Top psychologist says Britons must rediscover the ‘Blitz spirit’ to cope with weeks or even months of self-isolation without succumbing to ‘cabin fever’
- Professor Steven Taylor says calls on Britons to adopt Blitz spirit with COVID-19
- He said that regarding self-isolation as solitary confinement would be stressful
- He says people ‘need reminding that they can cope’ with threat of coronavirus
A leading psychologist says Britons must rediscover the ‘Blitz spirit’ to cope with weeks or perhaps months of self-isolation without succumbing to ‘cabin fever’.
Professor Steven Taylor said no one should underestimate the challenge but believes it will help if people remember they are doing it to save lives.
‘If you regard self-isolation as solitary confinement, that’s going to be stressful for you,’ he said.
An elderly couple are pictured above clearing out rubble in Newcastle after a German raid in 1940. A shared sense of purpose helped them cope, explained the academic, who works at the University of British Columbia in Canada
Prime Minister Winston Churchill is pictured above in the House of Commons after it was bombed in 1941
‘But if you reframe it by thinking ‘I’m doing something really important, to keep others safe’, that’s a lot more constructive.’
Prof Taylor, the author of The Psychology Of Pandemics, added: ‘People need reminding that they can cope with this. They are resilient. You aren’t going to like it, but you’ll get through it. You can compare it to the Blitz. People got through the Blitz. It was very stressful but they did it.’
A shared sense of purpose helped them cope, explained the academic, who works at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Those with signs of the virus are being asked to self-isolate at home for seven days and whole households will soon be asked to lock themselves away for a fortnight if any one of them gets ill.
Professor Steven Taylor said no one should underestimate the challenge but believes it will help if people remember they are doing it to save lives. A homeless boy is pictured above in London pointing out his old bedroom to friends in 1940