WASHINGTON — Ebola has hit home in the D.C. area with the arrival at the NIH Clinical Center of the first American to get the disease in the U.S. There is a certain fear factor for a lot of people, and the more some hear about the disease, the more the fear takes hold.
“Ebola fear is getting out of control, and you have to reassure yourself about the facts,” says Dr. John Sharp, a psychiatrist and professor at Harvard University and University of California, Los Angeles.
He says you need to keep everything in perspective, and don’t get overwhelmed.
“You don’t need to run around in a panic,” Sharp says.
Experts advise remembering that only two Americans currently have Ebola out of a nation of many millions. And the chance of anyone picking up the disease — even when visiting a hospital — is almost zero.
Sharp says part of the problem is the constant coverage of Ebola in the news media and on the Internet. And while it is important to stay informed, he warns not to overdo.
“Don’t get overstimulated on this,” Sharp says.
The constant media coverage is also a concern for David Kaplan, the chief professional officer of the American Counseling Association. He says everyone — especially children — needs to take a break from the coverage of Ebola and focus on something else.
“As a culture in the United States we like to be in control and anxiety is generated any time we feel out of control.”
Kaplan says people need to understand that they don’t have to be in control all of the time.
That feeling of extreme uncertainly, left unchecked, has the potential to take anxiety to a dangerous level that interferes with everyday life.
Kaplan says, “that is when it becomes a problem, and that is when you might want to go to a professional counselor and work it out.”
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