Introduction: Imagine this: You’re a jet pilot cruising in the stratosphere when suddenly your navigation systems fail, plunging you into a spiral of certain death. Miraculously, you’re able to pull the nose of your plane up and level off. Your gut-wrenching fear of death is gone, but a flood of confusion rushes in: What happened? Am I safe? What comes next? Throttle back your mind; Today’s article will land you on a new runway.
For weeks, a flood of news about COVID-19 has ripped out our emotional navigation system, plunging us into fear. We want answers: Am I safe? How can I keep my children safe? Will a vaccine arrive in time? How can I stay healthy? To help answer these questions, we are going to travel back in time to the Middle Ages, to tell the story of the most lethal pandemic ever to strike mankind: The Bubonic Plague, or, the Black Death.
“Stop, Dr. Elghammer, you’re making it worse! I’ve just chewed off my fingernails over COVID-19, and now you want me to chew off all 10 fingers when you talk about the Bubonic Plague?”
Yes. The story of the Plague is not just about fear, it’s also about sacrifice and courage. Perhaps we’ve forgotten what it’s like to sacrifice for others? Since the dawn of time, we humans continue to have babies, cook pasta in our kitchens and dream about our futures. When fear grips us, we sing out: “As long as we stay connected, we will survive, this will pass.”
Here’s your flight plan for today’s article.
Part One: Lessons from antiquity. Using the book, “Disease,” by Mary Dobson, an Oxford historian of medicine, we’ll look at the Bubonic Plague.
Part Two: Rebuilding your emotional navigation system. Common reactions to COVID-19 and what to expect.
Part Three: Take Action.
Part One — the Bubonic Plague.
The Bubonic Plague occurred in three cycles. The first, 540-8th century, spread from Asia to North Africa, to the Middle East. The second cycle, 1330’s-18th century, included the Black Death of 1347-1353, and the Great Plague of London in 1665. The third cycle, 1855 to the current time, began in China and turned to India (where it killed 12.6 million). It struck the Pacific Coast of the USA in the 1900’s. San Francisco was hit twice. Currently, there are about 2,000 new Bubonic Plague cases each year. The death toll of these three cycles, while impossible to know exact numbers, is probably over 100 million people.
Our current use of quarantine — a time period of isolating people who have been exposed, with the goal of preventing the spread of a disease — originated in Italy in 1377. Travelers coming from infected cities who entered a Venetian colony were detained on an island for 40 days. A process called guaranti giorni — which is the precursor to the word quarantine.
The lethality of the Bubonic Plague is mind-numbing: In its early stages, if untreated, it killed 60%. When it entered the lungs it killed 90%, and when it entered the bloodstream it was 100% lethal. So, what caused this plague and how was it spread?
In 1898, two scientists discovered the truth: when rats infected by the Plague began to die off, infected fleas that lived on the rats went searching for new blood — humans. Flea bites under the arm or groin (called buboes) injected the disease into human flesh. For almost 10 years, this finding was rejected by the scientific community.
Three lessons to learn:
1. Pandemics are neither new, nor likely to go away.
2. The complexity of the bacterium is astounding. This is why the Bubonic Plague is still active today.
3. Just because science discovers a truth, it doesn’t mean it will be believed or utilized.
Part Two: Rebuilding your emotional navigation system.
COVID-19 has caused major upheaval in your life. You may be home-bound, socially isolated, living in fear about your health and financially stressed. All of these are normal reactions to natural disasters like pandemics. Here is what you can expect — more fear and anxiety until the pandemic runs its course. Depression and a sense of aloneness, due to the loss of routines (work, school, exercise, church). But remember, you did not create this pandemic so, let’s look at how to survive it.
Part Three: Take Action.
The human brain is designed for survival. Fear triggers the 3-F system: Fight, Flight or Freeze. The only good solution to COVID-19 is Fight, as translated in this action plan:
1. Keep a schedule — sleep, wake, eat and yes, exercise.
2. 30 minutes max of media exposure.
3. To fight boredom, catch up on reading or finish a project you’ve been putting off.
4. Make the most of technology and stay connected to others via electronics, phone, texts.
5. Stay strong for your children — break down when they are asleep.
6. Take one day at a time and remember, this is temporary.
7. Do what you can to help others — it’s a great way to fight off depression.
8. Project yourself into the future and ask this question, “Once the COVID-19 crisis has passed (and it will), what do you want to say about how you handled it?” Have some fun with this:
a. I cleaned out three closets.
b. I played monopoly with my kids (we finished).
c. I took my dog for a walk every day — he lost weight, I didn’t.
d. I’m starting to cut myself some slack — I’m kinder to myself.
e. I started to read the local paper — guess whose article I read?
9. If you become overwhelmed, seek out the help of a professional.
The content of this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for treatment by a professional.
References:“Disease,” 2013. Mary Dobson, Quercus Editions, Ltd., and American Psychological Association, 2020, APA.org.
Dr. Richard Elghammer contributes his column each week to the Journal Review.
