleveland ClinicDr. Steven Dubovsky, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of BuffaloAsian Journal of Psychiatry: Understanding coronaphobiaIssues in Mental Health Nursing: Vitamin D and Depression: Where is all the Sunshine?Journal of Anxiety Disorders: Pre-pandemic disgust proneness predicts increased coronavirus anxiety and safety behaviors: Evidence for a diathesis-stress model
