Dr. Andrew Mohanraj

PETALING JAYA: People are panic buying as they want to regain a sense of control in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak, say mental health experts.

However, they are urging people to remain calm and to seek out verified news and information to not feel overwhelmed and panicked.

Malaysian Mental Health Association president Prof Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj said anxiety was a natural response to the Covid-19 situation but urged people to read only authentic news.

“People indulge in panic buying as it gives them comfort that they are ‘taking control’ of their lives in an uncertain situation.

“Some level of anxiety actually can be useful to motivate us to take appropriate actions but too much anxiety leads to panic and frenzied hypochondriacal thinking, ” he said.

Members of the public, he said, should only seek out authentic news from reliable sources and get their updates at only certain times of the day to not feel overwhelmed by the information.

“Human beings essentially like to lead planned lives, and rumours and misinformation can lead to destabilising all the planning, therefore having access to appropriate information is most important in the current situation.

“We should update ourselves with information at regular and appropriate intervals, perhaps twice a day, instead of waiting by our phones to receive WhatsApp messages with conflicting information or staying glued to the television for updates, ” he said.

He also said that assurances by the authorities that there are enough essential stocks would be able to allay public fear and prevent panic hoarding.

“For example in Singapore, when people panicked and emptied shelves in supermarkets, their prime minister assured citizens that stocks will be replenished, and then people felt assured, ” he said.

Dr Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan, who is the psychology programme director at a private university, said people panic buy as they are trying to regain a sense of control.

“When they have all the items they need in the house, they feel a sense of comfort, a sense of control.

“But in reality, it is more of a response to fear. The person is actually afraid, so they are giving into the fear and they are not planning or thinking ahead, ” she said when contacted.

However, she added that such feelings of anxiety must be managed in a healthy manner so as not to worsen the health crisis.

“When you let emotions cloud rational judgement, you are going to get

behaviours that are counterproductive to managing the crisis.

“It is a gut reaction of wanting to protect your family and while that is important, people must not respond in a way that would make the crisis worse, ” she said.

Panic buying, she added, would only deprive other people of essential items, which would cause the virus to further spread in the community.

“Planned buying is much better. People need to sit down with their family members, write down what they actually need and what could be stored in the house.

“The public must also buy according to their means, because we don’t know how long this virus outbreak will go on for, ” she said.

She added that people must refrain from “obsessively looking” at unverified information on social media.

“Go to one or two legitimate media outlets and just keep going back to those places for information.

“Right now we have too much information and the worst thing for someone with anxiety to do is to look for information right before they sleep and right after they wake up, ” she said.

Reports of panic buying are fast emerging as the Covid-19 crisis continues, with Malaysians across different states resorting to panic buying of daily essentials.

In Penang, shoppers stocked up on necessities such as toilet rolls and food items after the first Covid-19 positive case was reported in the state.

The same happened in Sabah with people dashing out to get rice, cooking oil and soap, when the state announced its first Covid-19 positive case in Tawau.

According to data analytics company Nielsen, sales of hand sanitisers in Malaysia reached almost RM1mil in the week ending Jan 26, which is more than 800% above the weekly average.

Incidents of panic buying in other countries such as Singapore and Australia have made headlines recently as well.

In Australia, shoppers reportedly rushed into grocery stores to purchase toilet paper, which even led to a brawl between some customers.

In Singapore, essential items such as rice and instant noodles were cleared from the shelves as the number of Covid-19 cases increased.

The news article was first published in The Star Newspaper on 14 March 2020.
For full article, please read: https:/www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/14/keep-calm-and-stop-panic-buying