Psychological Perspectives of America’s Losing War Against the COVID-19 Pandemic – Part I – Looking Back
Healthcare Breaking News
We’ve all been living through one of the most stressful, challenging times of our lives. Restrictions upon us that curtail our customary sources of gratification and pleasure, such as visiting family and friends; traveling; enjoying a favorite restaurant and other sustenances of our self-esteem and mastery, have been stripped away by the invisible, deadly threat of COVID-19. If you’re feeling out of sorts, wonder how quickly days slip away, get tired more easily, and annoyed at those who disregard safety practices – you’re not alone. The pandemic is affecting us in different ways, depending on our unique personalities.
At times of other national calamities, such as during WW II, we naturally turned to our leaders like Roosevelt and Churchill for security and hope. Instead of fostering national unity, purpose and resolve, our current president creates political divisiveness and attributes blame to others (e.g., China, WHO).
For Part I, we’ll discuss major factors that have led America to where we are today. What’s happened and why? In Part II (coming next week), we’ll discuss what personal choices each of us have in order to stay well and healthy in the months ahead.
First: Two disclaimers.
Disclaimer 1. The following views are those of two practicing psychiatrists born and raised in Democratic-leaning NYC families during the quiet war-free years (the 1950’s) of the Eisenhower administration. As youngsters, we lived through the polio virus scare (a distant memory). We weren’t permitted to swim at the community pool. The Salk and Sabin polio vaccine finally put an end to the pandemic.
Disclaimer 2. It’s easier to look back and analyze what’s happened during the last six months of America’s battle with the pandemic (February through July 2020), just like playing “Monday morning football”.
Disclaimers aside, here’s our psychological perspectives of how we arrived at today’s challenging crossroads.
The COVID-19 Pandemic – Early Warnings Disregarded –
The U.S. was not severely affected by the earlier SARS, MERS and Ebola pandemics. But, during the Obama administration there was an active, forward-thinking governmental planning committee responsible for studying, predicting and preparing America for future viral pandemics. Soon after the transition to the Trump administration in 2016, this planning group was disbanded. The Centers of Disease Control (the CDC), where the highly esteemed Dr. Anthony Fauci, is chief of the section of infectious diseases, was subjected to significant budget cuts.
President Trump first reacted, and has continued to use, the common psychological defense mechanism of denial when the threat of COVID-19 first arose from China. Gradually, COVID-19 could no longer be minimized, dismissed or attributed to a Democratic hoax. In March 2020, the U.S. was ill prepared with necessary medical protective gear, ventilators and other essential equipment to deal effectively with the ravages of the pandemic.
In contrast, countries such as Taiwan (next door neighbor of China), South Korea and Singapore, that had dealt effectively with past pandemics, were prepared and decisively curtailed the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. New Zealand was another pro-active country: Their young health-conscious Prime Minister recently announced the near end of the pandemic.
Re-Opening the Economy – Lives Vs. Livelihoods
Governors and state governments must have been under extreme pressure from the business community to begin reopening the economy because of COVID-19’s toll on the economy. Some states were more eager than others for a “leveling of the curve” of new COVID-19 cases to begin, in June and July a reopening of the economy. Health experts warned that too rapid a reopening, without adequate education and preparation of the public, would result in a resurgence of cases.
It took golf champion Tiger Woods several years of arduous training to change his
muscle memory to develop a new golf swing. From a psychological perspective, how is it conceivable for states (e.g., Florida, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma) to reopen bars, beaches and restaurants and expect the public to practice social distancing and wear masks?
The average American is not psychologically nor instinctively programed to adapt to such restrictions. When one enters a bar, past behavior (“muscle memory”) automatically kicks in. Traditional, familiar behavior immediately returns.
The aftermath of the opening of Florida beaches and the Republican rally in Tulsa, OK became painfully apparent with a surge of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Many state governments had to close down businesses once again to save lives. How does one measure the toll of grieving relatives and friends, countless deaths and the economic and psychological stress resulting from Americans who were not prepared to practice new behaviors in social settings?
Survival of the Fittest
One of Darwin’s most famous principles is “survival of the fittest”, which explained why stronger, more adaptive animals passed their genes on to succeeding generations. Darwin’s principle may predict who’s more likely to live through today’s pandemic. From the following two contrasting scenarios, is it difficult to predict who’s more likely to survive?
Scenario #1
John is a 38-year-old, married man who finished post-graduate training in virological sciences at Stanford University. He’s living in a thinly populated suburb of Chicago and manages a research department of a pharmaceutical company developing a vaccine for COVID-19. He has obsessive-compulsive traits and a phobia about germs that’s benefitting his wife and two children who scrupulously protect themselves against exposure to the virus. Fortunately, they have the economic means to afford an au pair who home schools their two grade-school daughters.
Scenario #2
Cloe, a 23-year-old attractive high school graduate from a working-class right-wing family in Oklahoma City, focuses on her beauty to attract men. She shows narcissistic traits of entitlement, grandiosity, need for admiration and lacks empathy for others. She and her friends believe they are invulnerable to COVID-19 because of their age. They attend weekend parties with out-of-town wealthy salesmen. No one wears a mask because it hides their attractiveness. Many partiers believe the pandemic is a hoax. [They are oblivious to recent reports of an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in those age 25-50].
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana – 1905) – The Book: The Life of Reason
If America’s leaders learned from our country’s Spanish Flu pandemic from 1918-20, they would know that when Philadelphia’s mayor decided to have a parade for W.W. I soldiers, despite warnings from public health officials, there was a surge of devastating cases and deaths. St. Louis, in contrast, canceled a similar event and countless lives were saved. So why did Trump hold a presidential rally on June 20, in Tulsa, OK and have wearing a mask be optional? The resulting upsurge of cases and deaths in Tulsa, following within weeks of the rally, is unconscionable.
Next week, we’ll discuss how we apply what we’ve learned from the first six months of the pandemic to help us make the best health choices for ourselves, families and communities. We’ll also share insights we’ve learned from our physician colleagues and our thoughtful patients.
Please share your personal experiences and questions about today’s topic directly to our website. This will benefit other subscribers.
Stay healthy and careful,
Larry and Jeff