Unfortunately for the COVID-19 virus, the end of the tunnel looks like it is close and then, BOOM, it grows more distant.
Here is a quote from a Washington Post article that deals with uncertainty:
“‘There is great variability in how we, as humans, perceive and react to uncertainty,’ according to Jayne Morriss, a senior postdoctoral researcher at Britain’s University of Reading, who studies tolerance of uncertainty. ‘With some people tending to find uncertainty more stressful than others. . . . Recent research suggests that ‘accepting’ or ‘sitting with the uncertainty’ can help you become more resilient towards uncertainty,’ Morriss wrote in an email. Fear is also very damaging to mental health, Koenen said. She advised moving from a ‘fear-based approach’ to the pandemic to one that emphasizes coping and problem-solving. In areas prone to earthquakes and wildfires, for example, mapping out a plan for a disaster not only makes people better prepared but helps their outlook, she said.”
People are living in stressful times. I think of the medical community in hospitals who have had these recurring surges. They thought they were over the worst of it and again, BOOM, they are back in the thick of the fight.
Worse is that the attitudes of unvaccinated patients and those who object to the existence of the virus or that they have it can wear on a person trying to cope with the stress that comes from long hours and unappreciative patients.
All this will “eventually” smooth out. I think it will be like another flu shot that we get on an annual basis as the vaccine is tweaked to what the virus has mutated to.
On that happy note — Merry Christmas!
