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Covi Anxiety Scale

Anxiety as A Pioneer to Human Survival

Before we explore deeply about the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale, we first need to understand anxiety and its important aspects. Anxiety is a natural survival instinct, required to sustain human life. Anxiety involves feelings of fear, nervousness, and threat. By pointing out that something isn't going right, anxiety helps human beings to prepare well to deal with the existing danger and make changes accordingly.

However, the problem starts when anxiety becomes a persistent phenomenon and creates hurdles in daily life. For example, if the anxiety is disturbing your work at school, office, and even with friends, it means you are facing anxiety disorder. According to the National Institute of Health, nearly one-third of adults face anxiety at some part of their lives.


Nearly one-third of adults face anxiety

Picture 1: Nearly one-third of adults face anxiety at some part of their lives (Picture credit: Unsplash.com)

Coronavirus Anxiety Disorder

Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak and then subsequent lockdown resulted in a rise in uncertainty and anxiety. Various studies show a rise in anxiety and domestic violence due to recent lockdown. If you are anxious about the Coronaphobia and wondering if you are suffering from it or not, let's look at some of the prominent Coronaphobia symptoms to check for.

  • You feel faint, shaky, and light-headed when you hear the news regarding the coronavirus spread.
  • You are thinking so much about the coronavirus that you are having trouble in proper sleeping.
  • You feel paralyzed whenever hear or think about the coronavirus spread.
  • You have lost the appetite due to continuous thoughts about the coronavirus.
  • You are facing other stomach problems and even feeling nauseous.

If you have all the above-stated symptoms or at least a few of them, you are probably suffering from coronavirus anxiety disorder and need a coronaphobia test. If you are looking for the best coronaphobia scales, the Sherman lee coronavirus anxiety scale is among the best of all. We will discuss this test in the next section of this article.

Covi Anxiety Scale- The Sherman Lee Anxiety Scale

Before we discuss the Covi anxiety scale in detail, let's define the scale first. A Covi anxiety scale is an evaluation of physiologically based anxiety symptoms that are mainly accompanied by the coronaphobia. We will here discuss one of the best and probably the only reliable coronavirus anxiety scale. Yes, we are talking about the Sherman Lee coronavirus anxiety scale i.e. the CAS. This coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) evaluates symptoms of dysfunctional anxiety that are mostly physiologically-based.

The popularity of this anxiety scale can be verified by the fact that it is now being translated into various other languages. Moreover, it is being utilized by dozens of health professional teams as well as the researchers from all over the world. Similarly, another scale developed by Sherman Lee is best to evaluate the obsession related to Covid-19. This scale is known as Obsession with Covid-19 scale (OCS).

There is one more scale, the CRBS or Coronavirus Reassurance Seeking Behavior Scale designed to evaluate the reassurance-seeking attitudes regarding coronavirus infection. All of these scales are helpful to find out who is suffering from Coronaphobia. These scales are also important for the health professionals to identify those patients that are suffering from anxiety regarding coronavirus which may be clinically significant.

Covi Anxiety Scale Parameters

The measurement of coronavirus anxiety using the Sherman Lee scale is based on five questions. Each question has up to 4 points, from zero to 4. Zero represents 'not at all' value in case the required symptom is not present at all for the last 2 weeks. And 4 represents (nearly every day), which means the symptom affects the person every day over the last 2 weeks. The total score of CAS is equal to or more than 9 points out the existence of dysfunctional anxiety. Coronavirus anxiety scale scoring more than 9 indicates the person needs further expert examination to confirm the clinically significant anxiety. Let’s talk about the 5 questions/points of Sherman Lee self-assessment CAS.

  1. I felt light-headed and wobbly when I read the news regarding Coronavirus spread over the past 2 weeks. Rate it zero in case the symptom is not present at all and 4 if you feel it daily.
  2. I felt numbed whenever I got the information regarding coronavirus during the last 2 weeks. Rate it zero in case the symptom is not present at all and 4 if you feel it daily.
  3. I felt nauseous whenever I got new information about coronavirus over the last 2 weeks. Rate it zero in case the symptom is not present at all and 4 if you feel it daily.
  4. I faced trouble falling asleep due to my continuous thinking about the coronavirus over the last 2 weeks. Rate it zero in case the symptom is not present at all and 4 if you feel it daily.
  5. I lost my appetite whenever I learned new coronavirus information. Rate it zero in case the symptom is not present at all and 4 if you feel it daily.


Sherman Lee Coronavirus Anxiety Disorder test

Picture 2: Sherman Lee Coronavirus Anxiety Disorder test is one of the best test to measure the level of anxiety (Picture credit: Unsplash.com)


Use of The Sherman Lee Coronavirus Anxiety Scale

The use of the Sherman Lee Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is very convenient. The CAS is available in the public domain to stimulate its use in clinical evaluations and study purposes. There is no restriction in its reproduction and use by any individual or institution with better citation being the only exception. This is the reason it is now being used by more than 50 professional teams and researchers in the health field. 

How to Deal with Coronavirus Anxiety Disorder

Seeing that the Coronavirus anxiety is rampant these days, it is important to find ‘easy to do’ ways to deal with it. So, we are bringing you the top 5 ways to deal with Coronavirus anxiety disorder in case you are also suffering from it.

Understand that Feeling Anxious About Coronavirus is Normal

With an increase in Coronavirus cases, isolation due to lockdown, and disruption of routine has led to a sharp rise in anxiety. Is this normal? Yeah, this is normal. If you are feeling anxious while facing the above situation, tell yourself, it is normal to feel anxious. Anxiety is the instinct of all humans and also necessary for their survival. Therefore, understand the situation and don't let it interfere with your normal life.

Finish the Uncertainty

One of the factors that fuel anxiety further includes uncertainty. Higher the uncertainty, more will be the magnitude of the anxiety. Therefore, tell your brain what is certain in a positive way. For example, tell yourself, this situation is temporary and we will return to our normal routine sooner or later. You can also tell your brain that the coronavirus is not as fatal as being portrayed, but we need to take all the necessary precautions.

Don’t Watch Too Much Media

Are you glued to media reporting the coronavirus? If yes, stop doing so. As described earlier, anxiety increases with uncertainty in mind. When you hear bad news on media, you feel somewhat insecure. This triggers the natural response of your mind in the form of anxiety. Therefore, try to keep a distance from anxiety and focus more on positive aspects of life.

The gravity of fake news is so high that even the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed the people to rely only on reliable sources to get the latest updates regarding coronavirus.


Rely only on authentic news source

Picture 3: Rely only on authentic news source (Picture credit: Unsplash.com)

Play A Constructive Part in Protecting Your Community

The next our list of coronavirus anxiety tips is playing a constructive role for your community. This is the fact that people who help others stay happier and thus keep anxiety away. You can help other people in various ways. For example, you can buy food for your elderly neighbor or can donate blood. Using the protective tools to protect yourself and other people is also important as asymptomatic people are more likely to spread coronavirus compared to symptomatic ones.

Take Virtual Help to Mitigate Coronavirus Anxiety Disorder

Many therapists are now working online to help needy people due to the prevailing situation. While others have changed the way of serving due to coronavirus. For example, TalkSpace is providing the free of cost therapies to those workers that are fighting coronavirus at the forefront. You can talk to one of the therapists online to get help if you are dealing with coronavirus anxiety right now. There are plenty of therapy apps also available to take help from.

Conclusion

The current situation of the world is challenging and somewhat uncertain in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. Given the situation, many people are facing an uptick in anxiety. And for some, it has taken the shape of Coronavirus Anxiety Disorder. Measuring coronavirus anxiety is important to deal with it. Therefore, various experts have come forward to devise a workable Covi Anxiety Scale. The most successful so far is designed by Sherman Lee. The success of this Coronavirus anxiety scale can be measured by the fact that around 50 experts and researcher medical teams are using this scale to measure the coronavirus phobia in patients.

If you are one of those who are facing coronavirus anxiety, you can use various ways to minimize it. For example, consuming less and only reliable news, playing a constructive part in the community, and protecting yourself and other people are some of these ways.

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