Staying sane in our new COVID-19 world
Authors: Devi Sridhar
Journal: The Lancet (2020)

COVID-19 spread like wildfire across the world: from China to its neighbouring countries to east Asia, Iran, Europe, and the rest of the world. This pandemic showed how connected the world has become, and how even the best mathematical modelling could not predict which countries would be first affected and how elite travellers would move from hotels to ski resorts to cruise ships and restaurants. But during the pandemic, there has been anxiety about the virus and considerable uncertainty, with widespread reports of mental health issues and feelings of isolation, especially under lockdowns. It is perhaps an irony that when the world is suffering together in this pandemic, with the same debates and trade-offs over restrictions being discussed in a multitude of languages, people feel more alone than ever. And as Elif Shafak shows in her beautifully written book How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division, given the considerable uncertainty about when the COVID-19 pandemic will end, how and when a vaccine will be deployed to the public, when we will travel across the world to see family and friends, and how each of our bodies will react to this virus, people are coping in a myriad of ways. Shafak examines the various emotions and mindsets individuals have taken to cope with unpredictability and her insights present a complex vision of how emotions interact with political life. Some people have become depressed and solemn. Others have become angry and taken to the streets to protest against restrictions or science, while others are in denial that there even is a new virus and are convinced this is a manufactured hoax. Unfortunately, as Shafak writes, "One of the greatest paradoxes of our times is that hardliners are more passionate, engaged and involved than many moderates." This is also true on social media where extreme positions are the loudest and most aggressive, and the silent moderate majority is less prominent. Faced with constant stress and anxiety, she warns that one coping reaction is to become apathetic towards the struggles of others with numbness substituting for empathy. And she calls for the importance of centring knowledge, storytelling, empathy, and wisdom in our lives. Yet I would counter that during the pandemic there is also renewed purpose, hope, and community emerging. Scientists have responded with focus to their work and to developing appropriate guidance, treatments, or vaccines. Meanwhile, many citizens have taken on roles in their communities running welfare groups, delivering groceries to elderly neighbours, or working on communal gardens. Early on in the pandemic, health-care workers showed up on COVID-19 wards without appropriate personal protective equipment committed to their vocation of serving others. As we compare our pre and post COVID-19 selves, perhaps we should emphasise how the pandemic has shown who each of us really is. Some governments, such as in the UK, initially turned to experts to become the oracles and predict the future—first to mathematical modellers and behavioural scientists, then to vaccinologists, and, finally, to public health experts and economists. And when these experts are not always able to provide the answers that appease the need for concrete predictions with dates, a backlash followed against experts with their balanced and contextualised statements. This gap was exploited by social media pseudo-scientist celebrities predicting the future and offering comforting lies on easy solutions. One of these comforting lies being told is that we can have our pre-COVID-19 life back for the "acceptable" loss of some old and vulnerable people. Terms like "herd immunity" have been the ammunition of those who would see it as the perfect cover for lifting all restrictions and letting a dangerous virus spread through the population, starting with the young and fit. Some families and friendships have become split over whether they think more about the collective health of society, or prioritise individual interests. Where does one's responsibility to others begin and end? What is selfishness in the context of a pandemic? And perhaps the most difficult part is how to take the open wounds and inequalities that COVID-19 has exposed and work to create a better future. Wealth is indeed the best shielding strategy not only from COVID-19, but from the response to it as well: lockdown exposes the plight of the poor in overcrowded housing compared with the comfortable homes of the rich. Will we all learn from the mistakes of the past 10 months and build a more resilient and equal society? Will we cooperate across countries and across communities, or turn inwards and become fearful and resentful of our neighbours? As Shafak says in her book, quoting her grandmother, "'We inherit circumstances, we improve them for the next generation.'" That will be the task for all of us as we look ahead to an uncertain and divided world.