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Writer's pictureSean Goh

Coronavirus: How to Mentally Combat the Virus

COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus) has been on the rise recently as well as the number of cases. It has the power to infect many people around the world through contact within 6 feet and through airborne respiratory droplets (cough and sneezes) according to the CDC. However, COVID-19 has also successfully spread mentally through the means of xenophobia.


Through my observation this past few months, Chinese have often been the target of xenophobia thanks to this spread of the virus despite the fact that many in other countries have never been back to China or South-East Asia throughout the spread of this virus. Some people have even been physically assaulted around the world especially in the USA and England. The virus has successfully opened a new gate to discrimination against the asian race in western countries. This, to me, can only contribute to a whole new concrete reason to generate hate against the Asian race; Asians have always taken a rather neutral role in racial discrimination in the United States for a long time, even other races don't mess with asians much because they are not around to cause any trouble, rarely at most. It is until recently where people who benefit from racial power or other people from groups who have experienced discrimination to finally have a new outlet to pass on their experience to another race, to make themselves feel better; it's not rocket science.


Personally, I have never experienced any discrimination from the kind people of the mid-west here in Indiana and from what I have experienced here in the beautiful town of Bloomington, most people here endorse peace and love among one another and are well-informed. Here, you can tell that the level of education, be it in school or from other sources, play a huge role in shaping one's thinking and perspective. To me, it is important to stay informed; I don't mean staying informed by watching CNN or FOX but actually other online news sources and being informed on different aspects of the virus like the rate countries have been discharging patients, the development of a new vaccine, and also tips on reducing the chances of catching the virus rather than only tuning in to news that concentrates on certain negatives which contributes to confirmation bias.


I am from Malaysia and my message to everyone is simply to stay well-informed and have an open mind. The one thing that bribes the mind is confirmation bias itself because if we only tune in to one source of news that serves one's bias, it just shows how ignorant one is. Many people result to the negatives because it makes for a good joke and a great following among friends, communities, and the meme market of social media. Instead, my suggestion is for everyone to have a more objective way of thinking and actually do something, which is to adopt sanitary habits. We can't stop COVID-19 by discriminating, so why continue the practice? Wash your hands and stay safe. Also, stop stockpiling and be considerate. To the victims, get well soon!

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