A Silent Symphony of Uncomfortable Events
Our lives are often overshadowed by terrorism, nuclear weapons, and cyber-crime at all times - not to mention the changes to earth and humans conditions every day, but I would like to suggest that pandemics may actually be a more existential threat to human civilization that any of the above categories.
And most experts agree: "We’re woefully unprepared, and crucial funding for basic research, foreign aid, and preparedness is on the chopping block." (CNBC). It seems that our busy world - full of expectations both corporate and personal interests - is moving in the wrong direction around the idea of COVID-19. We seemed to have lost interest in what a pandemic means for the world, countries, families, and individuals. Granted, we need to move forward with our daily lives and try to find some sort of numbing reason to pretend that things are OK, and they may be so, but not according to the data presented by the W.H.O. and other "experts" in the field.
What lessons have we learned from the SARS, Ebola, and HIV crisis that can be applied to COVID-19 and other threats, both natural and man-made in the months and years to come?
I remember when the COVID-19 news started getting serious and the number of infections started to rise in the US and the rest of the world - it was somewhat shocking and I was not ready to accept it because in the past the US managed small outbreaks on SARS extremely fast. Why would I think the new virus could become a real threat to our lives and economic system? Don't we have superman, or the avengers to help us?
In the great scheme of things, Covid-19 has exposed our political leaders on grand stages, highlighting their aptitude, vulnerabilities, ineptitude - and not to mention their very pronounce idiocy - on many levels. In the US it has exposed our societal weaknesses; our lack of good quality social care and a diminishing health care system.
But lessons can be learned from this crisis, if we ask the right questions now.
Going forward, will we be able to anticipate health inequalities between groups of people like African Americans, Spanish, Asians and why not the Elderly? Will we stop distributing blame where it is not needed? Let's take - for example - the parallel reality of HIV back in the 1980's and how blame was pointed to the LGBT+ community, then compare it to the rise in racism towards those in Asian communities during Covid-19 - thanks Mr. President!. Maybe - do we need to actually think and/or consider that if this was a virus born in North America, political leaders in the US for instance, might have taken it more seriously from the start?
The impact that this lack of seriousness has created, will have an impact in our society that we will witness in the years to come - yes - there will be a deep wound and physiological effects. For instance, in general, we know at-risk groups for long-term mental health issues will be the healthcare workers who are on the front lines, young people under 30 and children, the elderly and those in precarious situations, for example, owing to mental illness, disability and poverty.
All this, should not be a surprise anyone; insights on the long-term damage of disasters have been accepted in the field of trauma psychology for decades. The following is the physiological effect that a "disaster" and/or "emergency" has on most humans being. For example, after studying this graphic and doing some research about how humans respond to disasters, I became aware that it is in our nature to try to get closer to those who can help us and save us. In addition, it is clear that during the "honeymoon" state, a human being will actually believe that what they see as "love" is actually just pure sheer terror.
In short, and perhaps naturally, people who are quarantined are very likely to develop a wide range of symptoms of psychological stress and disorder, including low mood, insomnia, stress, anxiety, anger, irritability, emotional exhaustion, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Low mood and irritability specifically stand out as being very common.
Michael Morgenstern, MD, who is board-certified in both neurology and sleep medicine by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology said in an interview that .... “during the crisis, individuals, depending on circumstances, may experience anger, anxiety, avoidance, boredom, confusion, decreased concentration, depression, detachment, emotional exhaustion, insomnia, isolation, grief, guilt, sadness or other symptoms. The severity of these feelings, and our ability to cope with them so that they don’t interfere with our daily function, is important. Unfortunately, some individuals may be impaired in the short term, and a subset of these individuals may have to confront longer-lasting psychological impact.”
Yes, terrorism, nuclear weapons, and cyber-crime are not match for a pandemic and its effects in our society - a pandemic is really a silent killer, playing a symphony that cannot be decode. We should be grateful that we have a chance to live and try again. Some didn't make it, some lost loved ones, some lost jobs and possibly their entire lives (house, car, etc), and some lost the love of their lives.
Peace and Love!
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