Fear and anxiety helped our early ancestors survive very real threats, says associate psychology and neuroscience professor Sonia Bishop in a Q&A about anxiety and the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. "Today, our fear response helps us act quickly in the face of modern dangers, like freezing in place instead of stepping into the path of an oncoming speeding car. In the case of this COVID-19 pandemic, our anxiety motivates us to run through different courses of action and identify the best options available to us. This process of simulation can result in successful future planning, but also in chronic worry, which can be exhausting, distressing, and debilitating." Offering tips for managing one's own anxiety, she also talks about what we can do to help our children with theirs. "Research suggests that children may possess the most extreme models of the world as being a safe, controllable place. Those models are reinforced by adults who try to shield them from the worst of the world. If children's models of the world as a safe place are suddenly shaken, they may suffer anxiety or stress reactions. Hence, with COVID-19, we need to help them adjust gently. Maybe we can tell them we are staying at home more because there is a new bug that can make old people quite sick, so we don't want to risk spreading it to them. It also helps to give them age-appropriate answers and reassurance. For example, you can tell them that children don't seem to get very sick from it." This story originated at Berkeley News. It was also reposted in the Berkeley Patch.