Dealing with Anxiety. Dealing with Plague. Some Wisdom from Jewish Sources.

If there is anxiety [yashchena] in a man’s mind let him quash it, And turn it into joy with a good word.

§ The Gemara explains another verse in Proverbs: “If there is care in a man’s heart, let him quash it [yashchena]” (Proverbs 12:25). Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi dispute the verse’s meaning. One said: He should forcefully push it [yaschena] out of his mind. One who worries should banish his concerns from his thoughts. And one said: It means he should tell [yesiḥena] others his concerns, which will lower his anxiety.

The Gemara quotes additional statements from the book of Ben Sira: Do not suffer from tomorrow’s trouble, that is, do not worry about problems that might arise in the future, as you do not know what a day will bring. Perhaps when tomorrow comes, the individual who was so worried will not be among the living, and he was consequently upset over a world that is not his.

Prevent a (public) crowd from inside your house, do not let many people enter, and do not even bring all your friends into your house. Make sure, however, that a crowd seeks your welfare, and that you have many allies.

§ It is written in one verse: “Doeg the Edomite” (I Samuel 22:9), and it is written in another verse: “And the king said to Doyeig” (I Samuel 22:18). Rabbi Yoḥanan says in explaining the discrepancy: Initially, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sat and was concerned [doeg] that perhaps this person would emerge to undertake an evil path. After he emerged on that path, God said: Alas [oy!], that person has emerged to undertake an evil path.

One must refrain from putting coins in one's mouth, lest it's covered with dried saliva of those afflicted with boils. He should not put the palm of his hand in his arm pit, lest his hand touched a metzorah or a harmful poison. He should not put a loaf of bread under his armpit, because of the sweat. He should not put a cooked item or drinks under the bed, since an evil spirit rests on them. He should not stick a knife in an esrog or a radish, lest one fall on its edge and die. Hagah: Similarly, he should be careful of all things that cause danger, because danger is stricter than transgressions, and one should be more careful with an uncertain danger than with an uncertain sin/forbidden action. They also prohibited to go in a dangerous place, such as under a leaning wall, or alone at night. They also prohibited to drink water from rivers at night or to put one's mouth on a stream of water and drink, because these matters have a concern of danger. It is the widespread custom not to drink water during the equinox, and the early ones wrote this and it is not to be changed. They also wrote to flee from the city when a plague is in the city, and one should leave at the beginning of the plague and not at the end. And all of these things are because of the danger, and a person who guards his soul will distance himself from them and it is prohibited to rely on a miracle in all of these matters.

In case you need it: "The Talmud teaches: “The Sages taught, if there is plague in the city, gather your feet – i.e.-limit the time you spend out of the house, as it is stated in the verse: And none of you shall go out of the opening of his house until the morning.’ And it says in another verse: ‘Come, my people, enter into your chambers and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself for a little moment until the anger has passed by (Isaiah 26:20)”