What If

[DISCLAIMER]

Blog Entries Dating Back Several Years Have Vindicated My Views

The photo above was taken in June 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although I was highly skeptical of claims regarding the United States (U.S.) government’s response to COVID-19, masking procedures were required within my place of employment.

I complied with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and Anthony Fauci, not because I valued their supposed expertise, though because I was demanded to obey their prescriptions which were based on descriptions.

For context, a description is simply a thought or discourse intended to give a mental image of something experienced. On the other hand, a prescription is the thought or action of laying down authoritative rules or directions.

For instance, one may assert that wearing masks could prevent the spread of COVID-19, as this is merely a description. Alternatively, if one declares that everyone else must wear masks, because they supposedly are effective at preventing the spread, then one is using a prescription.

Also, in March 2020, I was asked by my boss to write a blogpost for his professional website, in reference to Texas COVID-19 mandates which began to impact his clinical practice. Addressing mask mandates, I reposted the entry under the name: Revisiting Protective Measures.

Apparently, my critical analysis of the U.S. response to COVID-19 wasn’t well-received information. By the time more data was gathered, which unsurprisingly supported my many hypotheses, I then posted a blog entry entitled Unmasking Behavior in February 2023, stating:

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I drafted a blogpost entitled Time, Distance, Shielding, in which I stated, “N95 respirators – not recommended by the CDC for general public use at this time.” The reason for my statement was twofold.

First, during my prior military training in regards to airborne contagions, I was instructed that the eyes, nose, and mouth were vectors of transmission. Wearing a surgical or cloth mask, or N95 respirator, didn’t account for ocular transmissibility.

I thoroughly addressed this matter in a blog entry entitled Revisiting Protective Measures. Still, and despite a 2020 Danish study that reportedly advised that “face masks provide the wearer with only limited protection against COVID-19 infection,” many people fearfully donned face coverings.

Second, I recalled when Anthony Fauci reportedly stated that “there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask,” all while purportedly giving “as many masks as possible to front line workers and emergency personnel.” Apparently, rules for thee, not for me.

While many answers may be provided as to why people allowed fear to drive their behavior during the pandemic, as a psychotherapist, I pay close attention to one aspect in particular. Since irrational fear significantly influenced behavior during COVID-19, what actions might be taken during pandemic 2.0?

Donning sociopolitical theater masks as a show of solidary is permissible for the individual. Still, I wonder if unreasonable demands which burden people at a societal level are helpful.

Lest the reader forgets, masks and respirators weren’t the sole tool thrust upon global citizens. Living memory of coercion hasn’t yet faded from my mind.

Many people fearfully obeyed unreasonable and legally questionable mandates in regards to untested genetic therapy, COVID-19 passport-like documentation requirements, orders not to attend work, and various other authoritarian injunctions. However, you simply cannot comply your way out of tyranny.

I complied with the prescription to wear a mask, as set forth within my place of business, though the description of how effective masks supposedly were was always questionable to me. My record speaks for itself, as blog entries dating back several years have vindicated my views!

What If

Much of the COVID-19 hysteria was based on ‘what if’ scenarios. This phrase indicates what presumably will or would be the result if something occurs, or what does it matter if something happens. Thus, what-if inquiries are suppositional (held as hypothetical opinion) questions.

For example, “What if I don’t wear an N95 respirator? I may die from COVID-19!” “What if I don’t receive a [so-called] vaccination? I may die from COVOD-19!” Regarding these illogical and unreasonable (collectively “irrational”) beliefs, I stated in What if in the Opposite Direction:

The late psychologist Albert Ellis, who developed REBT [Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy] which serves as a form of cognitive behavior therapy, stated about this self-disturbing narrative:

When I keep making myself anxious by telling myself what if bad things happen, what if people treat me unfairly, what if I act foolishly and bring about bad results, and similar what ifs, I can always tell myself, as Arnold Lazarus recommended, so what if these things occur or I make them occur?

I can still change my anxious and panicked feelings to concern, regret, and frustration. When I do so, I can see that most of these “terrible” things will never occur, but if some of them do, I can handle them, cope with them, improve them, or fully accept them and live a less happy life but not an utterly miserable one.

As you can see, a what if narrative is a self-disturbing form of LFT [low frustration tolerance]. Just as the language of fear and anxiety use a what if phrase, the catchphrase for LFT is I can’t stand it. This occurs when we convince ourselves that activating events are literally intolerable.

With this unhelpful narrative, we then experience the unpleasant response of fear or anxiety. Thus, Ellis advocated building high frustration tolerance (HFT). Whereas LFT communicates that I can’t stand it, HFT reassures that I got this (even though the event is undesirable).

During what I refer to as the “dark days” of the response to COVID-19, I encountered many what if narratives. Favorably, many people to whom I provided care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”) were able to challenge these irrational beliefs.

Following the Doctor’s Orders

As REBT is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Now, Marcus Aurelius stated (page 334):

Just as we commonly hear people say the doctor prescribed someone particular riding exercises, or ice baths, or walking without shoes, we should in the same way say that nature prescribed someone to be diseased, or disabled, or to suffer any kind of impairment.

In the case of the doctor, prescribed means something ordered to help aid someone’s healing. But in the case of nature, it means that what happens to each of us is ordered to help aid our destiny.

Though I’ve come to realize that much of the logic and reason used by Stoics isn’t a matter objective rationality, as they tend to appeal to unfalsifiable forces (e.g., destiny), I choose which lessons to learn. For example, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 334):

The Stoics were masters at analogies and used them as a tool to help strengthen their reasoning. Here, Marcus observes how willingly we will put up with unpleasantness if commanded to by the magic words “doctor’s orders.” The doctor says you’ve got to take this nasty medicine, and you’ll do it.

If you abide by “doctor’s orders” without critical thought, then perhaps you deserve (to be worthy of) all effects which are iatrogenic (denoting or relating to a pathological condition that is inadvertently induced or aggravated in a patient by a health care provider).

For instance, I did wear a cloth mask, because I was required to do so as a stipulation of my employment at an in-office environment. However, when my physician recommended (i.e., prescribed) a course of treatment relating to the so-called vaccine, I didn’t receive it.

The COVID-19 shots weren’t scientifically tested to the degree whereby side effects were well-known at the time. Thus, I didn’t allow irrational what-if scripts to cloud my rational judgment. “What if I don’t get the shot?” I reasoned, “What if I do, and I have an unhealthy reaction?”

Apparently, millions of people didn’t exercise similar healthy judgment. Till this day, the iatrogenic effects of the COVID-19 shots continue to be studied. Fortunately, I used a healthy what-if script, rather than unhealthily asking myself “what if I don’t abide by ‘doctor’s orders’?”

Of this view, authors of The Daily Stoic state, “The doctor tells you [that] you have to start sleeping hanging upside down like a bat. You’ll feel silly, but soon enough you’ll get to dangling because you think it will make you better” (page 334). I have little doubt someone would do this.

“What if I don’t do as I’m told?” an individual may unhealthily wonder. Well, what if you blindly follow “doctor’s orders” and experience an iatrogenic effect? Turns out, Emergency Use Authorization ostensibly shielded so-called vaccine manufacturers from legal culpability.

What if you received a virtually untested COVID-19 shot, because you failed to think rationally, and you then endured a harmful side effect? This is where Stoicism may be of use to you, uncritical thinker. Specifically, authors of The Daily Stoic conclude (page 334):

On the other hand, when it comes to external events, we fight like hell if anything happens contrary to our plans. But what if, Marcus asks, a doctor had prescribed this exact thing as a part of our treatment? What if this was as good for us as medicine? Well, what if?

What if you experienced a harmful side effect from the so-called COVID-19 vaccination? If you Stoically conceptualize the outcome as something prescribed by a doctor (or nature, destiny, God, etc.), then would it be a proverbially easier pill for you to swallow (pardon the pun)?

Appealing to unfalsifiable forces isn’t something I find preferable. Nevertheless, as you endure the iatrogenic effects of having followed “doctor’s orders” while failing to think logically and reasonably (e.g., what if I take an untested shot), then you may appreciate a Stoic view.

Conclusion

Older blog entries dating back several years have vindicated my views regarding COVID-19. Fortunately, I used rational thinking—assessing prescriptions by the CDC, WHO, and others about descriptions of COVID-19—and avoided taking unhealthy measures related to my health.

At the same time, I worked with people regarding their mental health. For those individuals who challenged their unhealthy what-if narratives, and who instead asked healthy what if questions, I observed phenomenal growth pertaining to their well-being.

Of course, not everyone with whom I worked experienced favorable outcomes. Some clients unhealthily followed “doctor’s orders” and received COVID-19 so-called vaccinations when pregnant, had shots administered to their children, and even received additional boosters.

The iatrogenic effects which plausibly millions of people have endured were well-deserved when individuals didn’t think critically or rationally about their actions. “What if I receive this untested therapeutic,” a person potentially could’ve asked, “and I sustain serious side effects?”

What if? According to the Stoic perspective in this regard, one could appeal to unfalsifiable forces by imagining that one was prescribed a harmful outcome. What if that works for you? Then, use it! For those of us who’d rather do the rational heavy lifting up front, then use that!

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

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Hollings, D. (2026, February 10). Are you outsourcing your ability to think critically? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/are-you-outsourcing-your-ability-to-think-critically

Hollings, D. (2025, April 22). Bad ideas deserve to be mocked. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/bad-ideas-deserve-to-be-mocked

Hollings, D. (2024, June 20). Break out the mask. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/break-out-the-mask

Hollings, D. (2025, September 10). Chaos that ensues from not having a plan. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/chaos-that-ensues-from-not-having-a-plan

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Hollings, D. (2023, August 2). Do or do not, you will regret it either way. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/do-or-do-not-you-will-regret-it-either-way

Hollings, D. (2024, January 3). Expertise. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/expertise

Hollings, D. (2026, April 17). Fear, take the wheel. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fear-take-the-wheel

Hollings, D. (2024, May 17). Feeling better vs. getting better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feeling-better-vs-getting-better-1

Hollings, D. (2024, October 23). Forces of nature. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/forces-of-nature

Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better

Hollings, D. (2024, September 24). Happy place. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/happy-place

Hollings, D. (2025, September 7). Have to. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/have-to

Hollings, D. (2024, March 27). Healthy vs. unhealthy frustration. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/healthy-vs-unhealthy-frustration

Hollings, D. (2026, June 6). High and dry: Steering a proverbial ship around unhelpful assumptions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/high-and-dry-steering-a-proverbial-ship-around-unhelpful-assumptions

Hollings, D. (2024, February 24). High frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/high-frustration-tolerance

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Hollings, D. (2025, May 19). I can’t take it: It’s more than I can handle. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/i-can-t-take-it-it-s-more-than-i-can-handle

Hollings, D. (2025, September 15). I guess it must have been magic. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/i-guess-it-must-have-been-magic

Hollings, D. (2024, May 24). Imagery. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/imagery

Hollings, D. (2022, November 8). Information overload. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/information-overload

Hollings, D. (2024, February 14). Insufferable vs. undesirable. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/insufferable-vs-undesirable

Hollings, D. (2026, April 14). Intolerance: There’s no way that I can take this. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/intolerance-there-s-no-way-that-i-can-take-this

Hollings, D. (2024, May 28). Is it destiny? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/is-it-destiny

Hollings, D. (2024, November 8). Is your fear valid? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/is-your-fear-valid

Hollings, D. (2025, May 2). It’s outside of my control and influence. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/it-s-outside-of-my-control-and-influence

Hollings, D. (2025, April 23). Judgment. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/judgment

Hollings, D. (2024, June 13). Just the tip. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/just-the-tip

Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Lived experience. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/lived-experience

Hollings, D. (2023, January 8). Logic and reason. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/logic-and-reason

Hollings, D. (2022, December 2). Low frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/low-frustration-tolerance

Hollings, D. (2024, March 31). M-m-m-musturbation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/m-m-m-musturbation

Hollings, D. (2024, March 4). Mental, emotional, and behavioral health. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/mental-emotional-and-behavioral-health

Hollings, D. (2025, November 16). Mental health, mental illness, and mental disorder. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/mental-health-mental-illness-and-mental-disorder

Hollings, D. (2024, November 3). Neurotic anxiety and fear. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/neurotic-anxiety-and-fear

Hollings, D. (2026, April 2). Objective rationality: What is rational to you may not be rational to others. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/objective-rationality-what-is-rational-to-you-may-not-be-rational-to-others

Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings

Hollings, D. (2024, November 18). Opinions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/opinions

Hollings, D. (2026, April 19). Outcome: Victim mentality and playing the victim. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/outcome-victim-mentality-and-playing-the-victim

Hollings, D. (2024, September 4). Pathologizing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/pathologizing

Hollings, D. (2025, April 9). Perception, action, and will. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/perception-action-and-will

Hollings, D. (2024, July 20). Perspective shift. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/perspective-shift

Hollings, D. (2024, January 13). Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/prevention-diagnosis-and-treatment

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt

Hollings, D. (2025, August 13). Rational versus irrational thoughts and beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-versus-irrational-thoughts-and-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2024, December 5). Reasoning. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/reasoning

Hollings, D. (2024, July 10). Recommendatory should beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/recommendatory-should-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2022, August 24). Repost: Revisiting protective measures. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/repost-revisiting-protective-measures

Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Repost: Time, distance, shielding. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/repost-time-distance-shielding

Hollings, D. (2026, March 5). Rules-based order: Rules will vary. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rules-based-order-rules-will-vary

Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance

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Hollings, D. (2025, November 26). Show me how you feel: I wish you would heal it. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/show-me-how-you-feel-i-wish-you-would-heal-it

Hollings, D. (2026, February 24). Skepticism: I doubt it. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/skepticism-i-doubt-it

Hollings, D. (2023, September 18). Sociopolitical pills. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/sociopolitical-pills

Hollings, D. (2025, December 24). Some people advocate walking. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/some-people-advocate-walking

Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Stoicism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/stoicism

Hollings, D. (2025, October 19). Surprise and embarrassment. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/surprise-and-embarrassment

Hollings, D. (2025, December 21). The awful, very bad, horrible, terrible, no good, unacceptable elements of life. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-awful-very-bad-horrible-terrible-no-good-unacceptable-elements-of-life

Hollings, D. (2025, October 22). The construct. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-construct

Hollings, D. (2022, November 2). The critical A. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-critical-a

Hollings, D. (2025, January 2). The distinction between law and justice. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-distinction-between-law-and-justice

Hollings, D. (2025, April 12). The oblivion of directionlessness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-oblivion-of-directionlessness

Hollings, D. (2026, February 21). The preferences versus expectations paradigm: Love is not enough, though virtue is. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-preferences-versus-expectations-paradigm-love-is-not-enough-though-virtue-is

Hollings, D. (2023, August 6). The science. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-science

Hollings, D. (2026, May 15). The speed of thoughts and beliefs: Flipping the bird. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-speed-of-thoughts-and-beliefs-flipping-the-bird

Hollings, D. (2026, April 23). The three traditionally identified components of the mind: Affect, cognition, and conation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-three-traditionally-identified-components-of-the-mind-affect-cognition-and-conation

Hollings, D. (2025, April 15). This cake smells unpleasant. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/this-cake-smells-unpleasant

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Hollings, D. (2023, October 22). Unfalsifiability. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unfalsifiability

Hollings, D. (2023, February 17). Unmasking behavior. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unmasking-behavior

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