A few days ago the Head of Shanghai’s COVID-19 clinical expert team, Zhang Wenhong noticed something about the Indian people after watching a religious gathering on TV where the devotees were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. He said, “Indians may not be physically immune to the pandemic but they are mentally immune.” Just when we thought he was mocking us he added, “Indians have their peaceful mind.”

May be, Dr. Wenhong is mistaking our “overly optimistic mind” for a “peaceful mind.” Or may be, what we Indians have is a “survivalist mindset.” Like we saw with the migrant workers, who in the absence of an effective Governmental Social Security System, switched on their ‘survival mindset’ and rain, pain or no train, they left to their villages.

Most Indians, along with this “survival mindset” also have this skewed, optimistic attitude of “dek te hai kya hota hai”… “ we’ll see what happens.” Now the question is, will this brazen “optimism” help us in our fight against COVID? Will it bolster our immunity?

A 2017 article in ‘The New York Times’ states that “cockeyed optimism,” may actually improve health and extend life. It seems what happens in the brain influences what happens in the body. And when facing a health crisis, actively cultivating positive emotions can boost the immune system. It further states that, “there is indisputable link between having a positive outlook and health benefits like lower blood pressure, less heart disease, better weight control and healthier blood sugar levels.”

What! Positive outlook produces healthier blood sugar levels and weight control? We have to take this report with a pinch of salt because when we Indians are happy our blood sugar levels and weight both go out of control, along with generous helpings of Ladoos, Mysore Pak and Shahi Tukra.

Indeed it is good to have a positive attitude and a happy disposition, but before we go out laughing like crazies or start being irritatingly chirpy, or worse, become so optimistic in life that you become “blind to pragmatism,” we must make place for negative thoughts in our life, it helps us be prepared.

Just blindly believing that if we are positive we will not fall sick, will give us a severe mental blow if we do get sick. We may become depressed and indecisive as we are still reeling in disappointment, panic and fear.

Oscar Wilde said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Indeed we need to look at the stars and be positive, but we must not forget that we are still in the gutter, and that we must find a way to get out of it. As someone put it, REALISTIC PESSIMISM BEATS DELUDED OPTIMISM.

Apart from our “overly optimistic attitude” some say our immune system is better than the western world. This because we are more exposed to a variety of microbes.

According to some researchers, the western nations’ more ‘hygienic’ environment and rampant use of antibiotics has affected their exposure to a diverse array of microbes leaving their immune system unprepared. They say this is the reason allergies are increasing in the developed world.

On the other hand they say, there is evidence of decreased allergy prevalence in developing countries. And they say this is so because in developing countries children usually do not have safe sanitation systems, clean water, they are easily exposed to parasitic organisms and generally spend more time outside in not very hygienic environments, compared to children and even adults in developed countries!

By practicing “Hyper-hygiene”, by staying away from interacting with even a slightly “dirty environment”, not only the west but even the rich in developing nations have alienated their chances at taking in microbes, parasites and infections that constantly train our immune system. This lack of training is what makes our immune system to over-react to even small pathogens, which can have devastating effects.

This is not just a western problem. It is also a problem that creeps in with upward mobility. The richer you are the more hygienic you want to become. The more indoorsy you become, the more impatient you become and pop an antibiotic instead of giving your immune system a chance to fight naturally. We need to interact with germs in the environment that have developed over millions of years so they prepare our immune system.

Now before you go and start rolling in mud like a crazy person, or start dipping your child into a garbage bin, or start a campaign to end the “Swachh Bharat” campaign please remember, personal hygiene is important, so also public hygiene, but we don’t have to shun interacting with our environment. Also are we to believe now that roadside Paani Puri is just as important as Vitamin C to improve immunity. Wah!

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