Life in the time of Covid-19: We are wired for Resiliency

We're approaching our 4th week in "confinement" in my little town of Cavendish, VT, and yes, it's been challenging at times, but it's also been pretty amazing what people are and can do. It's been a good reminder that at the heart of it, humans are resilient and we can pretty much handle whatever adversity you throw at us.

So in thinking about that, I wondered if George. A. Bonanno had any pearls of wisdom on coping with Covid-19. If you aren't familiar with Bonanno, he's one of the leading researchers on loss and wrote the book, "The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us about Life after Loss."

Below are some thoughts from Bonanno:

1. We can cope with this. My research (and the research of others) has shown repeatedly that the majority of humans cope well and are resilient to just about any adversity.
2. There is no single best way to cope for everyone. Often, we see popular articles about the 3 or 5 or 7 keys to resilience. Research has shown many different factors predict resilience, but the effects of all of these factors are small because they don’t always work or they don’t work for everyone.
3. Research also shows that we need to be flexible and adapt. This means paying attention to what is happening to us and being nimble so we can adjust to what the situation is calling for. Each person should try different ways of coping and adapting to see what works best for them.

As our nation and the world deal with COVID-19, the key psychological objective for most people is to keep stress at a minimum. Everyone is adapting to the new reality, which includes the fear of viral spread and contagion, self-quarantine, and supply shortages. More seriously, some are coping with illness and fear of death. To overcome the stresses of these situations and remain resilient throughout, it is important to use the tools we already have at our disposal, including:

• Staying optimistic
• Relying on the support of others
• Bonding with those close to us
• Keeping informed but not overindulging in media consumption
• Distracting oneself
• Finding ways to laugh and have fun through things like watching movies and reading
• Most especially, finding ways to minimize isolation with joint family activities, and keeping in touch with friends and colleagues by phone, video, email.

People should understand that there is no magic bullet. Research has shown that no single factor determines resilience for a population. It is therefore up to each person to try different ways to cope to see what works best for them.

Do your part. Stay home or six feet apart wearing a cloth mask or scarf.