Right choice of information source to help avoid panic amid pandemic, psychiatrist says

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The choice of trustworthy sources of information and sizing up their arguments can help to avoid stress amid the plethora of data on the coronavirus pandemic, psychiatrist Alexander Fedorovich told TASS. "In order not to panic, the first and most important thing is to define a set of information sources for yourself. In other words, where will I get the information that I trust. That is very important because stress stems from a total contradiction, when an academic says one thing, a politician says something else, and a doctor, who is your neighbor, says something completely different. The more of these discrepancies, the more difficult it is for a person to make a decision," he explained. It is no less important to clearly understand the arguments of the selected resource. "To listen, delve into debates, understand, how this argument base works in dialogue with opponents," Fedorovich said. "In the end, a person should rely not only upon what he hears and sees, but also on the amount of knowledge that he has and compares [the data]. In actual fact, our people are quite knowledgeable." According to Fedorovich, environmental stress is currently high because of restrictive measures. "Someone can be fired, someone will not be allowed into a restaurant, someone else cannot have routine medical care and so on," he said. In order to relieve stress, one needs to look for opportunities not to be affected by these restrictions: go to the country, work remotely, if possible. "It is necessary to unite into groups, within which one can find various kinds of support, including economic," the expert stressed. Read more