By Jonathan Aronchick
We all have been impacted and have a variety of lingering psychological fallouts because of the trauma we experienced due to the pandemic.
March 2020. I am in the admittance lobby of a hospital. There are people packed into the space as if we were sardines in a can. There were no seats; just a collection of confused souls standing next to each other awaiting an outcome that was horrifyingly unclear. Because we did not know anything. And we were all stripped of identity while wearing masks. Surgical masks. I was wearing one that my mother procured for me and that I had not donned since my required laboratory work for organic chemistry in college. When a person coughed, everyone turned their heads at the Salem witch trials.
Through this sea of confused and terrified standing bodies, a woman found me, and we found a place to sit on the floor where I could fill out some necessary paperwork.
I was not sick. This was my first day of work. And so, begins the new normal.
When most people discuss the concept of long COVID, the topic is more or less resigned to the long-term impacts of COVID-19 infections on the respiratory system and other physiological processes in the body. However, I think equally urgent is recognizing the long-term impacts on our psychological and sociological frameworks.
First, can we stop talking about COVID!? I cannot believe it is so discussed that it clears spellcheck. I must disclose to avoid hypocrisy that I was at the far end of the spectrum affected by COVID paranoia. My life and interaction with the outside world changed. Yet continuing this fanaticism is keeping us in our comfort bubbles and perpetuating anxiety. I still have friends who will not dine indoors. I insist on wearing a mask in an elevator. We all have been impacted and have a variety of lingering psychological fallouts because of the trauma we experienced due to the pandemic. But to bring up an old trope, let’s not let our trauma define us. And, accordingly, let's not judge those who are taking longer in recalibrating.
The new normal. I suppose that is our way of processing the global trauma we ubiquitously experienced. Together. Where were you on 9/11? Where were you in March 2020? For me it was my second day of high school and my first day of work, respectively.
Please keep these points in mind. You are about to read several articles from those in our community. If read properly, you will see that some convey a sense of loneliness and isolation because of what occurred; others will reflect a subtle sense of relief and independence. Some will convey a sense of confusion with the change of social interaction and if that will be permanent; others will express a sense of convenience and efficiency with these professional changes. Read astutely. Our community is special because of its members.
Jonathan Aronchick is co-editor of The Philadelphia Lawyer.
