by Hildy Gotleib

“I was on a plane last weekend. Actually four planes, three different airports. Hundreds of my fellow humans on all sides.

“Every one of us was scared. How do I know that? In the time of Coronavirus, we’re all scared!

“For me, it’s been a low level hum. I know it’s there. I am doing my best to stop that fear from guiding my decisions and actions. But like a song that’s stuck in my head, I know it’s there.

Keep your hands away from your face.

AAGH I just scratched my nose!

Am I going to die?

“For a week before this trip, I could feel it. I’ve been studying brain science for several years, and I knew what was happening to me. I knew it when my heart felt like it would thwump out of my chest, reading about symptoms and death rates. I knew it when that thwumping turned into a full blown anxiety attack on the first of those plane rides.

“Just because I knew what was happening to me didn’t mean I could stop it right then and there. Evolution has created those fear mechanisms to keep us alive. That evolution was not going to let go without a fight!”

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