Don't Bogart My Blog: Sunday Best: Your guide to distraction in a pandemic

May 3, 2020

A few weeks ago, after a Zoom call with family, I felt like I needed to lie down. I felt depleted — more than usual at eight months pregnant. It was a strange feeling, since I normally love socializing; in fact, it usually energizes me. I couldn’t figure out why I felt this way, but it turns out science has an answer. “Psychologists, computer scientists and neuroscientists say the distortions and delays inherent in video communication can end up making you feel isolated, anxious and disconnected (or more than you were already).” If you’ve had the same experience, it’s worth picking up the phone instead of trying to keep your smile frozen in place as you wait for another person’s visage to unfreeze on your laptop screen. Best of luck staying connected, staying sane and staying safe. — Alexandra March

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You Don’t Have to Emerge From Quarantine a Beautiful Butterfly

Alex Kiesling

Skip the fitness transformation and don’t worry about becoming an expert sourdough-starter maker. “Here’s a chill, no-frills, take-it-or-leave-it guide on how to distract yourself in a pandemic.”

What I Learned From Being Off My Anxiety Meds in a Pandemic

Getty Images Plus

“Shelter in Place is the Thunderdome of anxiety. It is an edict that you stay in your house with your thoughts as company and the looming threat of sickness, grief and economic collapse in every breath you take.”

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Baby Boomers Were Blasé About the Coronavirus? Why Did We Believe That?

Linda Huang

Perhaps you saw tweets about millennials pleading with their parents to stay indoors, or you read an article about solidarity in scolding older adults for ignoring stay-at-home advice. But a national poll conducted in March shows that 87 percent of boomers — more than any other generation — were practicing social-distancing measures.

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The Courage to Be Alone

Emmanuelle Walker

“It is her world and these are her tiny lights, her babies tucked in their beds, the rocks and crystals in her fists, all of it fiercely real and important as the world seems to fall apart around us.”

How Long Will a Vaccine Really Take?

Nine charts illustrate what vaccine experts think a condensed timeline would look like, and explore “how we might achieve the impossible.”

This Isn’t ‘The Good Place.’ How Can We Make It Better? When we stay home, or make other sacrifices during the pandemic, we agree to give up some of our personal pleasure and freedom for the good of our communities. What does this decision mean for our futures? Will we emerge from this crisis more ethical? If we’re willing to stay home, what other behaviors should we think about changing? We welcome Todd May, a philosopher (and adviser to the show “The Good Place”) to discuss our ethical obligations beyond the crisis. Join us (virtually) today.

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