<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602863053792.png" alt="Feeling vulnerable can trigger defense mechanisms that may influence mask-wearing tendencies, said Lauren Lucht of University of Kansas Health System. (Submitted by KU Health System to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Feeling vulnerable can trigger defense mechanisms that may influence mask-wearing tendencies, said Lauren Lucht of University of Kansas Health System. (Submitted by KU Health System to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/15/mental-health-expert-vulnerability-inconvenience-drive-refusal-to-wear-mask/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A leading mental 
health expert at the University of Kansas Health System says the 
psychology behind whether people choose to wear a mask boils down to two
 key factors — inconvenience and vulnerability.Lauren Lucht, executive 
director for behavioral and mental health, said vulnerability often 
triggers defense mechanisms in people to convince themselves everything 
will be fine.“One defense mechanism as 
humans is to convince ourselves that bad things don’t happen to good 
people,” Lucht said. “In psychology, we call that belief in a just 
world. So, I think we’re in a bit of denial, and we don’t want to be 
inconvenienced for something we want to believe we’re at extremely low 
risk for catching and transmitting.”Whether it is fear of 
contracting the virus driving someone to wear a mask or a feeling of 
false invincibility influencing a person to abstain from mask-wearing, 
psychology and our mental state play a large role in our decisions amid 
COVID-19, Lucht said Tuesday.When confronted with their
 own vulnerability, people may attempt to justify that the inconvenience
 and risk of feeling vulnerable is reason enough not to mask up, Lucht 
said.Dana Hawkinson, medical 
director of infection and prevention control, echoed Lucht, pushing 
Kansans to drop the idea of mask-wearing as a political issue.“There’s enough objective 
data and science out there that show us that mask-wearing and separation
 or physical distancing works to decrease the spread of this virus,” 
Hawkinson said. “That continued thought of, ‘I don’t have to wear a mask
 because it infringes on my freedoms,’ is really a backward thought, and
 it’s not based in any science or data.”U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran said he views wearing a mask as a matter of common sense.“Presumably,
 medicine concurs with common sense that wearing a mask makes you and 
more importantly the people you are around safer,” Moran said. “Social 
distancing and mask-wearing ought to hasten the day in which we are 
closer to being back to normal.”The
 inconveniences or disruptions in that “normal” day-to-day wearing a 
mask might create —&nbsp; be it expressing yourself through a smile or just 
not enjoying the feeling of the mask — often elicits strong but valid 
reactions, Lucht said.“We miss things. We miss 
hugs and smiles and high fives and handshaking, and all those things are
 completely valid,” Lucht said. “We cannot do those things right now the
 way we used to and It’s not about taking away anyone’s freedoms. It’s 
about personal responsibility so that we can get back to the life where 
we have more control about whether or not we put a mask on.”The effect of added 
vulnerability from COVID-19 extends beyond mask-wearing, Lucht said. If 
people are not used to feeling vulnerable, it can be a significant 
stressor added on top of an already stressful time.Amid COVID-19, Lucht has seen a marked increase in the mental and behavioral health services requested of KU Health System.“30% of Americans are 
reporting an increase in depression and anxiety related to the pandemic,
 and experts would argue that the other 70% are lying,” Lucht said. “I 
don’t know what island you might live on where this wouldn’t have 
inconvenienced some element of your life. That becomes a stressor.”Lucht said the longer the 
pandemic continues, the more likely we are to see people experience 
fatigue as a result of this perception of vulnerability or dealing with 
these inconveniences.Regardless of which side 
of the mask-wearing isle you are on, Steven Stites, chief medical 
officer for the KU Health System, implored Kansans to take personal 
responsibility for their mental and physical health.“Following the pillars of 
infection control prevention is not an act of obedience. It is an act of
 kindness and generosity that protects not only you, but it really 
protects everybody around you,” Stites said. “The science is here to 
help us get to the other side, but it’s our own individual actions that 
drive our ability to do that effectively.”

Mental health expert: Vulnerability, inconvenience drive refusal to wear mask