How to turn anger and blame around Covid-19 into kindness and compassion
Feelings of anger and blame can be a natural initial response, but aren’t helpful to you or others.
Here are some coping strategies and ways to understand and turn those emotions around.
When you look at how Covid-19 has impacted people and countries around the world, New Zealand is often applauded for having one of the best responses in the world. Australia too.
New Zealand was ranked best in the world at responding to Covid-19 in January 2021 by the Lowry Institute. Global business leaders thought so too in a recent survey by Bloomberg.
Even with all of the hard work and success, Covid-19 has continued to pop-up and disrupt our lives. All along experts have warned us that more community outbreaks were a matter of time, especially as the Covid-19 virus mutated and became even more infectious.
With the recent lockdowns and alert level changes, many people felt strong, difficult emotions bubble to the surface: anger and blame.
Anger and blame was a common and totally natural first reaction, especially as it was reported that not everyone had been following the rules.
Just this week another border-related case popped up, triggering those difficult emotions all over again. The reality is that this is the world we live in right now.
Covid-19 cases aren’t going away anytime soon. Almost everyone is living with the possibility of further outbreaks and lockdowns, or even scarier outcomes, like losing a loved one.
The vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel for 2021 in New Zealand and many other places. But how do we get by until then?
This is where compassion, kindness and coping strategies come in.
If you felt anger and blame, you’re not alone. Sir John Kirwan felt it too! He wanted to understand what was happening in the brain to trigger those emotions, what coping strategies might help and how to turn this understandable reaction into kindness and compassion.
He gave his friend and health psychology specialist Dr Fiona Crichton a call to get her advice. Watch their chat below.
Here’s a quick summary of what Dr Fiona Crichton advised:
It’s normal to feel angry at times right now, particularly at those people who break the rules.
But, anger directed at things we can’t control can lock us in a state of stress (and trigger our brain’s fight or flight mode).
It helps to focus on things we can control, like reaching out and connecting with friends and family.
While levelling blame at those who flout the rules can make us feel righteous, it is counterproductive.
Shame and punishment can mean that people exposed to the virus will not come forward to be tested or be honest about where they’ve been, putting us all at risk.
Right now, it’s important for mental and physical health to take breaks from social media and avoid misinformation by only getting information from trustworthy sources, like the official Covid-19 website (covid19.govt.nz).
Moving on from anger and blame
While an initial response of anger and blame is okay, it’s not good for you or the people around you.
Acknowledging, accepting, and letting go of those emotions is an important step to take.
Blame, shame and punish reactions could impact our chances of containing the next outbreak, as people might be scared to get tested or be honest about their actions.
Kindness, compassion and coping strategies
It’s important to have compassion for anyone that has been impacted by Covid-19 and treat them with kindness.
As JK says, we don’t know what someone is going through or why they made that choice. It’s human to make mistakes.
Remember these coping strategies to help you get through:
Take breaks from social media
Only get information from trustworthy sources
Do things to look after yourself and your mental wellbeing, like connecting with family or friends
