Thread by @drlucymcbride

Shielding my kids from danger is a fundamental instinct; tolerating risk for them is hard emotional work.

Fear is necessary for our survival. It can also do harm.

My latest for @TheAtlantic 👇👇👇

bit.ly/3yEMjf3

For people who thought that the pandemic was ending, @CDCDirector's July 27 televised statement was like the scene late in *A Nightmare on Elm Street* when Freddy Krueger’s claw reaches up from within Glen’s bed and pulls him in.

Children were assumed to be at low risk of serious illness from coronavirus. Although the evidence calls for prudence, not panic—even as the Delta variant spreads—many parents will struggle to keep fear from racing ahead of the data.

I do not dismiss the continuing danger that COVID-19 presents to kids. The ongoing devastation to children, families, and communities is vast.

...but fear can do harm. Being constantly wired like this nevertheless carries a cost: Rational thought is hijacked. Our risk tolerance goes down. Our instinct to protect shifts into overdrive. We default to primitive thought patterns including black-and-white thinking.

Fixating on a single threat to children’s health can keep us from recognizing their broad human needs. I too can be a victim of my own mental gymnastics. (Just ask my kids.)

Reclaiming rational thought amid ongoing uncertainty can be vexingly difficult, yet it is crucial for our health.

When my patients ask me whether a given activity is safe, I usually tell them the answer isn’t a firm yes or no. Absolutism itself can do harm.

Health stems from allowing fear to protect us from dying but not allowing it to prevent us from living.

...victory over COVID-19 will require accepting our perilous reality, releasing ourselves from the impossible task of eradicating danger, and relishing the sometimes-immeasurable reward that comes from tolerating risk. /fin