December 23, 2020 – The headlines are sobering: “COVID-19 deaths exceed 9/11 deaths in a single day” and, more recently, “2020 marks the deadliest year in US history”.
It seems that 3,000 people who die every day should instigate widespread compassion and change in public behavior to stop the virus from spreading. But not like this. Despite a request to stay tuned, Thanksgiving vacationers have overcrowded airports in record numbers for the pandemic, and airports are also reporting busy Christmas trips. People just don’t ignore orders to stay home, they ignore them. In Los Angeles, police arrested 158 people at a “super spreader” party despite staying home. Many people still claim they have the right not to wear a mask.
This apparent indifference that sets in when we face such a crisis is what mental health experts refer to as mental numbness, says Paul Slovic, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, Eugene, and president of Decision Research, a not-for-profit institute that studies decisions in modern life.
Psychological numbness is a lack of emotion associated with information, “he says.” The meaning of information is largely determined by the feeling that information creates in us. “
“When some information makes you feel positive, it is a signal to move closer to any situation. If it gives you a negative feeling, it is a signal to withdraw. We need those feelings to really understand the meaning of the information.”
How we respond to a crisis like the pandemic depends on the mindset we use, Slovic says. He quotes the work of the psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who received a Nobel Prize in economics for his work on decision-making and author of the bestseller Thinking Fast and Slow.
Slow thinking uses mathematical models, says Slovic; This is how we were taught to think in school. “We can think that way, but rarely do it because it’s hard work,” he says. “The human brain is lazy; when it can [process information] through feeling, this is our standard way of thinking. “
The only way to understand the impact of the COVID toll, according to Slovic, is to think slowly and carefully so that we understand what science is telling us. Without doing so, he says, as the numbers get bigger and bigger, “You don’t feel anything; It’s just a number. “
As the tragedy mounts, concern has not kept up
In their research, Slovic and others also found that concern about people at risk does not increase with the number of people affected. “A person in danger can signal a lot of strong feelings,” he says. “People will risk their lives to save someone in danger.” This is especially true if the person is a loved one, he says.
However, if I told you that two people are in danger, you wouldn’t feel twice as concerned. You are already concerned about one. If there were two you might feel a little more concerned. “” Or you may feel less concerned because your attention is divided.
In one study, Slovic and his team presented three scenarios to college students: a 7-year-old girl who was desperately poor and needed help, a 9-year-old boy who was desperately poor and needed help, or both who needed help. Students found higher donations when a person needed help, he found.
He concluded that the decline in compassion could begin with the second life at risk.
Regarding the COVID death and the total number of cases, he says, “They have no meaning for individual life. This is psychological numbness. You lose the feeling, you lose the emotion. These are [just] dry statistics. “
Psychological numbness and other problems
Mental numbness is common in other areas too, including climate change, says Leif Griffin, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area
“Psychological numbness is that adaptive way of not feeling or fully registering the nature of the threat, or in some ways the traumatic experience occurring, on an emotional level,” he says.
It gets hotter every year, but we don’t want to think about what it means for our planet, Griffin says. Through mental anesthesia, we can be aware of something, but not process it emotionally or be in contact with what is happening. “
In a way, Griffin says, mental numbness is like saying, “Don’t interfere with my sense of security.”
Robert Jay Lifton, MD, a distinguished professor emeritus of psychiatry and psychology at the City University of New York, coined the term mental anesthesia.
“When I interviewed survivors of the first atomic bomb dropped on a human population in Hiroshima, they often described their minds being turned off. I came to name this psychological numbness.”
And he says, “It can be adaptable” and help people cope with certain situations. In their cases, he says, it was a defense mechanism to get through the experience.
But if the mental numbness persists in the face of danger, it can lead to significant problems that can lead to withdrawal or even depression, according to Lifton. It’s one of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he says.
According to Lifton, mental anesthesia is playing a role in the COVID pandemic as people use it to try to suppress their fear of death.
Reduction of COVIDs “Psychic Numbing”
Psychological numbness can affect behavior, including resistance to mask wearing and other preventive measures, both Slovic and Lifton agree.
Public health experts need statistics to fight COVID, Slovic says, but he suggests they also try to create a feeling when they come up with numbers if they want to cut down on mental numbness.
For example, it might be helpful to view a graph that shows the upward trends in cases and deaths. “Even if you don’t know the exact number, you can see the curve is going straight up. If you look at that rapidly rising curve, you get a feel,” he says.
Talking about individual cases is another great way to lessen psychological numbness, Slovic says. And when statistics are presented, healthcare providers should talk about crowded intensive care units and emergency rooms, he says. Stories of people who contracted COVID after turning down the risk are also powerful, he says.
WebMD Health News
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Paul Slovic, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon; President, Decision Research, Eugene, OR.
Leif Griffin, PsyD, clinical psychologist, San Francisco Bay Area.
Robert Jay Lifton, MD, distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Psychology at the City University of New York.
American Psychological Association: “Paul Slovic Observes the ‘psychological numbness’ of COVID-19.”
WebMD: “CVID-19 Deaths Exceed 911 Deaths In A Single Day.”
The Hill: “CDC Director: US COVID-19 Deaths Likely To Exceed 911 Toll For 60 Days.”
PLoS One: “Compassion Fading: Affect and charity are greatest for a single child in need.”
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