Two Narratives and Three Coping Strategies for these Frightening Times

There are two distinct narratives about the coronavirus pandemic lockdown circulating in mainstream and social media.

One is the official line – that a deadly virus is threatening humanity and responsible governments around the world have locked down citizens and all normal life to stop the spread.

This narrative evokes three psychological reactions as coping strategies:

1.    Emotional reaction. Many people have become extremely fearful of catching and spreading the virus and are following the self-isolation and social distancing directives to the letter. They trust the government, the same governments that lie and manipulate people and enact harmful legislation. They have started to distrust other people around them and get angry at those who break the rules and selfishly venture outside their homes. They are living in hope that a vaccine will be developed soon.

2.    Practical action. Many people such as medical doctors and nurses and hospital staff, community workers and volunteers and good neighbours are swinging into action to help and care for the sick and vulnerable. They are heroic and genuine people who have risen to the challenge of helping others in this crisis.

3.    Positive Mental Attitude. Many other people are practising self-care while confined to their homes – healthy eating, exercise, meditation, yoga, being creative with music, poetry, art and humour and sharing videos on social media encouraging and supporting others. Others offer spiritual comfort and prayers. They are seeing the lockdown of human activity as positive for the natural environment and dreaming of a future when this ordeal is over and we have learned from the experience and create a utopian world.

Being Positive 

Another Way of Seeing This  

The second narrative is that the coronavirus is less dangerous than the common flu, which has for many years killed multitudes of people.

 This view claims governments are using the Coronavirus Pandemic to justify shutting down normal life, putting citizens under house arrest and introducing an authoritarian police state to control ordinary citizens. Why? This narrative claims governments are puppets of greater powers, a hidden Ruling Elite, that has several agendas. There are many theories about what exactly these agendas are from bringing in harmful 5G technology, mandatory vaccines, depopulation and mass control.

Police given new powers

This narrative claims governments have taken away our right to work and earn an income, our right to socialise and our freedom of movement. The Ruling Elite aims to deliberately trigger a global recession, or worse, a depression.

Impact of the Coronavirus hoax on poor people in India

This narrative also evokes the three psychological coping strategies in those who believe this.

1.    Emotional reaction. Many people go into disbelief and denial. No rational person wants to believe their government is malevolent and capable of an elaborate, orchestrated deception with the intention of controlling and harming everyone. This would make those in power sociopaths!

Other people become outraged and want to fight back against the forces of evil. Some of us feel confident and empowered by seeing through the hoax and refusing to succumb to fear. Still others with fragile mental health can slip into paranoid obsessions about whacky conspiracy theories and suffer psychosis.

2.    Practical actions. Those who believe this narrative will research and gather information and share knowledge with others on social media. They will become activists and stage protests against the government and risk ridicule and hateful attacks from those who believe the official narrative and worse, punishment by the new police state.

3.    Positive Mental Attitude. Believers of this narrative have faith and hope in the power of the people to rise up and overthrow corrupt governments. They believe that when enough people know the truth, the majority will take back power and reinstate democratic governments that genuinely care about humanity, animals and the planet.

Your Choice 

Which narrative are you choosing to believe? Who’s telling the truth, who’s telling lies? The government and mainstream media mob or that crazy conspiracy theory mob? What coping strategies are you adopting?

While most of our choices have been taken away from us in this bizarre Orwellian far-fetched reality, we can still choose what to believe, who to trust and how to response.

I believe Narrative Two. And I’m choosing empowerment over fear, freedom over submission and spreading information as a coping strategy.