We want normal but things aren’t normal yet:
It’s fourteen months into the Covid-19 pandemic, and many of us are desperate for a return to some type of normalcy. We want to get back to our old routines, spending time with friends and family and enjoying the leisure activities we used to take for granted.
With the weather warming up, one concern is that many people will be heading to the beaches all across the province, regardless of what region they live in, and that they’ll be acting as though things were back to normal – even while we’re in the middle of a devastating third wave.
There’s a psychological defense mechanism that some people fall into when they just can’t tolerate the reality they’re confronted with.
Magical thinking:
It’s called, “magical thinking,” and what it means is that these people will see only what they want to see, rather than what’s actually there. They refuse to accept how things are, and insist that things are how they would wish them to be.
Over the past fourteen months it seems as though a lot of people have been engaging in this type of denial. They refuse to wear masks, asserting that masks aren’t necessary, but only because, deep-down, they hate the idea of having to do so.
They refuse to socially distance, saying that Covid-19 is “just like the flu,” because they can’t stand the idea of giving up their social interactions.
And they refuse to quarantine when they’ve traveled, insisting that it’s not necessary, but only because they can’t bear the idea of spending fourteen days indoors, alone.
These people ignore the science, deny the news reports, and refute the medical professionals, all of whom are sharing the painful but necessary facts with us, every hour of every day.
The refusal to accept an unpleasant truth can be unrelenting in those with poor coping strategies for stress, and in them, magical thinking can be so entrenched that it verges on the delusional.
The definition of a delusion is “a false, fixed idea,” and it’s an indication of psychosis – in other words, a loss of contact with reality.
People who harbour delusions insist on a falsehood being the truth and they refuse to consider any other possibility. During this pandemic, some people have been so powerfully invested in seeing only their version of things that it’s as if they too, have lost touch with reality.
Magical thinking – potentially deadly during a pandemic:
Tragically, thousands of people have become sick, have lost loved ones, or have died because of their magical thinking around Covid-19.
This past year, I’ve read too many heartbreaking stories about people who lost a parent or a spouse because they saw no harm in holding a family party, or about young people in their thirties or forties who realized, on their deathbed, that Covid-19 is real, and it’s deadly.
Magical thinking can be extremely dangerous, most especially with regard to Covid-19. We admit people to psychiatric hospitals when their delusions become life-threatening, but people with magical thinking that could lead to sickness and death from Covid-19 might get a ticket, at worst. Funny, how that works.
Ontario beaches – local treasures or super-spreader sites?
The beaches in Ontario are one of this province’s most valued treasures. After a long, cold winter, time at the beach is good for body, mind and soul.
However, in the middle of Ontario’s third, and most deadly wave of a global pandemic, a day at the beach could become a super-spreader event, causing untold illness and even death, if people are engaging in magical thinking.
As the weather warms up and the beaches start to open, we need to be firmly grounded in the reality of our current situation. It’s the only way to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities safe.
Local officials say, “Don’t come to our beaches!”
The London Free Press posted an article on April 17th in which local officials are quoted as saying that while the beaches will be opening this year, they’re hoping that people will stay in their regions and not come and cause dangerous crowding.
A recent article on blogTO describes how Toronto officials plan to crack down much harder this year on any public health violations at the local beaches, in an attempt to minimize the risk of people becoming infected with Covid-19.
Letting go of magical thinking is a necessity right now, because as the weather warms up, we’ll be that much more tempted to socialize, and some will be tempted to do so irresponsibly.
One shot or two?
Some people want to believe that having one dose of a two-shot vaccine is enough to keep them safe, but the reality is that with the dangerous variants running rampant, one shot does not provide adequate protection, especially if we’re hanging out with no masks on a crowded Ontario beach.
Denial is dangerous, and never more so than now. Living in a fantasy of our own making – in which following the Covid-19-related public health guidelines isn’t necessary – has been shown, over and over, to be a fatal mistake.
As much as you’re dying to go to the beach and have fun right now, you don’t want to literally die from going to the beach and having fun.
Right now, it’s imperative that you plant your feet firmly in the ground of reality before planting your umbrella in the sand of the beach, and that you continue to follow all the public health guidelines.
Enjoy the warming weather, and take advantage of the natural delights this province has to offer, but remember that there’s no place for magical thinking in the middle of this third wave, when the stakes are literally, life or death.
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