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In the age of Covid-19, what is the new normal? How many of us have been experiencing the heady cocktail of confusion, anxiety, and even some surprising moments of respite from our recent-past busy rise-and-grind, hustle culture routines?
Our social media feeds are filled with urgent and often conflicting imperatives to change our routines and to direct increased vigilance:
- don’t touch your face, wash our hands-don’t be obsessive though;
- cover our coughs with your elbow-not a tissue;
- social distance-with no interaction, or maybe with some interaction, just watch for your local businesses as you’re sheltering-in; and
- no matter what, don’t panic—you should be scared, but please, stay calm.
–> Keep reading my new article, co-authored with Dr. Karen S. Rommelfanger, over at Emory University’s Neuroethics blog: LESSONS FROM COVID-19: COULD A NEW NORMAL LEAD TO BETTER BRAINS, BODIES, AND SOCIETIES?
Related resources on stress, physical and mental health:
At some point in their lives, 5 to 12 percent of American men and 10–25 percent of women will suffer an episode of depression, making it the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder today. Unlike normal sadness, which passes with time, depression feels unstoppable and causes people to lose interest in nearly all activities. Because it affects a person’s ability to eat, sleep, work, and function normally, it exacts a huge cost on the economy, estimated at $30 billion dollars annually. The cost in human suffering cannot be measured.
