Post-Pandemic Psychology with Dr. Steven Taylor

In October 2019, Dr. Steven Taylor, clinical psychologist and professor at the University of British Columbia, published his eerily-timed book, The Psychology of Pandemics, just weeks before the first cases of COVID-19 were discovered in Wuhan. On this week’s episode, Dr. Taylor joins guest host Dr. Jack Muskat, Medcan’s clinical director of mental health, to discuss the lessons we can learn from pandemics and predict what the future of mental health may look like post-COVID. He also explores the potential for an oncoming Roaring ‘20s. 

https://www.eatmovethinkpodcast.com/podcast/ep-70-post-pandemic-psychology

 

LINKS

To learn more about Dr. Taylor, head over to his website. 

Find his book, The Psychology of Pandemics: Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak of Infectious Disease, on Amazon. 

Dr. Taylor also co-wrote a recent study in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, exploring post-traumatic growth in relation to COVID-19.

Read this CTV News article exploring “cave syndrome,” in which Dr. Taylor is quoted. 

And check out this feature in Smithsonian Magazine that studies the end of the 1918 pandemic to consider our post-pandemic existence. 

INSIGHTS

On a psychological level, pandemics are incredibly polarizing and tend to bring out extremes in people. With COVID-19, for example, on one end of the spectrum, we’re seeing highly anxious people who have become extremely sheltered — a.k.a. those with COVID stress syndrome. On the other end, are people who think this pandemic is nothing more than an exaggerated hoax. Most of the research we have is around those who are anxious and suffering with intrusive thoughts and a compulsive need for reassurance. “COVID stress syndrome fits as an adjustment disorder,” Dr. Taylor explains. “That means, when the pandemic is over, many people who have the syndrome [will be] at risk of developing chronic anxiety problems as a result.” [time code: 00:11:18.27]

People are resilient and are capable of bouncing back, even in the toughest of circumstances. Even better? “There’s also pre-COVID research suggesting that some people will not simply bounce back to where they were, they will grow as human being,” Dr. Taylor explains. Dr. Taylor studied this phenomenon, called post traumatic growth, early on in the pandemic, and found that many people (who hadn’t been infected with COVID) were feeling more resilient and experiencing a greater appreciation for their lives. While this is great news, Taylor has discovered that these feelings of growth can be self-deceptive; the longer the pandemic has gone, the more people have realized that their overall mental health has worsened and they had actually been trying to talk themselves into feeling better. [time code: 00:16:35.22]

We need to think of COVID like a marathon, according to Dr. Taylor. Often, we view the last third of a marathon as the most difficult, but the hardest part is actually everything leading up to arriving at the starting line. “COVID-19 is getting us to the starting line for the next pandemic. We need to be prepared — we weren’t for this one,” he says. “One thing we have to understand is that pandemics are not a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. There have been 20 pandemics over the past 200 years. And now with growing population, growing mobility, airline travel, climate change and so forth, we can expect to see more pandemics in the decades, or perhaps years, ahead. So this is a wake up call for us.” [time code: 00:19:52.12]

As for what our post-pandemic lives will look like? Expect a miniature version of the Roaring ‘20s—though it will probably be less exuberant and shorter lived than the original. “Humans are inherently social creatures—that’s etched into our genomes,” says Dr. Taylor. “When all these restrictions are lifted, many people, probably most people, will go back out and resume their social lives.” With that will likely come larger events and increased spending. [time code: 00:24:55.06]

That said, it’s important to remember that COVID has only acted as a catalyst towards certain things, like less frequent visits to the movie theatre. “COVID [has accelerated] all the trends that were in place beforehand—the trend of working from hone, watching Netflix instead of going to the cinema … the tendency to make your apartment a pleasure palace,” says Dr. Taylor. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the end of movie theatres forever— there’s still a large social aspect to it, of course—while other things, like restaurants, Dr. Taylor believes, will have no problem bouncing back. [time code: 00:26:08.03]

Right now, it may feel impossible to picture a post-pandemic world, where you’re going to concerts and eating at restaurants again. This is just anchoring bias, or when you rely on current conditions to predict the future. So, for example, if it’s gloomy outside, you may feel bummed out. The same thing has happened during lockdown. But don’t worry, it will pass. “I think people will be surprised at the extent to which they rapidly resume normal, busy social lives,” says Dr. Taylor. [time code: 00:27:22.04]