Fear decapitates us. I remember discussing that idea with a friend as a joke, but when I look back, I realize that the statement is very true. Fear does indeed decapitate us, and it does a good job of it, too.

When in fear, people can begin to lose their minds.

Often times, the most prominent fears are fed by the unknown.  People only know that something is bad, but not why it is bad. They know that it kills people, but not why it kills people. They know that something is spreading, but not how it is spreading.

The craze surrounding the Ebola outbreak is the most recent wave of fear to strike the nation.  Without a doubt, it should have been handled differently.

Ebola is a virus. It is spread only through contact with bodily fluids. You cannot get the virus through a cough or a sneeze. It is much more likely you would get a cold than you would contract this deadly virus.

But, most U.S. citizens did not have the proper expertise in infectious disease to understand Ebola properly. People knew that it was a terrible disease, and that an infected person had entered our country.

Knowing that the epidemic destroyed nations in West Africa, people were frightened for the United States. They were scared that the virus would spread through the U.S., infect great numbers of people and kill American citizens in a massive epidemic.

When the news first started blaring reports of Ebola, most people thought that it was a major risk to our society. Now that they have been informed on what it takes to catch the virus, most have a more realistic view of the risks that the virus poses.

Yet still, experts would rate the risk of Ebola becoming an epidemic in the U.S. as nil. Because they have experience with viruses like Ebola, they realize, unlike the media-frenzied public, that this epidemic will most likely not affect our country in the ways that it affected West African countries.

In Africa, Ebola spread through bodily fluid contact more than a year ago. The initial outbreak was exacerbated by the fact that many traditional burial rituals of Ebola victims involve living people coming into direct contact with dead bodies.

To continue following the tradition, many people attended many burials. Also, when the Ebola patients went to the poorly funded clinics that were available to them, there were not enough resources to care for these patients properly and to treat them in isolation.

American media sources played a significant role in exacerbating the fear of Ebola. After the virus hit hard in West Africa and once the first patient was transported to the States, news channels, journalists and other media outlets went wild, quite frankly. This outrageous coverage amplified the problem, not giving the public reassuring facts on the disease but only new information on patients entering the U.S.

However, the biggest problem was with the way our government officials handled it. Of course, precautions needed to be taken, but some unnecessarily infringed on the freedom of American citizens, even when they posed no risk to the community.

A nurse who took care of Ebola patients, Kaci Hickox, was forcibly quarantined in New Jersey after returning from Africa because of a new policy. She reported to CNN that she was treated inhumanely during this process. Upon her return to the U.S., instead of being praised for helping end the outbreak in Africa, she was forced into fear and confusion and, worst of all, isolated.

The New Jersey governor in charge of the policy, Chris Christie, had no second thoughts even after he heard her complaints. Even the Obama administration disagreed with the quarantine policy, but it did nothing to change it.

Hickox showed no signs of Ebola and tested negative. She did not have Ebola, yet she was treated this way because of a policy created by politicians who were more interested in catering to public opinion than to science.

Officials in New York also overreacted when Craig Spencer, a doctor with Doctors Without Borders, was diagnosed with Ebola after riding the subway. Workers were sent to clean the stations and trains of any bodily fluids, but found none.

Afterwards, officials announced that the subway was free of Ebola and safe for the public. Free of Ebola? One ride on the subway would not have spread any body secretions or have infected the trains with the virus. If someone riding the subway were to find an Ebola patient’s human waste and eat it regularly then sure, he or she would get the virus. But causing public fear for a danger so small does not make sense.

Ebola is certainly a horrible epidemic. It is, of course, important to try to help those infected by it. But overreacting is not the answer to this problem. We should try to help those in the infected African nations.  Also, we should encourage the health care workers who have played a huge part in this process, not frighten them and the public.

Fear decapitates us. This epidemic decapitated us. But losing our heads over what we do not know is pointless, and it is ridiculous for the media and public officials to encourage this decapitation.

If we, as a society, ever encounter a situation like this again, we should handle it differently. Let’s not lose our heads again.