Content uploaded by Daniel Pollack
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Daniel Pollack on Mar 17, 2021
Content may be subject to copyright.
1
NASW-NYS Newsletter
Put a new tilt on Covid-19 guilt
Susan Radcliffe & Daniel Pollack
March 5, 2021
Covid-19 seems to have made us experience many emotions that normally we
are simply not so used to feeling. One of them is guilt. Ask any mental health
professional and they’ll tell you that guilt can only be managed if its cause is
first identified and acknowledged.
Guilt is a powerful emotion that often keeps us from harming others. Without
it, we can engage in unconscionable acts. Most of us try to avoid feeling it
because it involves a behavior resulting in regret. The Merriam-
Webster dictionary defines guilt as “a feeling of deserving blame.”
2
Amy Morin, LCSW, writes: “During the pandemic, some people feel guilty
because they’re doing well. Others feel guilty because they aren’t doing as well
as they think they should be. Some people feel guilty about almost everything.”
When ethical, front-line social workers are confronted by a global pandemic,
the likelihood for the virus spreading is ever present. So is the possibility of
feeling guilty that inadvertently or negligently those same social workers may
be responsible for someone else contracting the disease. We over think what
we could have done differently. We get angry at ourselves and others who may
not have followed all of the guidelines. Tracing back our steps, we ask: “Was
I six feet away from that person for less than 15 minutes?” There is just no way
to make sense of something we don't fully understand, to control a situation
over which we do not have full control. These feelings can lead to blaming.
Cesar Cavalera notes in his article, “COVID-19 Psychological Implications:
The Role of Shame and Guilt”: “Guilt can become maladaptive for mental
health when individuals develop an exaggerated sense of responsibility for
events that occur out of their control…”
Not getting the virus but having clients, co-workers and family members
contract COVID-19 can lead to feelings similar to survivors’ guilt. This is
compounded by the effect on employment and housing. For those of us who
still have jobs and are not a casualty of being unemployed or underemployed,
it is difficult to see others losing their homes and being food insecure.
One of the difficult things for social workers is that information about the virus
has changed dramatically since its onset. During the first few weeks of the
3
pandemic the public was told that masks do not make a difference in the spread
of the virus. That changed quickly. Social workers have had to follow the
changing CDC guidelines and continue to serve their clients. It has not been
easy to keep up with all the changes. It’s been even harder to disseminate
timely, accurate information to the communities we serve.
Lives and routines have adjusted to the pandemic. The World Health
Organization notes that it is a challenge to adapt to the new lifestyle changes
and also manage our worries and fears of contracting the virus. With the
anxiety of trying to remember the new norms, we are bound to forget. When
we do forget, innocent people can get sick -- and then the self-blame and guilt
begin.
Here are some steps to address those guilty feelings:
● How can you be responsible for spreading the virus when the best scientists
in the world have yet to develop a plan and figure it out? You can't. You are
doing the best that you can. That is all you can ask of yourself.
● You would not intentionally do anything to harm your clients or your
family. Period. We look at blame in terms of intentionality. Your intentions are
always for what is best for you, your family and your clients. There is no need
to second-guess yourself.
● You are going to make mistakes. You may forget to wipe the car door. You
may accidentally touch your mask and then rub your eyes.
● It is okay not to be okay. We are not going to be absolutely rational all the
time.
● The pandemic and the socio-economic consequences are not your fault.
4
Here is what we do know. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) states: “COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through
close contact from person to person, including between people who are
physically near each other. People who are infected but do not show symptoms
can also spread the virus to others. How easily a virus spreads from person to
person can vary.” We have all heard of how an entire family, residing together
contracts the virus except one individual. It sometimes just doesn’t make
sense.
Here are a few things that can make you feel more in control. They can also
help slow the spread of this virus, according to the CDC:
● Try to stay at least 6 feet away from each other.
● Wear a mask that covers your nose, mouth and chin.
● Wash your hands with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer with 60%
alcohol.
● Limit your time in crowds in indoor spaces.
● Stay home when sick. As social workers, it's likely you have gone to work
when sick to help a person or a family. Not this time. Take care of yourself to
take care of others.
● Clean and disinfect “high touch” surfaces often.
● Maintain your social contacts. Socialization helps with your mental
health. Meet outside or online.
5
If you are feeling a bit guilty, you are having a normal reaction to a very
abnormal situation. If you need to place blame, put it on the COVID-19, not
yourself. These four simple rules are easy-to-remember takeaways:
● Be honest about what you can and can’t do.
● Forgive yourself for not being able to be everything to everyone at all
times.
● Keep a healthy, realistic perspective. Don’t exaggerate small mishaps.
● Respect and appreciate yourself.
Susan Radcliffe, LCSW-C, is a mental health therapist with the Dorchester
County Health Department in Cambridge, Maryland.
Contact: sue.radcliffe@maryland.gov.
Daniel Pollack, MSSA (MSW), JD, is an attorney and professor at Yeshiva
University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work in New York.
Contact: dpollack@yu.edu; 646-592-6836.