How Has COVID Affected Us? One Year Later
It’s been nearly one year since the COVID-19 pandemic hit America and changed everything. Last February, coronavirus had just begun making the news here, and nobody seemed overly worried. Similar news reports were released during minor virus scares such as the swine flu and Ebola, and nothing big ever seemed to come of those here. We were still in our old normal: going to the gym, attending large parties, and being excited for the first year of a new decade.
All at once things changed. At the beginning of March, schools became closed until “after spring break.” Vacations got postponed “until the summer.” Toilet paper and Clorox wipes began flying off of store shelves leading to rationing. States shut down everything almost entirely with “stay at home orders”, forcing many workers to begin working from home overnight. Meanwhile more than 20% of all workers lost their jobs outright. Things changed so quickly that a story emerged about a group of rafters who left on a 25-day trip off the grid right before the virus and safety measures took off, and came back to this entirely new world without any warning or idea.
We adapted and made changes to our lives then, with the idea that they were temporary. “Just six weeks,” governors would state when imposing orders. The Class of 2020 was told their graduation ceremonies and proms would simply be delayed into the summer, when things would be normal again. Weddings were postponed from the spring until the fall, only to be rescheduled again indefinitely. Doctor’s appointments, classes, therapy appointments, and even family gatherings were moved online for a “temporary basis” until “case levels were low again.” Almost nobody still alive had ever been through a pandemic that actually came to fruition in the United States. The Spanish Flu came here over a century ago and affected us in similar ways, but the minor virus scares we’ve had since never caused a
fallout like this. So why would we expect any different, and how would we have ever known to do so?
Here we are one year later, still waiting for the end of the these changes. The new vaccines and breakthroughs in understanding how to fight the virus offer hope for us all to be able to return to normal soon, but what will that “normal” really end up looking like?
Some things may never return back to how they were in 2019, while others will be welcomed back wholeheartedly. Hopefully, cleanliness standards that businesses have had to establish will remain in effect. Options, such as working from home, have been incredibly beneficial to many individuals, and companies may choose to continue this permanently. Services such as Zoom, curbside pickup, and reservations will hopefully stick around as well.
It will be well worth the wait to get to have family gatherings in person once again, and see the people we’ve had to be apart from for so long. I imagine there will be a huge amount of weddings, reunions, and other celebrations at this time, along with an increase in people taking vacations to make up for the ones they’ve lost. Children will get to return to school safely, be around their friends, and play on the playground once again.
Many countries are already “virus free,” and hopefully we will get to that level soon, by continuing to follow safety guidelines and through the spread of vaccinations. Let's hope that by this time next year, we will be “normal” again. Many experts share this hope because of the positive way things are beginning to look. I personally predict “normal” will come with a stronger appreciation for the things we had to lose for so long, and conscious thankfulness for the many amazing things and people we have in our lives.
We don’t yet have all the answers, but we certainly have many questions coming from our psychology offices. Will children adapt back to normalcy with ease? Will social and developmental milestones (missed due to the isolation) be restored? How soon will it be before anxieties (tied to germ exposure) reduce for individuals? What are the implications (for adults and children) of the many losses endured during this time, and what will the grief process look like?
Kyndal Sims
Birch Psychology Virtual Assistant
References:
https://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/grand-canyon-rafting-trip-coronavirus/
