New terms are cropping up in the midst of this Coronavirus or COVID experience. One of the catchiest was used (apparently not originated) by a Hawaiian mayor referring to a "Florida Man" as a "Covidiot." Local news reports included the mayor's concession that he may not have originated the term, but that he "may be the first elected official to bust it out in public.”
The virus has also been responsible for bringing some existing terms greater public recognition. There has been discussion for years about telecommuting, but this has made the practice mainstream. Some question whether we can ever be returned to the office when this ends. Telemedicine has likewise been a recurrent topic, see posts here from 2016, 2017, and 2019. However, the Coronavirus has changed perceptions of the practice and billing acceptance. This is another genie that is perhaps not going back into the bottle when "normalcy" returns.
It seems we have all learned a lot in recent weeks. We have learned of "droplets," "spread," and "distancing." Many of us have studied the meaning of N95, as we have sought, made, and improvised masks. In the daily influx of news, we have struggled with new terms and new ideas. We want to understand COVID-19, and we are struggling with all this new terminology in our news.
How about we add Coronavirusitis? The suffix "itis" refers in medical circles to inflammation. I have heard from a fair few folks about people becoming increasingly inflamed or irritated with their situation during this time. Certainly, there are challenges, dead-ends, and irritations in struggling to fit our daily routines into a new paradigm (sometimes an ever-shifting paradigm). But, that irritation is affecting everyone to some degree right now. Perhaps the best balm for Coronavirusitis (or COVIDitis) is getting it off your chest; you know, misery loves company.
Or, perhaps this is not a physical malady at all. Perhaps it would be more accepted if we use something more consistent with the mental health realm? Has the news coverage of this pandemic completely overtaken your life? I was amused to happen on a large group recently having a conversation from opposite sides of the road. They were getting out, seeking socialization, and discussing? You guessed it, their thoughts on Coronavirus. Have you managed to have a conversation in the last 24 hours that did not include the ever-present Coronavirus? Perhaps we all have Coronavirus Fatigue?
Many seem to be having reoccurring thoughts of this virus, its impacts, and our changed lives. For some, it seems the only topic of conversation. Debates about our futures and the risks rage, feelings are sometimes hurt, and COVID-19 struggles seemingly stretch before us like the proverbial yellow brick road or road to perdition; perspective may determine which.
Another term that the medical profession likes to use is "logy," which denotes the discipline of, or study of something. This is common in terms like "biology," "sociology," "psychology," and more. Perhaps some will now undertake the study of our individual and collective reactions to this pandemic and we will one day hear about Coronavirusology or COVIDology? It seems that education and other institutions have been very fast to begin research on this disease, its treatment, and its impacts on us. Results of this also seem to come daily, some promising and others perhaps not so encouraging. Treatments and vaccines are newsworthy, but unlikely for months yet. Their discussions draw us in, spawn those daily news stories, and may either inspire us or merely add to the fatigue.
A great many of us already reacted to the potential of this virus. We binge-purchased toilet paper to near extinction at one point. The thermometer retail displays were, and some remain, empty. Hand sanitizer has become a quaint memory, along with Lysol and a long list of cleaning supplies. Just recently, I noticed that Tylenol has become a hoarded commodity. Despite the challenges of retail therapy in a Coronavirus world, every store to which I venture is full of people. The lines at grocery stores last weekend were phenomenal. It is so bad in some instances that the store aisles are now one-way (remember the old punch line, "But officer, I was only going one way?"). Perhaps that store traffic signals a return to normalcy?
Some are content instead to stay home and fixate on the Coronavirus news. It is omnipresent in the news. Every story seems to bring advice and explanation from the leading social media personalities or movie actors of our time. That made me think of Siegfried in Get Smart (2008) when a henchman laments a world without movie stars and Siegfried agrees: "What will we do without their razor-sharp political advice."
Can we survive this pandemic without the wisdom of Hollywood, like Woody Harrelson's explanation of how cell phone towers are tied to Coronavirus? Some bloggers have even gone to extreme measures to avoid the topic out of sheer Coronahaustion. Is there any chance that one of the news websites or news shows today will not have any reference to the current diagnosis count, hospitalization rate, or deaths?
The fact is, "you have no control over many of the things that happen in life," as noted by Inc. a few years ago. There is a path to greater peace if you can recognize that, find ways to identify what you can change, and focus your attention there. And, whether we acknowledge it or not, there is benefit if we can find some way to laugh. Laughter is truly therapeutic. If you are striving to find something to laugh about, go read that link above about 5G cell phone towers, the Coronavirus, and Woody Harrelson again.
That does not mean that laughter solves all the world's problems, nor ours individually. If you are not coping with Coronavirus or Coronavirusitis or Coronavirusitisology, there are resources to which you might turn. Some suggested ideas for coping with this (and other) ongoing stresses. These include "gathering information," "focusing on what you can control," "remaining connected to others," and "taking care of your body" (exercise).
The exercise is a clear and positive suggestion. If you are not getting out daily to get some, you should. Beware, however, those neighbors lining the streets in various places to have loud conversations with their neighbors about what each has heard, read, or conjectured about Coronavirus. They are perhaps merely doing their best to get their feelings off their chests, which may be just what they need. But, it may be best to find ways to avoid walking or jogging through them nonetheless.
