One’s reaction to a stress can be more important than the challenge. As society approaches the “Post-COVID era,” people’s pre-existing personalities and communities’ resiliencies may have determined how well they have done during the most threatening times, which have hopefully passed. Equally vital going forward, how can society not only recover, but also thrive?
Make no mistake, COVID-19 killed over a half-million Americans and over five times more around the world. Families’ losses are inconsolable, not to mention societal and financial disruption.
Returning to pre-COVID status is probably an unrealistic goal. However, getting to a different place in the post-COVID era, which is better in some ways, is a clear possibility. One accepted concept is that of post-traumatic growth, defined as a general understanding that suffering and distress can potentially yield positive change. This thousands-of-years-old concept is coming into clear focus as people try to move onto a new way of living.
“Processing a life experience through a grateful lens does not mean denying negativity. It is not a form of superficial happiology. Instead, it means realizing the power you have to transform an obstacle into an opportunity. It means reframing a loss into a potential gain, recasting negativity into positive channels for gratitude,” stated by Dr. Robert Emmons and was one of a few quotes shared by Mayo Clinic physician Adam Perlman during a recent medical Grand Rounds presentation.
How can individuals and society be grateful for an unplanned and unwelcomed disruption? People may have become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses during the “lock down.” For instance, introverts might initially have enjoyed the solitude of being home. After a while, introverts could use the new “space” to form other relationships. Extroverts need socialization to charge their batteries. After a while, folks needing others became facile at catching up via internet with family and friends who were previously physically removed. Extroverts started scheduling regular encounters via FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, and other defined audio/visual connections. Will these “new” ways of connecting continue post-COVID?
Although being thankful for what we have may seem out-of-place in the current almost post-COVID era, expressing gratitude is therapeutic and a key ingredient in post-traumatic growth. Author Melody Beattie graciously shares, “Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity . . . it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
In one way or another no one on earth has been spared by COVID. How we react will exacerbate or mitigate the noxious and unwelcome effects of the virus. Helping each other and ourselves by the quality of being thankful will move society forward.
“Consciously cultivating an attitude of gratitude builds up a sort of psychological immune system that can cushion us when we fall. There is scientific evidence that grateful people are more resilient to stress, whether minor everyday hassles or major personal upheavals,” is a concept articulated by Great Igwe, an award winning and bestselling author.
One’s reaction now will determine one’s future. The time is here to move forward with gratitude.
