The ‘hot potato’ metaphor is used by psychologists to describe a forceful transference of difficulty to others because it is too hot to handle. The language of UK government guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic can be said to have dealt a few of these hot potatoes. Much of it transfers responsibility to the population for matters that are in the hands of government. And this is important to consider as it is likely to have an impact on the way we interact as a nation. Governments are looked to at exceptional times like this to take charge and create a sense of safety. When instead that responsibility is handed to the people, the natural response is to pass the hot potato on. To put the responsibility on someone else’s shoulders. To blame and shame.
The original guidance ‘Stay at home, Save lives, Protect the NHS’ gave fair direction to the population until ‘Protect the NHS’. Staying at home is achievable. Saving lives in our immediate area is a realistic consequence of staying at home. But to protect an entire National Health Service is clearly beyond the individual citizen. And is a responsibility that normally sits with the government. At the time, with lack of PPE, ventilators and bed space, the government themselves were struggling to meet this responsibility.
We responded by staying at home, but also by patrolling our family, friends and neighbours in an attempt to keep control. Sometimes, we shamed those who, in their actions, made us feel a lack of control. Those who seemed to be in parks for too long, those groups of people outside who were suspected of not being from the same household, those neighbours who seemed to be getting in their car too often. We threw the hot potato around. During the many shows of togetherness we also felt the potential threat of one another.
The Prime Minister’s current slogan, ‘Stay alert, Control the virus, Save lives’, was more obvious in its unreasonable transference of responsibility. We are being asked to make potentially high-stakes judgements with confusing information. Is it safe for us to go back to work or send the children to school? In great British fashion we coped with this through a myriad of comedy take-offs. You could see this as acknowledging the hot potato and choosing to name it rather than pass it on. Although we are effectively still left holding the hot potato.
It’s fair to say that lack of clear guidance has left people feeling confused and unsafe. This seems like a bleak picture, but civil society has been stepping in in useful ways and this is where local community support is so important. Where we are without an authority to guide us safely, a healthier coping mechanism than passing on the hot potato can be to increase our reliance on one another and develop coping strategies together.
How are community groups cooling down those ‘Hot Potatoes’?
Whatever your discipline; be it arts, civil liberties, sustainability, you have the advantage of being able to hold meaningful spaces that help your beneficiaries cool the oven on those hot potatoes. Here are some of the things that community and civil society groups are already doing that are likely to be cooling the oven:
Acknowledge the hot potato: It’s important to take a realistic look at what difficulties are affecting us now and to name the expected aftershocks of the pandemic. Acknowledging a situation is the first step to managing it. Fortunately, government communication seems to be moving in this direction too. Once aware of a difficult situation, we often subconsciously develop ways to manage it. But support through the process of acknowledgement helps, especially in unprecedented situations like this pandemic.
Explore who owns the hot potato; One of the dangers of holding the hot potato (i.e. someone else’s responsibility) is that we blame ourselves when we are not able to resolve the impossible task we have been handed. We may even experience real blame or shame from others. It’s important to name the hot potato! To acknowledge what is beyond our control. This can be disempowering if we don’t also explore what is realistically within our control. So navigating the boundaries of control with your beneficiaries can be both relief of a burden and validation of action.
Group coping in a storm of hot potatoes: Environments where hot potatoes are being passed around can make people afraid of judgement and shaming in their community circles and limit how comfortable people are to rely on one another. With judgement and shame taken out, reflective spaces allow community members to draw on each other for ideas about how to manage the complexities of the situation, for guidance, and for giving and receiving practical help. Studies in trauma show that learning to rely on one another is a strong indicator of resilience and personal development.
As the blog develops we will be sharing real life examples of community groups and civil society organisations finding practical ways to cope. If you have any examples you would like explored from a group psychology perspective please get in touch! TheCopingMechanism@outlook.com
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