Coronavirus Impact: Pandemic Bringing Out The Best In People

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - In what appears to be an out of control world during the coronavirus pandemic, full of unknowns, people are banding together.

Volunteers at food banks, people making masks and personal protection gear, so what brings this spirit of cooperation out in folks?

Jill Ehrenreich-May, Ph.D. Department of Psychology at the University of Miami, says,
"There is so much uncertainty that we are all dealing with that. The ability to try and help your neighbor is something you can control."

Control in an environment of "who knows what is going to happen next?"

Anxiety is helping others a way of seemingly gaining personal control of an ugly situation?

"There are a lot of people turning inward. What skillset do I have? What can I control? I can sew a mask, let me sew a lot of masks for other people or I can make food and distribute that," says Dr. Ehrenreich-May.

"I think people are looking inward to their own skillset and abilities within reason to help one another in a unique way."

In a way self-help by helping others and with a lot of folks out of work, out of offices, in a region used to the ravages of hurricanes and hurricane recovery informally banding together seems natural.

"What we are seeing on a small scale with neighbors helping each other and on a large scale with charitable work and community agencies is sort of the effort to band together to deal with a crisis that feels manageable," she adds.

So doing something productive for others is something you can manage. It is a certainty, in an uncertain world.

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