Corona virus and mental health..are people becoming paranoid?

[Marie5656]

I was a Social Worker in my past life, and dealt with some people with mental health issues. Lately, I have been reading things on Facebook, and the news that make me wonder about how this is affecting the mental health of otherwise "normal" People. I am not talking of depression, or bi-polar. But let me explain------

I have a former neighbor (move away last month). We HAD been friends on FB as well as friendly neighbors. Until I ended up unfriending him on Social media, AND real life. He went from posting things like pics of lost dogs, fundraisers and stuff to becoming a totally different person. He is a anti-masker who feels everything is a conspiracy. From being "forced" to wear a mask (he refuses) to it is all a hoax created by, whomever. What caused me to abandon the sinking ship was a couple of things.

First, when the riots were happening , we had some down town . He was certain their next stop was going to be our quiet little neighborhood. No reason for this. More recently the coin shortage is a hoax by retailers to MAKE us pay with debit cards. Again, no valid reason for belief or how this would benefit retailers.

Do you think that all of this is bringing on some sort of paranoia in people? They seem afraid of or against everything. I know this thing has messed with a lot of our heads, but still

Hope I explained well

 

[chic]

I think the media adds fuel to this fire ALL the time. As far as conspiracy theories go, some may be valid. Others not. The conspiracy angle is heavily political IMHO.

 

[Sunny]

A lot of the conservative mindset smacks of paranoia. Extremely conservative people seem to be abnormally afraid that someone is trying to take away their "rights," mess with their heads, etc. Their mantra seems to be "Bring back the good old days," no matter what that might mean.

Yet, strangely, they are not afraid of what they should be afraid of!

 

[Don M.]

I'm sure that this virus is, and will be, affecting many people mentally and emotionally. Long term unemployment is going to mess with people's minds....no matter how much money is thrown at increasing/extending benefits. The disruptions in everyday routines is more than many people seem to be able to handle. Violent crime and murder rates are going up in many of the major cities. The negative daily news further depresses many people...especially those who have little other than "time on their hands" to pass their days.

 

[MarciKS]

Just staying home & masking up at work has affected me so imagine what all this other stuff is doing to people. People who aren't used to these kinds of restrictions. I stay home all the time normally so this hasn't bothered me much. It has really affected those around me though.

The constant daily reminder is probably screwing with people's heads too.

 

[macgeek]

the news and our government lie so often, it's hard to tell what is true and what is not. I do know the virus is real, someone I know almost died from it and they spent days in ICU. how severe the virus is or how much we are at risk varies every day. We can't run and hide forever, life is full of things that can do us harm. Driving a car is dangerous but we do it every day.

 

[AnnieA]

Do you think that all of this is bringing on some sort of paranoia in people? They seem afraid of or against everything. I know this thing has messed with a lot of our heads, but still

Yes. It think it's fostered paranoia in some not ordinarily paranoid and unmasked it in some who already were predisposed to it.

 

[Marie5656]

the news and our government lie so often, it's hard to tell what is true and what is not. I do know the virus is real, someone I know almost died from it and they spent days in ICU. how severe the virus is or how much we are at risk varies every day. We can't run and hide forever, life is full of things that can do us harm. Driving a car is dangerous but we do it every day.

That is possible. You are right...we cannot hide forever, and we also cannot see everything as a hoax because we do not agree with it. There are so many facts out there, hard to sort them all out and fully understand them.
I am just concerned for people who are wild in their beliefs that it is ALL fake news for whatever reason. It always happens with major events....remember the guy who insisted the Sandy Hook shootings was fake, and did not really happen? And never mind that there are still Flat-earthers out there, holocaust deniers, and the moon landing never happened. People are interesting, that is for sure

 

[AnnieA]

...
I am just concerned for people who are wild in their beliefs that it is ALL fake news for whatever reason. It always happens with major events....remember the guy who insisted the Sandy Hook shootings was fake, and did not really happen? And never mind that there are still Flat-earthers out there, holocaust deniers, and the moon landing never happened. People are interesting, that is for sure

Think normalcy bias on 'roids. Studies show 70% of people have normalcy bias to some degree. Some people have to minimize threats to accommodate their normalcy bias and stuff the fear. Some to the point of conspiracy thinking. ..."If the bad thing didn't really happen, then I don't have to be scared of it"... Thing is, that type is usually so strident in denial that the fear shows loud and clear.

I stood one night as a teen and watched a tornado go over because my aunt stayed in the house to finish washing supper dishes rather than go to the storm shelter. Highly illogical but more the norm than I knew at that time.

 

[Aneeda72]

Think normalcy bias on 'roids. Studies show 70% of people have normalcy bias to some degree. Some people have to minimize threats to accommodate their normalcy bias and stuff the fear. Some to the point of conspiracy thinking. ..."If the bad thing didn't really happen, then I don't have to be scared of it"... Thing is, that type is usually so strident in denial that the fear shows loud and clear.

I stood one night as a teen and watched a tornado go over because my aunt all the sudden rushed back in the house to finish washing supper dishes rather than go to the storm shelter. Highly illogical but more the norm than I knew at that time.

It’s the old make sure you leave the house with clean underwear on in case you get hit by a truck-if you get hit my a truck for sure your underwear will not be clean. Logic flies out the window in moments of great stress.

 

[Marie5656]

@AnnieA I like your thinking. If I pretend it is not real, then, it is not real and will not hurt me. Makes sense.

 

[Judycat]

Yes a certain segment of society is paranoid of everything coming from the dull government and media. They would rather go with the gobbledygook coming from the fringes because it feels original and exciting. If the government and the media start spouting fringe gobbledygook, so much the better, doesn't matter if the fringe stuff is totally idiotic.

 

[StarSong]

@Marie5656, I'd guess your former neighbor always had a bent in this direction. He's just now letting his insides spill out onto social media.

 

[Marie5656]

@Marie5656, I'd guess your former neighbor always had a bent in this direction. He's just now letting his insides spill out onto social media.

Oh, I totally agree. He was always a bit, umm...excitable about things. These past few months have made him even more so. Interesting thing...his FB page was Public..all could see every thing he ranted on. So, once in a while I would check out his rant of the day. Just checked before making this response...and his FB profile is GONE. Not there. I think he got kicked off. I do not think he blocked me...as I unfriended him long ago.