Dr. Mark Siegel has a new book out, entitled Bird Flu, in which he apparently asserts that our fears are in overdrive when they probably shouldn't be. In a Washington Post interview, Siegel elaborates:
Bird flu is one in a long line of things we've been warned about, and for which we supposedly need some kind of "safe room" with an ample supply of food and water just in case. First it was anthrax, then West Nile virus, then smallpox, then SARS. In each case we were warned that we had no immunity and could be at great risk.
The national psyche has been damaged by all these false alarms. On alert for potential threats, we're worrying more and more of the time. The emotional center of the brain, the amygdala, cannot process fear and courage at the exact same moment. If we could train ourselves to filter out dangers that don't threaten us by setting our default drives to courage or caring or laughter, we'd be a lot better off. I don't know anything about bird flu risks, so I would be very interested to hear what others think about Siegel's argument that we may face more danger from fear than from a pandemic.
