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Op-Ed: How to Help Others During a Pandemic When They’re Too Embarrassed to Ask
APS Member/Author: George Loewenstein As the coronavirus tightens its grip on this country, your retired neighbor, an exhausted healthcare worker, or a friend recently laid off from work probably needs help now more than ever. Yet people who need help, often desperately, don’t ask. Why? Although we’re all familiar with the saying, “It can’t hurt to ask,” our research, and that of many others, shows that it does hurt people to ask. Asking for help can be scary and uncomfortable, and people will often avoid doing it, even if they really need assistance. There are lots of reasons for this.
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How to Thrive During The Pandemic: 10 Strategies For Resilience Based on Brain Science
After all these days in quarantine and through unprecedented and challenging times, you’re likely feeling stressed, anxious or socially isolated—but it is possible to enhance your wellbeing and develop resilience. Insights from brain science can help you not just survive, but thrive. Resilience is the capacity to recover, respond and bounce back from challenging times. Even if you don’t know the “back” to which you would “bounce” because the world may never return to the way it was, you still need the capabilities to adapt in uncertain or negative conditions.
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The Fear of Coronavirus is Changing Our Psychology
Rarely has the threat of disease occupied so much of our thinking. For weeks, almost every newspaper has stories about the coronavirus pandemic on its front page; radio and TV programmes have back-to-back coverage on the latest death tolls; and depending on who you follow, social media platforms are filled with frightening statistics, practical advice or gallows humour. As others have already reported, this constant bombardment can result in heightened anxiety, with immediate effects on our mental health. But the constant feeling of threat may have other, more insidious, effects on our psychology.
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New Content From Current Directions in Psychological Science
A sample of articles on aging and prosocial behaviors, using context to explain the success of interventions for behavioral change, and supports for managing work and family.
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Isolating With A Partner? Relationship Therapists Share Stress-Reduction Strategies
Many Americans are spending a lot more time with their partners these days. And some of those relationships are being tested by the inevitable "pressure-cooker" moments that come with weeks of being confined to the home in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. "What we're seeing is that there's a clash between the terrible anxiety about catching the virus and having to stay sequestered 24/7," says relationship therapist Julie Gottman.
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Is There Any Way to Emotionally Prepare for Parenthood?
This guide was originally published on May 23, 2019 in NYT Parenting. While the adage that “nothing can prepare you for parenthood” is mostly true, there are some things you can do to get into the right headspace before you have kids. Preparing mentally and emotionally during pregnancy can reduce the risk of mood disorders (like postpartum anxiety and depression) and ease the transition to parenthood. There’s a shift in identity that comes with becoming a parent and letting go of Instagram-glossy notions of the perfect pregnancy or birth can help immensely with this monumental life change. ... Overestimate recovery time.
