Normalcy Bias

Somehow this makes me feel better?

Normalcy bias is a psychological state of denial people enter in the event of a disaster, as a result of which they underestimate the possibility of the disaster actually happening, and its effects on their life and property. Their denial is based on the assumption that if the disaster has not occurred until now, it will never occur.

I have seen this over and over in emergency management. I have also seen it in public works and utilities. I have watched people actually get out of their car, drag barricades out of the road, and then drive straight into 6 feet of water. While working in storm emergencies I have seen people jogging or riding their bikes in the middle of the night in 50 mile per hour winds and torrential downpours. I have had people assault my workers for closing roads that had live power lines across them. I have seen people in earthquake prone San Francisco ridicule our trainers who were giving classes on preparing for an earthquake. 

These are the same people who end up in front of the cameras after the disaster moaning about how government has failed them and demanding someone come and save them immediately! There have been numerous studies done about how normalcy bias works in disasters and how people will refuse to believe what is happening even when it is obvious they are in a dangerous situation.

All we can do is keep putting information out there for those who are willing to listen.

QP

For a little bit I had been wondering if I was going crazy and it really is “just a flu.” But I’ve been reading and learning about pandemics for years, it’s always been an interest of mine. This one feels different and has from the start. This normalcy bias helped me feel less “crazy” because as much as I love a good conspiracy theory, tens of millions of people don’t get put in quarantine for “just a flu.” 

I haven’t talked to too many people about the virus, but the ones I needed to mention it to came back with “It is not as bad as the flu.” I mostly let it go, but it made me doubt my sanity.  But the weird thing is that after a few days, they have come around and made wise decisions.  I keep reminding myself that most people do need a few days to adjust to the facts.  

Everyone suffers from this...