In the time since Covid-19 has taken the world by storm and information has, itself like a virus, spread across the globe, vast sections of the population have been tormented by health-related anxieties. New ones have quickly appeared – of inadequate supplies of antiseptics or food.

Now, while this type of threat to world health pushes the limits of our understanding, it is not new. We have seen it before with H1N1, Sars and so many others. As cases of Covid-19 and casualties increase, feelings of dread, panic and anxiety among the population also spike. The more informed one is about this virus – one article leading to another, one video leading to another – the more they feel thirsty for information. This inability to stop gathering information exemplifies a certain form of pleasure. Indeed, there is a certain enjoyment in being frightened, worried or anxious. Jacques Lacan, the French psychoanalyst, had a term for it: jouissance.

Human beings find some form of pleasure in tension, just at the point where pain begins to appear. This indulgence in a state of pain is the underlying motive of the repetition compulsion that is at work here: individuals feel compelled to repeat unhealthy behaviours. For example, to tirelessly access information about Covid-19 that might range from reliable to dubious. The repetition compulsion can also explain why individuals might remain in an emotional state, ranging from an anxiety that is specific to contracting this virus, to a generalised one, touching upon all areas of a person’s life. Let us take a look at what anxiety really is: a feeling of displeasure that translates into physiological sensations (shortness of breath, racing heart, sweatiness, trembling, heavy chest, etc) that is accompanied by intense psychological suffering. Even though it makes us feel uncomfortable, it has an important adaptive function.

Anxiety is a survival instinct living creatures are equipped with. Whenever it is felt, it signals an impending threat that cannot be named and most of the time individuals cannot make sense of it. Anxiety puts us on defence mode and propels us to find ways to cope with stressors. Either anxiety can be an involuntary or unconscious reaction to a situation that is potentially dangerous or it can be a voluntary and conscious reaction to a threat to the person, allowing him or her to avoid that danger. Covid-19 is a threat that triggers both those types of anxiety, representing both an actual and a potential threat to the self and others. If anything, anxiety is a healthy reaction to any type of threat. It becomes problematic when it is excessive, because then it stops serving its protective purpose. Rather, it immobilises people and renders them unable to cope with the stressor. Anxiety – like other “negative” emotions, such as anger and sadness – are important to experience in doses.

For example, a moderate amount of anxiety around contracting Covid-19 leads many of us to improve our hand hygiene. At the same time, large amounts of anxiety can prompt us to engage in excessive hand washing, buying large quantities of disinfectant and overestimating our risk of contracting the disease. Such behaviour in turn amplifies our anxiety and makes this behaviour cyclical. Fundamentally, when it comes to stress, desirable amounts motivate and help us achieve our goals whereas undesirable amounts compromise our functioning and can cause us to freeze or withdraw.

The writer is a counselling psychologist at Thrive Wellbeing Centre