In 2022 it can certainly feel like another day, another problem or another thing to be worried about. Each day as we turn on the news there seems to be more and more to worry about. Global pandemics, climate change, inflation, recession the list seems to go on and on. And now the news says that polio is on the rise.
No one would blame you if you're worried about polio, the name alone elicits a response with the images of small children needing assistance to walk and visions of the iron lung helping keep people alive in the 1950's. While these are potential outcomes of polio, they don't quite tell the whole story. According to the CDC "About 1 out of 4 people (or 25 out of 100) with poliovirus infection will have flu-like symptoms." CDC (2022). These symptoms include sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, and stomach pain. Also according to the CDC, those stereotypical symptoms of polio are rarer than some may think. "A smaller proportion of people with poliovirus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord" (CDC 2022). The most recent statistics as of the writing of this blog are as follows, meningitis occurs in about 5 out of 100 and paralysis occurs in about 1 out of 200 people to 1 in 2000 people, depending on virus type.
So what can we do if we're still anxious and worried about polio?
Step one is to get informed. It may sound cliche but knowledge is in fact power and oftentimes the more we can understand the situation the less we tend to fear it.
Step two: Talk to your loved ones or doctor about your medical records. If you were born after 1955 there's a good chance that you've already been vaccinated against polio. If you have not received the vaccine, start up a conversation with your health care professional about obtaining the vaccine.
Step three: Now that you have gathered the needed information and potentially made a plan to get vaccinated, it can be helpful to unplug from the news. This doesn't mean sticking our head in the sand and avoiding completely. What it means is being purposeful with the news that we are taking in. A helpful tip would be to pick a specific news source that you trust and select a time that you would like to view each day. In today's day and age it can be so easy to become overwhelmed by the massive amount of news so by limiting our intake strategically, we can still be informed and limit our feelings of being overwhelmed.
Step four: Take some time to relax. Life in 2022 tends to be more on the stressful side. While taking time away from the news, practice self care! That could be physical exercise, eating well or a nice book that you've been meaning to read.
Step five: Engage with your feelings and examine how you feel. Anxiety can make it feel like life is overwhelming and life can certainly present us with reasons to feel anxious. If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, it may be time to seek professional help. Niyyah Counseling is here to help! Our therapists are trained to help guide you through the various anxieties that life throws at us. Click here to find your new therapist today! Click Here To Find Your Therapist
If you enjoyed this blog, you can even schedule with me directly. You can find my page here. I specialize in helping my clients on their own unique journey with anxiety. While chronic anxiety can often feel like a lifelong sentence, therapy can help guide you through a variety of techniques to address and reduce your anxiety symptoms! By utilizing an eclectic approach that pulls from scientific and evidence-based practices, therapy can help guide you from a fear of “what if” to an actualization of what can be!