Symptoms believed to come from a viral infection might only be from fear-induced “mass hysteria,” a psychological term describing the spread of a threat, real or imaginary, through a population by rumors, a doctor said on Monday.
Anxiety over becoming infected is turning into mass hysteria in portions of the public, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital psychiatrist Chou Po-han (周伯翰) said.
For example, a female office worker surnamed Chen (陳), 28, said that she had difficulty breathing, tightness in her chest and insomnia after finding out that a coworker at a desk near hers had just returned from a business trip to China, Chou said.
She claimed that other coworkers exhibited similar symptoms, Chou added.
After screening the patient and evaluating her nervous system, Chou found that anxiety was causing her discomfort, so he prescribed an anti-anxiety medication and psychological support.
The coronavirus outbreak is also taking a toll on the mental health of frontline workers, such as healthcare personnel, who need to maintain constant vigilance, and workers in mask factories, he said.
People who are infected must bear societal prejudice and even hostility, he added.
The panic-buying of masks is likely a manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to the 2003 SARS epidemic, as the coronavirus outbreak has caused memories of that mass trauma to resurface, he said.
The fight against COVID-19 could continue for another three months or more, but there are ways to sidestep PTSD and alleviate coronavirus stress, Chou said.
Disease-prevention personnel should work in shifts — so they can get adequate rest — and have their health regularly monitored, Chou added.
Family members and local communities should reach out to infected patients and help shoulder the burden of their loneliness, he said.
People must practice media literacy and follow official government updates, Chou said, adding that “a critical eye” is needed to avoid becoming a victim of fake reporting and the anxiety that accompanies it.
Society should offer disease-prevention personnel more praise so that they do not take on blame for mistakes that are not even theirs, he said.
People should consistently practice the government’s disease-prevention measures, such as quarantines, self-monitoring of health, wearing masks and washing hands frequently, Chou said.
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
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