Pandemic denial: Why some people can't accept Covid-19's realities

(CNN)With so much information available about the severity of the coronavirus and the need to follow guidelines, some people still refuse to accept reality.

The denial manifests itself in many ways, whether that be refusing to wear a mask or attending large gatherings.

Using denial as a coping mechanism is not always a bad choice. Short-term, it gives someone the time to adjust to a situation. When it becomes a long-term crutch and puts others in harm's way, it can be dangerous.

There's also a psychology term called rationalism, which people often confuse with denial. It's a defense mechanism where people try to justify unacceptable behavior.

With over 30 years of experience in their profession, psychologists Eve and Mark Whitmore have spent recent years studying misinformation and confirmation bias. Eve Whitmore currently works as a clinical psychologist in Stow, Ohio, and Mark Whitmore works as an associate professor in the College of Business Administration at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

(CNN)With so much information available about the severity of the coronavirus and the need to follow guidelines, some people still refuse to accept reality.
The denial manifests itself in many ways, whether that be refusing to wear a mask or attending large gatherings.

Using denial as a coping mechanism is not always a bad choice. Short-term, it gives someone the time to adjust to a situation. When it becomes a long-term crutch and puts others in harm's way, it can be dangerous.

There's also a psychology term called rationalism, which people often confuse with denial. It's a defense mechanism where people try to justify unacceptable behavior.

With over 30 years of experience in their profession, psychologists Eve and Mark Whitmore have spent recent years studying misinformation and confirmation bias. Eve Whitmore currently works as a clinical psychologist in Stow, Ohio, and Mark Whitmore works as an associate professor in the College of Business Administration at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

CNN: What is denial and why do we deny things that are obviously true?

Eve Whitmore: Denial is a construct used in psychology to describe how people deal with reality constructs. It's not considered one of the more preferred mechanisms -- we call them defense mechanisms.

Mark Whitmore: Denial is a way for people to defend themselves against anxiety. When they're in periods where there's a lot of anxiety and it's perceived as a threat, then people develop strategies to protect themselves, their sense of security and safety. And one of these is simply to deny whatever the threatening source is exists. In this case, you would simply say, "Well the epidemic is a hoax. It doesn't really exist."

Denial sometimes gets confused with rationalization, which is when people try to explain away or diminish the threat of the source of anxiety. When people say, "Covid-19 is just another flu," they're admitting that it exists, but they're minimizing it and saying it's not as severe as everybody is saying.
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Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2020 03:07PM by NuNativs.

Then there are people
Who say things
But don't show anything
We call them
nunativs
Or faucis
Or birxes
Or redfields
So many names for them

They call for insane mask wearing
That's how you can tell they are delusional.

[www.yahoo.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2020 09:13PM by RawPracticalist.

She died of heart problems

Quote
fresh

She died of heart problems

Also - she was put on a ventilator - enough said.

And she and her husband are both Fat. I can just visualize her blocked arteries to her heart from eating so much fat.

I love the way these people are looking for their fifteen minutes of fame/media attention - the way he's blaming 'false claims' - in other words 'anti-maskers' and 'Covid-deniers' - because they're both fat asses and when they got sick, it was common knowledge that if you're obese, you're vulnerable. So it's on them.

"Her husband explained that the couple did not follow health guidance at the start of the pandemic because of the false claims they had seen online."

Brian said he and his wife didn't have one firm belief about Covid-19. Instead, they switched between thinking the virus was a hoax, linked to 5G technology, or a real, but mild ailment. They came across these theories on Facebook.

"We thought the government was using it to distract us," Brian explained, "or it was to do with 5G."

But after the couple fell ill with the virus in May, Brian took to Facebook in a viral post to explain that he'd been misled by what he'd seen online about the virus."

**********

This whole story is just more propaganda by 'the other side' to censure any social media that doesn't parrot the Offical Coronavirus Story, the "Experts" and "The Science" according to them.

"In May, a BBC team tracking coronavirus misinformation found links to assaults, arson and deaths.

Doctors and experts have warned that the potential for indirect harm caused by rumours, conspiracy theories and bad health information online remains huge - especially as anti-vaccination conspiracies are being spread on social media.

While social media companies have made attempts to tackle misinformation about coronavirus on their platforms, critics argue that more needs to be done in the coming months.

A Facebook spokesperson told the BBC: "We don't allow harmful misinformation on our platforms and between April and June we removed more than seven million pieces of harmful Covid-19 misinformation, including claims relating to false cures or suggestions that social distancing is ineffective."

*******

And the article is even promoting this guy's Facebook page - wow! I bet instead of mourning his wife, he's enjoying all this notoriety

[www.facebook.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2020 01:12AM by Jennifer.

Like 12 people just died in Paris because of the restrictions on parties so they had a party anyway and then the cops came and there was a stampede and the people got stuck and they died so these people died because of a lie and because of government trying to control people and the government is trying to now blame the people

really sick and disturbing backwards world created by these psychopaths
Such a stupid waste

"Denial sometimes gets confused with rationalization, which is when people try to explain away or diminish the threat of the source of anxiety."

PANIC!