In the past week or two, many of us have begun to turn our eyes in earnest towards the Fall and questions pertaining to school re-openings. Along with this comes a host of questions and concerns regarding the impact upon COVID 19 case numbers and mortality rates. These worries have been amplified in the past week or so by reports of new, even more deadly viruses – the Black Plague, a swine flu, a new form of pneumonia, etc. – that threaten to spread across the world from Asia to further challenge our health care workers and systems. About the only thing that seems to be certain in all of this discourse it that, come September, we will be navigating uncharted waters.
Articles describing the challenges that await us in the Fall often make reference to increases in current and anticipated mental health needs in the general population due to COVID 19-rooted anxiety and depression. Certainly, there is some truth to these reports. Many Americans have thirsted for details and data regarding the novel Coronavirus since we were first ordered to shelter in place in March. Knowledge, for many, appeared to be one source of empowerment that we still had. It certainly has been challenging to remain grounded amidst news reports that our current daily COVID 19 case numbers place the United States in the tens of thousands greater than most, if not all, of the developed nations across the globe. For even the most stalwart, all of this virus news can be anxiety-producing, indeed.
However, anxiety seems to breed overnight and take on new pathways when we give it extra attention. Maybe in these uncertain times we are adding to our national mental health needs by talking so openly about anxiety and “the virus.” Perhaps we would do better to focus instead upon the existing silver linings of these coronavirus times - things like extra time together with family, a renewed focus on maintaining healthy habits, a guilt-free opportunity to step out of daily commuting ruts, and the capacity to give working from home a whirl.
Flipping the switch to the positive can bring on a new lens. In fact, if we consider the COVID 19 pandemic to be a trauma upon all humanity, then there is true opportunity to grow forward from this historic experience. Psychologists employ a term, “post-traumatic growth” to describe positive changes that occur in the aftermath of a major life crisis or traumatic event. Post-traumatic growth is a process that usually encompasses “appreciation of life, enhanced relationships with others, new possibilities in life, newly identified personal strengths, and spiritual or existential change” (Behel and Coleman, 2020). For example, a person who endures and then flourishes following a COVID 19 hospital stay may experience a renewed connection to a Higher Power that was called upon in the hour of need. This might in turn fuel a renewed interest in affiliation with a religious community that would not have occurred but for the crisis of the COVID 19 illness.
Undeniably, COVID 19 has altered the way that all of us conduct our everyday lives. It remains to be seen how much of our former lives will resume, and how much of our former way of life will be forever lost. If the beaches and restaurants are any indication, Americans are fighting to get back more, not less, of their former selves. But as we sit on the precipice of possible new lockdown orders, maybe we would do well to look ahead with anticipation rather than anxiety. By assuming a growth mindset like this, we may be able to maintain some semblance of appreciation for the mundane. Taking one more lap around the neighborhood with the dog can then been seen as heading somewhere, after all. By looking ahead with a sense of curiosity rather than fear we may also find ourselves less depressed by the limitations placed upon our freedoms. And, in the process, by looking forward positively, we might open ourselves to the potential that there is an even brighter future ahead than we can currently imagine – our own COVID 19 silver linings.
Behel, J. & Coleman, J.A. Worrying about anxiety can backfire. The Boston Globe (retrieved June 28, 2020).