The trigger for writing this article was the difficulty we had in understanding why so many people are buying big quantities of toilet paper. Having discussed this with my friend and colleague Silia Christodoulou who is a psychologist specialised in the psychoanalytic approach we decided to attempt to understand this phenomenon from our different approaches in psychology as well as to look at how people could manage this period of isolation in a pleasant and constructive way.
From a cognitive behavioural approach, I attempted to make sense of this compulsive toilet paper hoarding. Understanding that the spread of the Coronavirus is generating fear in the population as it does present a real invisible risk for everyone and more so for the elderly and those presenting with other health difficulties, hygiene is a key component in the risk of contamination.
The frenzy that was seen in supermarkets with people buying dozens of rolls at a time and emptying the shelves in minutes has an element of conformity. The concept of conformity refers to any change in behaviour that is caused by another person or group. People in the supermarket who were not there to buy toilet paper got agitated and scared by the few that were panicked by the idea of not having toilet paper, so everyone ended up buying some, the more people conformed, the more people followed. A factor that increased this tendency is likely to have been the degree of uncertainty about the Coronavirus situation and possible developments it could have.
Scenario building is another powerful way of getting agitated and anxious even when nothing is happening. Now that we are facing a crisis, it is easy to ruminate and make scenarios based on little information which results in becoming scared and anxious. Even though many EU borders are now closed to limit the movement of people so as contain the spread of the virus, people fear that stores will no longer get supplies. Why would merchandise be stopped at the border? What would be the benefit of that? The population would suffer and so would the businesses, everyone would lose. In the unlikely situation where merchandise would be stopped at the border, why would toilet paper be your biggest concern?
The combination of fear, scenario building and conformity seen from a group perspective does seem like an explosive combination in which people’s behaviour is determined by fear rather than reason. To not end up in the frenzy of buying unnecessary items one should understand that giving importance to thoughts that have no evidence will generate a strong emotional and physiological response. We do not choose the thoughts we have, nevertheless we do have the choice to give or not to give importance to a thought depending on whether it is evidence-based or not. We can challenge our thought’s validity to defuse or moderate the emotions and physiology it generates. Moreover, we should not refuse or push away emotions because doing so will amplify them. Letting them through even if they are unpleasant is best.
Another very important variable is control. We try to control situations as much as possible, which is constructive given that you accept that you can never reach total control meaning that a degree of risk always exists. Many have trouble coming to terms with this fact, people use many different strategies to comfort themselves in the short-term, but they backfire in the long-term.
When you have an unrealistic expectation of objective control, your subjective feeling of control drops and makes you feel anxious and helpless. A coping strategy I often see is that we seek comfort by controlling something we can control when in a situation that we cannot control occurs.
Coming back to the toilet paper, which is linked to personal hygiene, a hypothesis could be that by buying and hoarding toilet paper we attempt of reach a symbolic comforting illusion of control that we can clean ourselves from the idea of getting the Coronavirus? We are now approaching Psychoanalytic waters, so I look forward to reading Mrs. Silia Christodoulou’s analysis and understanding.
“The CoVid 19 outbreak obliges us indeed to stay indoors as much as possible and we need to reorganise our daily activities in a way that shakes the stability of our usual everyday schedules. For some this means that free time is finally available. To that extend, some might indeed enjoy their favourite solo activities while others feel stressed because of the isolation and uncertainty of the following days. Changing habits is not always an easy task for everyone. As clinical psychologists we are witnessing the rise of individual symptoms such as claustrophobia, generalised anxiety or psychosomatic expressions of anguish but also phenomena linked to the psychology of the masses as mild panic spreads with the increasing numbers of infected cases and deaths. One of the observable behaviours is the compulsive need to buy large quantities of toilet paper.
Both Alexander Anghelou and I have decided to try to understand where this compulsive behaviour comes from. Humanity has faced difficult times before and scarcity of basic need items have been observed during periods of instability and war. In general, when facing major national crises, collective traumas are revived and solidarity is the key solution. For instance, descendants of families that faced famine during WWII are keener to intuitively buy non-perishable foods. The same applies to those who directly experienced war throughout their lifetime yet they acknowledge the sanitary crisis in a more serein way as they differentiate health issues from political instability. Following our discussion, we remembered the example of the “occupation syndrome” in Greece. This phrase defines a pattern of behaviours dating back to the 40s that is transmitted from one generation to another and contributes to the stereotype of the Mediterranean mama that overfeeds her children.
Compulsive buying can be understood as a counterphobic tendency to avoid claustrophobia induced by Corona-isolation or a defence towards depressive feelings of loss due to the pandemic. The current situation in stock markets around the world has caused the fear of loss of material goods underlining the existing tension of loss of individual freedoms as we can no longer move freely. But what else are we loosing exactly?
As supplies are available in supermarkets, one might question the logic in buying large amounts of toilet paper. Is toilet paper a symbol of control? Can we consider it in Freudian terminology as a form of regression to the anal stage allowing our Egos to feel in control of an incontrollable situation that evolves around us? Compulsive buying can be a panic reaction induced by the invasion of the representation or idea of the Coronavirus in our cognitive system. On the opposite side of the phobic spectrum, we can easily observe that people with hypochondria feel rather secure because they already “know” how to handle “virus invasion” as their thought patterns are familiar with the idea of sanitizing everything.
But that does not answer our question: Why toilet paper?
After a small poll some reasons emerged. For instance, some pointed out that in case of lack of water, it is the only way to keep ourselves clean after defecation. This practice of self-care is considered a trait of differentiation from other animals. Human dignity resides in the fact that we care about hygiene, purchasing toilet paper seems to be a possible reflex which would allow us to keep our dignity. Yet one can question our civility when aggressive behaviours are observed. People lose their manners and egoistically search to obey their life instinct by even assaulting another human in a supermarket for a pack of toilet paper. No one can argue that the impulse of self-preservation becomes more active in periods of crisis.
Those who buy large quantities of toilet paper invest the fantasy of being clustered at home with no virus, avoiding the contamination from others or are just being precautious by speculating shortages of certain goods. Pasta and flour shelves are also emptying but we talk less about them. Given the importance of the phenomenon it seems to be a very effective way of controlling the situation. For some it might even be a very direct way to struggle against death angst, like if they are telling themselves “I will not be dead; I will only be able to separate from negativity, dirt and viruses in isolation and take care of myself”, like a toddler that finally knows how to hold a spoon or go to the potty all alone. After all, the moment we manage the ability to clean ourselves, we acquire the developmental stage of subjective autonomy.
We cannot deny the fact that the very tangible idea of contamination pushes us to consider creating up to a 14-day supplies at home in order to reduce exposure through multiple visits to the market. The paradox of hoarding greater amounts of toilet paper shows us that people prefer to be exposed by gathering around the shelves of sanitary products instead of calmly following the instructions of experts. Most elderly and at-risk individuals have indeed been told by their GPs to avoid crowded supermarkets and prefer small grocery stores.
On another level it is very easy to observe metaphors of fear as referrals to defecation in various languages. We are afraid, we defecate thus we need toilet paper. We evacuate in the outside world what is uncontainable within. Talking about what is happening with the Coronavirus can be a way of dealing with the situation and surely communication becomes precious. Yet the more the subject becomes a source of concern, the more we deviate the discussion to less anxiogenic topics such as toilet paper. This aspect also illustrates this specific compulsion as the expression of the augmentation of fear. Because let’s face it. Everybody is dealing with the scary reality of illness and death intensively these days.
Besides the valid information that comes from Health experts, no one can argue the fact that overexposure to unreliable and ambiguous information causes panic reactions. Self-care and self-respect suddenly seem to reside to the sole idea of “remaining clean the same way we are used to” preserving stability. Furthermore, using toilet paper as a form of comic relief is also a powerful coping mechanism. Laughing allows us to evacuate tension and creates bonds by maintaining our social nature alive. For those of us residing in Belgium, the good familiar formula of self-derision is applicable to remain healthy, recover faster and spend time by exorcising the paradoxes of our humanity. So next time you see a roll of toilet paper think of Hamlet holding a skull and ask yourself ‘to fear or not to fear?’ ‘After all the evaluation of risk is the key to prevention!”
How can I manage this period of isolation?
Our two clinical psychologists discuss some solutions
Aside from the difficulty of not being able to go out for dinner and to socialise with friends, this period can be an opportunity that you can enjoy. We often complain about not having enough time as we are too busy which is often true. During this period of isolation, we can enjoy being at home, reading the books we bought and never got to read. We can tidy and filter out all the things we have accumulated over time that we do not need. We can learn new things, enjoy arts and crafts. Many museums and theatres propose online possibilities of cultural entertainment. And of course, we can rest.
Socialising is also possible when isolating. We could even imagine some people socialising more than usual as they have more time for it. It just needs to be over the phone or via the many video calling applications we have on our devices and we are all able to rediscover and explore our existing bonds or, why not, invest new ones. Many people offer help and solidarity through social media. The support of the communities we belong to can be a great resource. For those living with their partners or families, it gives them the opportunity to spend quality time and to do things together.
Yet the general situation of concern can lead some people to subjective expressions of panic or even to adopt violent attitudes. The drastic changes in our daily life are not easy to manage for everyone. Some might face sleep difficulties, mood swings or even panic attacks. In this case do not hesitate to contact a free support helpline. We would like to recommend three numbers you might need to note somewhere: 106 if you are Dutch speaking, 107 if you are French speaking and in English the CHS helpline 02/648.40.14
It is true that we may face difficulties related to this illness in the coming months but trying to address a problem you do not have, will only make you feel helpless. If you seize the opportunities around you, this period does not have to be unpleasant; it can be very creative and enjoyable. Maybe even an opportunity to revisit your habits and give yourself to the joy of introspection. Stay indoors, keep calm and have fun.