DEAR ABBY: I'm 48, about to be 49 in less than a month. I have had mostly good health, but I do have high anxiety because of some trauma from my past. With the world now in hibernation and many of my peers passing away due to illness or some other tragedy, I'm feeling very much like I could be the next to die. I'm not suicidal, but I have had "premonitions" in the past about events that later came true. For some reason, I have been feeling like I am close to death recently, and it scares me. How do I snap out of this preoccupation with death? -- STRANGE FEELINGS
DEAR STRANGE: Turn off the news! Quit reading about and listening to the body counts. They are enough to scare anyone to death. In a sense, we are all "close to death" -- it's just a question of when. You will increase your chances of survival if you pay attention to what the medical experts have been saying.
The message is simple: If you are in fragile physical condition, hunker down and limit your exposure. Stay in contact with friends by cellphone or your computer. If you are healthy and can go out for exercise or to shop, wear a face mask in the presence of others, wash your hands often and practice social distancing. However, if your anxiety persists, discuss it with your physician, who may be able to prescribe something to calm you down.