Editor’s Note: The transcript of this live Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the state prepares to give an update on Tuesday on whether the measles outbreak has infected more Texans. More people have started to become on edge as the numbers continue to climb.
KXAN Midday anchors Avery Travis and Will DuPree spoke to Thrivework’s Licensed Professional Counselor Catherine Atkinson-Greenhaw on how to manage the stress and anxieties that come from contagious diseases.
Avery Travis: We know that Thriveworks actually has some research that shows contagious diseases such as the measles, are causing anxiety in 32% of Americans. And so talk to us about how you’re seeing that show up in your own clients. What are they saying? And is this something that’s cropping up here in Austin area?
Catherine Atkinson-Greenhaw: I am definitely seeing a lot of my clients, a lot of my older and also some of my younger just have worries about I think they reflect back with COVID, and I think large outbreaks are typically associated with that. So I’m seeing a lot of adults kind of just be a little hesitant and kind of worried about it, and especially with job security and and stuff like that. And then kids, obviously, with isolation, again, just worries about that.
Will DuPree: When somebody expresses their stress or trepidation or anxiety related to a contagious disease like the measles, how do you advise them to deal with that?
Greenhaw: Yeah, I mean, it’s absolutely normal. And I think especially with COVID, any outbreak is to be is worrisome, and that you should be cautious. But I think you also have to be realistic, and you have to focus on what you can control. And we can’t control everything. We can’t control outbreaks, and just making sure you are focusing on things that you can control, and making sure you don’t isolate, like we did see a lot with COVID.
Travis: As you’ve mentioned there, it’s been five years since the COVID pandemic started. But even that far out, I think those memories are so real for so many of us. I think we can take ourselves back there in just a moment. How do you think that experience changed the way people view diseases when they hear about them spreading. You know, what have you seen? Maybe pre-pandemic and now post pandemic? How do people respond so differently?
Greenhaw: I think pre-pandemic I don’t think people were like as worried. I mean, you try not to get the cold, you try not to get the flu, you do your best to wash your hands and just kind of hope for the best. Every season with COVID, I do feel like it brought a lot of fears with with job security, like with everything shut down. A lot of people lost their jobs, and then the obvious is being getting sick and having detrimental health issues, and then also getting people that you love really sick. So I think that those were big concerns that are still concerns now, especially with outbreaks.
DuPree: A lot of us have worries about name the topic, and we might carry that with ourselves, but it may not register to the point where you might need professional help for it. Are there certain signs that we should maybe watch out for in ourselves to know when that point is where we need to seek some professional help and get that assistance?
Greenhaw: With health anxiety, I do think that a lot of people, we try our best to wash our hands and to be safe with those types of things, and just, again, focus on what’s in your control. So I do think that when we are starting to overthink about it, and when this is consuming the majority of your day, like that’s a problem. When you are finding yourself visiting the doctor multiple times a week or a month, just because of your fears, that is probably when we start to see problems. when we’re isolating from people at a fear of getting sick, those things just aren’t healthy. We’re social creatures, we need people. And I think that is when it’s a point to where we start to need to go seek help and maybe even just talk to somebody and asking for help. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Travis: I do want to ask you, what do you think it is about, whether it is this measles outbreak that we’ve been tracking, or the lingering concerns about COVID, what is it about these kinds of diseases, or health anxiety? What’s the driver there? What is it that, you know, maybe makes people a little more concerned than maybe other anxieties in their lives?
Greenhaw: I do think specifically with the measles, we see a lot of concern. Because I see adults and kids, we see a lot of concerns with kids specifically, with measles just because the risk is just so much higher. So the concern of you yourself getting sick and then also giving somebody else that disease as well. Those are just really scary things to think that you could put someone that you love at risk.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
