scientificamerican--2020-12-23--COVID Has Laid Bare the Inequities That Face Mothers in STEM

More women than ever before are earning Ph.D.s and pursuing careers in science , technology , engineering and mathematics ( STEM ) , yet they remain largely underrepresented in senior positions—especially women of color and other ethnic minorities .
In STEM academia , women receive about half of doctoral degrees , but only a third become full professors .
Evidence collected over past decades shows that gender bias partially explains this gender imbalance in STEM , but another contributing factor has received less attention : motherhood .
The bottleneck in the leaky STEM pipeline occurs after women complete their education—for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finishing the Ph.D .
However , while it seems obvious that this massive exit of women from the STEM workforce coincides with the time when they ’ re starting a family , motherhood is rarely at the center of discussions or initiatives to close the gender gap in STEM .
Motherhood has always been the elephant in the room , until now ; COVID-19 has laid bare the many inequalities that silently push women away from their career track .
Lockdowns imposed in many countries to contain the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated systemic barriers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a very long time .
Mothers have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic , with many forced to quit their jobs or reduce working hours to juggle homeschooling and caregiving .
In STEM , the pandemic has taken an uneven toll on the scientific productivity and mental health of women scientists .
This unprecedented crisis has unveiled only one side of the story though , albeit an important one : women shoulder most of the childcare and housework burden , which affects their productivity at work .
Globally , women spend on average @ @ @ @ @ @ @ childcare and domestic chores , even in households where the woman is the main breadwinner .
Academics are no exception .
Female scientists , including those in dual-academic couples , do nearly twice as much housework as their partners , even though they also work up to 60 hours a week .
The “ second shift ” is a huge barrier for working mothers , but it is far from being the only one .
A recent study showed that 42 percent of mothers and 15 percent of fathers in the U.S. leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having children .
And while most of these fathers change career sector and continue employed full-time , mothers move to part-time work or become stay-at-home parents .
The situation is even bleaker for academics .
Women who have children soon after their Ph.D. are less likely to get tenure than men and suffer a salary penalty .
On average , female academics have fewer children than their male counterparts .
In the U.S. , about half of women in tenure-track positions have children , compared to over 70 percent of men , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ issues related to children ” comprise one of the main reasons for not pursuing an academic career after the Ph.D .
Besides facing many obstacles for being women , mothers encounter a lesser-known but widespread form of gender discrimination : the maternal wall .
Mothers earn lower salaries than fathers and childless women , are less likely to be hired or promoted and are perceived as less competent or committed to work .
Exclusion is another massive obstacle .
Women with children may be removed from projects or even fired during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work they often report feeling “ invisible ” or “ inadequate ” because they ’ re left out of career advancement opportunities like conferences and networking events .
`` I started missing out on opportunities because people were deciding on my behalf that I would not have any time or interest in my career now that I was a parent .
They didn ’ t even let me make the decision for myself.
” —Anonymous respondent to the Mothers in Science survey , a 35-year-old mother from the Netherlands At the root @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” model based on obsolete gender norms .
Women have deeply internalized societal pressures to be the primary caregiver and to prioritize family over career .
More recently , the “ intensive mothering ” trend has increased pressure on women to be “ perfect ” mothers , while the bar is set much lower for fathers .
These unrealistic expectations are incompatible with an inflexible and inhospitable male-dominated academic system designed for the “ ideal worker , ” someone available around-the-clock .
To avoid burnout , or simply because women are socialized to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mothers opt to work part-time , move to a career sector that offers more flexibility , or abandon their careers to devote themselves exclusively to the family .
In STEM academia , it ’ s been proposed that men publish more papers than women , which could explain why women struggle to climb the academic ladder .
For example , a study following the careers of over 6,000 scientists estimated that a combination of lower publication rates and gender bias explained why fewer women than men secured principal investigator positions .
A few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether motherhood may be driving gender differences in academic productivity , but there ’ s still no scientific consensus on this highly debated topic .
Our own preliminary data from an ongoing global survey ( Take the survey ) support the idea that , after having children , women start publishing at lower rates than men , and this trend persists for several years .
Lower productivity resulting from the lack of “ extra ” time ( evening/weekends ) to devote to research was one of the main reasons mentioned by mothers in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ negatively affected their career , and the top reason for fathers .
( Note that these are unpublished data based on self-report .
Number of respondents : 3,522 .
These preliminary results may change after analysis of the complete data set . )
Adding to these barriers , mothers suffer from chronic guilt .
Exhausted mothers are constantly being bombarded by simplistic and unhelpful advice on how to find a mythical work-life balance .
But self-care can ’ t magically fix the social inequities that are pushing working mothers to the edge .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They need justice , ” wrote social scientist Caitlyn Collins .
Rather than lingering over futile work-life balance debates , we should focus on raising awareness of the systemic barriers that force women to choose between having a family or a career—and create actionable solutions to dismantle them .
This is where policy pays a crucial role .
Workplace policies signal to employees what ’ s expected of them , and people adjust their behavior accordingly .
For example , if an employer routinely sends out e-mails during out-of-office hours , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you should be available 24/7.
” Likewise , if a government implements unequal parental leave policies allowing mothers to take months of paid leave but fathers just a few days , it ’ s sending the message that women should be at home looking after the children while men should be working .
These subliminal messages shape people ’ s moral judgments , actions and choices–and reinforce the “ breadwinner-homemaker ” model that penalizes working mothers .
Policies that value caregiving and promote gender equality can speed up cultural change .
As of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take three months of paid parental leave each ( nontransferable ) , in addition to three months shared between parents as they wish .
In just a few years since this policy was implemented , the average length of paternity leave increased from 14 to 95 days , more women joined the workforce and fewer were working part-time .
Organizational policies can be as effective .
In fact , a laboratory experiment showed that making a family-friendly law ( the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act ) explicit during workplace performance evaluations eliminated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The invisible forces putting pressure on women to step back from their career path are complex , and include workplace bias and discrimination , lack of affordable childcare , traditional division of household labor , unequal parental leave policies , an inflexible work culture and gendered societal pressures .
The good news is that all these problems are fixable !
Change starts by seeing and acknowledging these barriers , speaking about them and believing that a different , fairer world is possible–one where employers value caregiving and where having a personal life is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Enacting and enforcing policies that promote workplace equity and inclusion of mothers and caregivers is fundamental for change and scientific progress .
Speaking out is also necessary .
Mothers have remained silent because they feel isolated and fear the consequences of admitting their struggles .
Employers see motherhood as a liability , while they ’ re mostly indifferent to fatherhood .
To repair these inequalities and close the gender gap in STEM , we need to normalize caregiving and promote equitable family-friendly policies .
Let ’ s keep the conversation going , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and take action to build a better world .
To help us do this , please take the survey and share it among your network : www.mothersinscience.com/survey ( Deadline : December 31 , 2020 ) .
The survey is open to people of any gender , with or without children , working or studying any sector of STEMM ( science , technology , engineering , mathematics and medicine ) , and at any career stage .
Mothers in Science is conducting this survey in partnership with 500 Women Scientists , Femmes & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Washington University St Louis .
Mothers in Science is a non-profit organization created in 2019 to advocate for equity and inclusion of mothers and caregivers in STEM and to raise awareness of their challenges .
Sadly , as we prepared to launch an international survey to study the inequalities and careers obstacles affecting mothers in STEM , we were hit by a pandemic that exposed and magnified these deeply rooted problems .
We now need to keep the conversation going and take action to create effective , long-lasting solutions to increase the @ @ @ @ @ @ @

More women than ever before are earning Ph.D.s and pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), yet they remain largely underrepresented in senior positions—especially women of color and other ethnic minorities. In STEM academia, women receive about half of doctoral degrees, but only a third become full professors. Evidence collected over past decades shows that gender bias partially explains this gender imbalance in STEM, but another contributing factor has received less attention: motherhood.
The bottleneck in the leaky STEM pipeline occurs after women complete their education—for academics, typically a few years after finishing the Ph.D. However, while it seems obvious that this massive exit of women from the STEM workforce coincides with the time when they’re starting a family, motherhood is rarely at the center of discussions or initiatives to close the gender gap in STEM.
Motherhood has always been the elephant in the room, until now; COVID-19 has laid bare the many inequalities that silently push women away from their career track.
Lockdowns imposed in many countries to contain the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated systemic barriers that working mothers have been enduring for a very long time. Mothers have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic, with many forced to quit their jobs or reduce working hours to juggle homeschooling and caregiving. In STEM, the pandemic has taken an uneven toll on the scientific productivity and mental health of women scientists.
This unprecedented crisis has unveiled only one side of the story though, albeit an important one: women shoulder most of the childcare and housework burden, which affects their productivity at work. Globally, women spend on average over twice more time than men on childcare and domestic chores, even in households where the woman is the main breadwinner. Academics are no exception. Female scientists, including those in dual-academic couples, do nearly twice as much housework as their partners, even though they also work up to 60 hours a week. The “second shift” is a huge barrier for working mothers, but it is far from being the only one.
MOTHERHOOD AND CAREER PROGRESSION IN STEM
A recent study showed that 42 percent of mothers and 15 percent of fathers in the U.S. leave full-time STEM employment within three years of having children. And while most of these fathers change career sector and continue employed full-time, mothers move to part-time work or become stay-at-home parents. The situation is even bleaker for academics. Women who have children soon after their Ph.D. are less likely to get tenure than men and suffer a salary penalty. On average, female academics have fewer children than their male counterparts. In the U.S., about half of women in tenure-track positions have children, compared to over 70 percent of men, and twice as many women as men say that “issues related to children” comprise one of the main reasons for not pursuing an academic career after the Ph.D.
Besides facing many obstacles for being women, mothers encounter a lesser-known but widespread form of gender discrimination: the maternal wall. Mothers earn lower salaries than fathers and childless women, are less likely to be hired or promoted and are perceived as less competent or committed to work. Exclusion is another massive obstacle. Women with children may be removed from projects or even fired during their parental leave, and after returning to work they often report feeling “invisible” or “inadequate” because they’re left out of career advancement opportunities like conferences and networking events.
"I started missing out on opportunities because people were deciding on my behalf that I would not have any time or interest in my career now that I was a parent. They didn’t even let me make the decision for myself.”—Anonymous respondent to the Mothers in Science survey, a 35-year-old mother from the Netherlands
At the root of these inequities is a “breadwinner-homemaker” model based on obsolete gender norms. Women have deeply internalized societal pressures to be the primary caregiver and to prioritize family over career. More recently, the “intensive mothering” trend has increased pressure on women to be “perfect” mothers, while the bar is set much lower for fathers. These unrealistic expectations are incompatible with an inflexible and inhospitable male-dominated academic system designed for the “ideal worker,” someone available around-the-clock. To avoid burnout, or simply because women are socialized to find self-fulfillment in motherhood and marriage, mothers opt to work part-time, move to a career sector that offers more flexibility, or abandon their careers to devote themselves exclusively to the family.
In STEM academia, it’s been proposed that men publish more papers than women, which could explain why women struggle to climb the academic ladder. For example, a study following the careers of over 6,000 scientists estimated that a combination of lower publication rates and gender bias explained why fewer women than men secured principal investigator positions. A few intranational studies have attempted to figure out whether motherhood may be driving gender differences in academic productivity, but there’s still no scientific consensus on this highly debated topic.
Our own preliminary data from an ongoing global survey (Take the survey) support the idea that, after having children, women start publishing at lower rates than men, and this trend persists for several years. Lower productivity resulting from the lack of “extra” time (evening/weekends) to devote to research was one of the main reasons mentioned by mothers in our data set to explain why parenthood negatively affected their career, and the top reason for fathers. (Note that these are unpublished data based on self-report. Number of respondents: 3,522. These preliminary results may change after analysis of the complete data set.)
BREAKING THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE MYTH
Adding to these barriers, mothers suffer from chronic guilt. Exhausted mothers are constantly being bombarded by simplistic and unhelpful advice on how to find a mythical work-life balance. But self-care can’t magically fix the social inequities that are pushing working mothers to the edge. “Mothers don’t need balance. They need justice,” wrote social scientist Caitlyn Collins. Rather than lingering over futile work-life balance debates, we should focus on raising awareness of the systemic barriers that force women to choose between having a family or a career—and create actionable solutions to dismantle them.
This is where policy pays a crucial role. Workplace policies signal to employees what’s expected of them, and people adjust their behavior accordingly. For example, if an employer routinely sends out e-mails during out-of-office hours, they’re saying to their employees “you should be available 24/7.” Likewise, if a government implements unequal parental leave policies allowing mothers to take months of paid leave but fathers just a few days, it’s sending the message that women should be at home looking after the children while men should be working.
These subliminal messages shape people’s moral judgments, actions and choices–and reinforce the “breadwinner-homemaker” model that penalizes working mothers.
Policies that value caregiving and promote gender equality can speed up cultural change. As of 2003, Icelandic mothers and fathers can take three months of paid parental leave each (nontransferable), in addition to three months shared between parents as they wish. In just a few years since this policy was implemented, the average length of paternity leave increased from 14 to 95 days, more women joined the workforce and fewer were working part-time. Organizational policies can be as effective. In fact, a laboratory experiment showed that making a family-friendly law (the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act) explicit during workplace performance evaluations eliminated bias and salary penalties against mothers.
CREATING LONG-LASTING CHANGE
The invisible forces putting pressure on women to step back from their career path are complex, and include workplace bias and discrimination, lack of affordable childcare, traditional division of household labor, unequal parental leave policies, an inflexible work culture and gendered societal pressures. The good news is that all these problems are fixable!
Change starts by seeing and acknowledging these barriers, speaking about them and believing that a different, fairer world is possible–one where employers value caregiving and where having a personal life is not incompatible with pursuing a fulfilling career. Enacting and enforcing policies that promote workplace equity and inclusion of mothers and caregivers is fundamental for change and scientific progress.
Speaking out is also necessary. Mothers have remained silent because they feel isolated and fear the consequences of admitting their struggles. Employers see motherhood as a liability, while they’re mostly indifferent to fatherhood. To repair these inequalities and close the gender gap in STEM, we need to normalize caregiving and promote equitable family-friendly policies. Let’s keep the conversation going, amplify the voices of mothers and caregivers, and take action to build a better world.
To help us do this, please take the survey and share it among your network: www.mothersinscience.com/survey (Deadline: December 31, 2020). The survey is open to people of any gender, with or without children, working or studying any sector of STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine), and at any career stage. Mothers in Science is conducting this survey in partnership with 500 Women Scientists, Femmes & Sciences, Parent in Science, INWES and Washington University St Louis.
Mothers in Science is a non-profit organization created in 2019 to advocate for equity and inclusion of mothers and caregivers in STEM and to raise awareness of their challenges. Sadly, as we prepared to launch an international survey to study the inequalities and careers obstacles affecting mothers in STEM, we were hit by a pandemic that exposed and magnified these deeply rooted problems. We now need to keep the conversation going and take action to create effective, long-lasting solutions to increase the retention of women in STEM careers. Follow Mothers in Science on Twitter @mothersinsci and Instagram @mothersinscience.


scientificamerican--2020-12-23--Nature in Verse: What Poetry Reveals about Science

As a lifelong reader of Scientific American , I was tickled to discover a little over a year ago that the magazine had carried poetry in its earliest issues .
Volume I , Number 1 , for example , dated 28 August 1845 , included a poem called “ Attraction ” that touched on gravity , magnetism and sexual allure .
Within a few years , however , the magazine ’ s original publisher , Rufus Porter , sold Scientific American , and the new owners showed no interest in poetry .
Between the 1840s and the 2010s , poems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most notably in January 1969 , when W. H. Auden offered “ A New Year Greeting ” to “ all of you Yeasts , / Bacteria , Viruses , / Aerobics and Anaerobics … for whom my ectoderm is as Middle-Earth to me.
” That same issue contained verses from poet and novelist John Updike—verses inspired by his reading of the September 1967 special issue devoted to materials science .
“ The Dance of the Solids , ” with its rhyming references to ceramics , polymers and nonstoichiometric crystals , also appeared in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Poems .
“ Wouldn ’ t it be wonderful , ” I thought , “ to see poetry reinstated in the magazine ’ s pages on a regular basis ?
” I posed that question to Clara Moskowitz , senior editor for space and physics , who responded with enthusiasm .
Soon other staff members also gave their approval , and managing editor Curtis Brainard came up with the name “ Meter ” for my proposed new poetry column .
It debuted in January 2020 , the start of Scientific American ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Diane Ackerman about 17th-century scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian .
Diane first introduced me to scientific poetry in the 1970s , when I was science writer in the Cornell University News Bureau and she was a graduate student conferring daily with astronomy professor Carl Sagan to create a cycle of scientifically accurate poems about the solar system .
Diane published her collection The Planets : A Cosmic Pastoral in 1976 , on the heels of her doctoral dissertation about scientific poetry over the centuries .
It seemed fitting to invite her to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The column presents one new ( or at least , previously unpublished ) poem per month .
At the beginning I reached out to a few poets and poets ’ friends , and within a short time the column ’ s existence motivated still more poets to submit their work for consideration .
Meter ’ s first year of poems treated a gratifying variety of science fields , from mathematics and mycology to astronomy , geology , pathology , physics , chemistry and climate change .
Meter poets to date include a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prize–winner in physics , and the current National Poet Laureate of the U.K. As many women as men have been featured , some well-known and some just becoming so .
Many technical terms—entanglement , relativity , quantum leap—reach across the artificial divide between science and art to capture the poetic imagination .
Often in general literature a poet who refers to such ideas will do so only in passing , and only for the sake of metaphor .
In contrast , the poets who compose for Meter actually grapple with the concepts .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a scientist at work .
Or they are scientists themselves , thinking things through in an alternate mindset .
To make Meter equally rich and varied in 2021 and years to come , poets with a love of science are encouraged to submit new work to dsobel @ sciam.com .
I try to respond quickly and honestly .
And kindly .
Having received my share of rejection letters over the years , I take the writing of them very much to heart .
A full—and fully illustrated—page per month may seem like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it ’ s too small a space to incorporate the flow of poems reaching my desk now , let alone the anticipated bounty from a widening international circle of poets conversant with science .
We editors are already dreaming of a Scientific American Anthology of Poetry .

As a lifelong reader of Scientific American, I was tickled to discover a little over a year ago that the magazine had carried poetry in its earliest issues. Volume I, Number 1, for example, dated 28 August 1845, included a poem called “Attraction” that touched on gravity, magnetism and sexual allure. Within a few years, however, the magazine’s original publisher, Rufus Porter, sold Scientific American, and the new owners showed no interest in poetry.
Between the 1840s and the 2010s, poems appeared in the magazine only rarely, most notably in January 1969, when W. H. Auden offered “A New Year Greeting” to “all of you Yeasts, / Bacteria, Viruses, / Aerobics and Anaerobics … for whom my ectoderm is as Middle-Earth to me.” That same issue contained verses from poet and novelist John Updike—verses inspired by his reading of the September 1967 special issue devoted to materials science. “The Dance of the Solids,” with its rhyming references to ceramics, polymers and nonstoichiometric crystals, also appeared in Updike’s collection Midpoint and Other Poems.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful,” I thought, “to see poetry reinstated in the magazine’s pages on a regular basis?” I posed that question to Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics, who responded with enthusiasm. Soon other staff members also gave their approval, and managing editor Curtis Brainard came up with the name “Meter” for my proposed new poetry column. It debuted in January 2020, the start of Scientific American’s 175th anniversary year, with a poem by Diane Ackerman about 17th-century scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian.
Diane first introduced me to scientific poetry in the 1970s, when I was science writer in the Cornell University News Bureau and she was a graduate student conferring daily with astronomy professor Carl Sagan to create a cycle of scientifically accurate poems about the solar system. Diane published her collection The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral in 1976, on the heels of her doctoral dissertation about scientific poetry over the centuries. It seemed fitting to invite her to serve as Meter’s inaugural poet.
The column presents one new (or at least, previously unpublished) poem per month. At the beginning I reached out to a few poets and poets’ friends, and within a short time the column’s existence motivated still more poets to submit their work for consideration. Meter’s first year of poems treated a gratifying variety of science fields, from mathematics and mycology to astronomy, geology, pathology, physics, chemistry and climate change. Meter poets to date include a Pulitzer Prize–winner in poetry, a Nobel Prize–winner in physics, and the current National Poet Laureate of the U.K. As many women as men have been featured, some well-known and some just becoming so.
Many technical terms—entanglement, relativity, quantum leap—reach across the artificial divide between science and art to capture the poetic imagination. Often in general literature a poet who refers to such ideas will do so only in passing, and only for the sake of metaphor. In contrast, the poets who compose for Meter actually grapple with the concepts. Or they peer into the mind of a scientist at work. Or they are scientists themselves, thinking things through in an alternate mindset.
To make Meter equally rich and varied in 2021 and years to come, poets with a love of science are encouraged to submit new work to dsobel@sciam.com. I try to respond quickly and honestly. And kindly. Having received my share of rejection letters over the years, I take the writing of them very much to heart.
A full—and fully illustrated—page per month may seem like a lot of poetry for a science magazine, but it’s too small a space to incorporate the flow of poems reaching my desk now, let alone the anticipated bounty from a widening international circle of poets conversant with science. We editors are already dreaming of a Scientific American Anthology of Poetry.


scientificamerican--2020-12-21--You Can Get through This Dark Pandemic Winter Using Tips from Disaster Psychology

Amy Nitza has spent decades helping people in crisis .
The director of the Institute for Disaster Mental Health at the State University of New York at New Paltz has traveled to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria , to Botswana during an HIV crisis and to Haiti to help traumatized children forced into domestic servitude .
But the COVID-19 pandemic , Nitza says , is different .
It keeps coming at people month after month as loved ones get sick or die , as jobs are lost , and as the actions taken to avoid infection—such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stress .
As of December 2020 , more than 1.6 million people around the globe have died from the coronavirus .
Grief , fear and economic hardship have hit every nation .
In the U.S. the numbers have been overwhelming : more than 300,000 people have died , and about 17 million have been infected with the virus , according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center .
Usually disasters have survivors and responders , Nitza says , but COVID is so widespread that people are both of those things at once .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on ] how to take care of themselves and how to support the people around them , ” she says .
The upcoming winter looks especially dark and hard as deaths climb to exceed the losses of 9/11 every day .
As soon as we hear that outbreaks are receding , they rise back up again like storm-tossed seas .
Perhaps the toughest part is that no one knows when the pandemic will end or whether the future will look anything like the past .
Vaccines are here for some health-care workers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us , they are still months away .
At the moment , many hospitals are overwhelmed with waves of new COVID patients .
“ We as a nation have never been in anything like this , ” says Charles Figley , who has worked in disaster psychology for 40 years and is director of the Traumatology Institute at Tulane University in New Orleans .
The stresses are taking a terrible toll on our country ’ s mental health .
In June researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed 5,412 U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ symptoms of anxiety and 24.3 percent had symptoms of depression—a threefold and fourfold increase , respectively , from 2019 .
It is “ a staggering number , ” says Susan Borja , chief of the National Institute of Mental Health ’ s Dimensional Traumatic Stress Research Program .
In a study that has not yet been peer-reviewed , researchers at the City University of New York and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill surveyed 5,250 U.S. adults in April 2020 and found that 35 percent were experiencing moderate or severe anxiety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ income were doing extremelypoorly .
The pains of the pandemic and its consequences are sharpest among people of color , who are “ more exposed and less protected , ” in the words of physician Camara Phyllis Jones , who studies health inequities .
In November 2020 unemployment rates among Black and Hispanic workers were 75 and 42 percent higher , respectively , than that among white workers .
Compared with white households , many more Black and Hispanic households are struggling with food insecurity , and nonwhite children are more likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in person at school .
These hardships fall on top of the direct agonies inflicted by the disease : In a study published in July 2020 , New York University researchers found that in urban U.S. counties where the population was substantially nonwhite , the COVID death rate was nearly 10 times higher than it was in predominantly white counties with the same median income .
Among Native Americans , another less protected group , the death rate during the first half of 2020 was nearly twice that among white people .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of vaccines , that there will be an end to this pandemic .
But to get there , we have to somehow keep going through months of trauma and strain .
How do we do that ?
How do we endure more and more of the isolation , the deaths , the flare-ups , the economic wreckage , the fear and the uncertainty ?
There are ways—not perfect solutions but methods that can help .
Psychologists who specialize in trauma and disaster recovery , as well as those who work with patients who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that although it feels impossible and although there will be losses , most of us will get through this disaster .
And they point to strategies for coping born of experience and science .
When people in devastating situations can spot warning signs of mental trouble , acknowledge and express their distress , focus on the present moment and the small things they can control , and find ways to connect with others , they can get through the darkest of moments and show resilience .
“ The majority of people who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to eventually either return to baseline or , in some cases , come out better on the other side than they were before , ” says Megan Hosey , a rehabilitation psychologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine , who works with chronically ill patients in intensive care units .
Most of us , she says , “ will be able to adapt and recover.
” But to do so , we will need to be flexible , open and honest with ourselves and learn how to take things one day at a time .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ difference , in the midst of a crisis , between normal levels of angst and those that indicate we might be tiptoeing toward a dangerous ledge .
Key signs of declining mental health include changes in appetite or sleep patterns that last more than a week .
If you find yourself becoming more irritable—maybe you are lashing out more frequently at your family members—that can be another sign of depression or anxiety .
Having more trouble concentrating than usual or being unable to enjoy things you used to enjoy may also indicate that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you need to try new coping strategies .
Keep track , too , of how much you rely on medications , as well as on recreational drugs or alcohol .
“ We are seeing an uptick in substance and alcohol use in the context of the pandemic , ” Hosey says .
This does not mean that it is dangerous to have a beer or a glass of wine when you are feeling stressed .
But “ if a medication or a substance is one of your primary ways of coping and you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more of it to get through the day , that ’ s a red flag , ” she says .
Other things to look out for are physical symptoms such as pain , dizziness or indigestion .
When people struggle emotionally , their distress often manifests itself physically ( of course , serious physical symptoms warrant a visit to a physician to rule out other causes ) .
Psychologist Tracy A. Prout and her colleagues at Yeshiva University , along with researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel and the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world about their mental health during the pandemic .
They found that the people who were experiencing the most distress also had the most physical symptoms , as the group reported in their study , published in November 2020 in Frontiers in Psychology .
Behind these signals are the loneliness , unpredictability , fear and deprivation of the pandemic , and those are experiences that hospital patients with long-term illnesses and injuries know all too well .
Mana Ali , a rehabilitation psychologist at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ injuries and paralysis .
She says that one of the first things she tells these individuals is to acknowledge such emotions and to not feel bad about having them .
“ I always tell my patients , ‘ It ’ s totally normal that the anxiety is there—it ’ s about managing it , ’ ” she says .
We tend to think that fear and worrying are bad and that strength is the absence of those things , but that is not the case , she adds : “ You can feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and simultaneously be a victor and be resilient .
Reminding people that they are both , versus either/or , is extremely important.
” Disaster and rehabilitation psychologists have done research showing that writing about negative feelings is very effective .
“ There ’ s something about writing it down that ’ s super important , ” Nitza says .
In the early 1980s psychologist James W. Pennebaker , then at the University of Virginia , and his colleague conducted a study in which they told some college students to write about their stressful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day four days a week .
They told others not to do anything unusual .
The students who engaged in this “ expressive writing , ” as Pennebaker called it , were only half as likely to visit the student health center over the next six months as those who did not .
More recent analyses have supported these findings , confirming that writing about feelings is a powerful way to work through them .
These admissions about negative emotions are important because they “ open the door for , ‘ What can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explains .
To be fair , this question can be hard to answer in the midst of a world-shaking pandemic .
Nitza suggests trying to pinpoint what exactly worries you most at the moment and then identifying aspects of the situation that you can control or make progress on .
If you have just lost your job and you are worried about paying your bills , brainstorm small things you can do to give yourself a sense of control .
Maybe a goal for this week is to create a new household budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programs you might be eligible for .
This kind of brainstorming requires open-mindedness about “ things you ’ re willing to learn and try , ” explains Deepa Ramanathan-Elion , a rehabilitation psychologist at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Fort Belvoir in Virginia , who works with military service members who have traumatic brain injuries .
“ If you continue in a sort of rigid way of thinking , it ’ s going to be very difficult for you to adapt to a changing environment , no matter what the situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else , ” she says .
“ You really need to be able to adapt and be flexible.
” That might mean considering jobs you would not have considered in the past or asking people you would not normally reach out to for help or support .
The idea is to think of problems as obstacles you can overcome ( at least partially ) rather than as insurmountable hurdles you can do nothing about .
There are aspects of this pandemic we can not control—but by focusing on the things we can tweak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ourselves as resilient and adaptable , we will do better , Ali says .
Cognitive-behavioral therapy , which focuses on helping individuals identify , understand and change their thinking and behavior patterns in these ways , has consistently been shown to boost mental health .
A 2020 study found that Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy improved symptoms in people suffering from either anxiety or depression .
Ali often thinks of her father and his family , who are from Somalia and have faced many hardships .
“ They have absolutely nothing , but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she says .
“ If they feel like they can get through it , they can get through it .
So trying to cultivate that in people , regardless of resources—having them see that ‘ you can do this ’ —I think is very , very , very important.
” Seeking out others can help , too .
Researchers at the RAND Corporation found , based on interviews done after the 9/11 terrorist attacks , that the most common way adults dealt with their distress was by connecting with friends and family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safe during this pandemic strains those connections .
It often requires physical distance from loved ones , which means people are forced to give up what they emotionally need the most .
In a 2015 analysis of 70 studies , researchers at Brigham Young University found that people who reported feeling lonely were 26 percent more likely to die over the next seven years , on average , than those who were not lonely .
“ There is a consistent and growing—and highly replicated across context and across countries—literature on the detrimental effects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mitigating or positive well-being effects of social support , ” says Courtney Welton-Mitchell , a psychologist at the Colorado School of Public Health and the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado .
( If you are feeling extremely isolated or are having thoughts of suicide , please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 . )
If you are older and alone , connecting with others can be hard , especially if you are not tech-savvy enough to link up over a computer or a smartphone .
Welton-Mitchell suggests reaching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by phone , e-mail or snail mail and perhaps setting up regular phone calls or physically distanced visits .
You can also sign up for Caring Calls , a service organized by the nonprofit organization DOROT , which facilitates once- or twice-weekly telephone conversations between older adults and volunteers .
To sign up by phone , call 1-212-769-2850 .
If you are comfortable using the Internet , you can sign up for a service such as Big & Mini or Eldera , either of which connects older adults with younger people through video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the safety of your home—can also improve emotional health .
It helps to “ feel like you ’ re committing to something that ’ s greater than yourself , ” says William Garmoe , a neuropsychologist who works with Ali at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital .
In a 2007 paper , a group of 20 international disaster psychologists analyzed research on the most important psychological needs people have in the midst of a disaster .
They reported the top five are to feel safe , calm , self-efficacious , socially connected and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that benefit others , they may be able to check off three of those needs—feeling more useful , connected and hopeful about the future .
If you are not sure where to start , search VolunteerMatch.org or Idealist.org for local or virtual opportunities .
Virtual therapy provides another means of connection .
Since the pandemic began , federal and state legislation has loosened a number of restrictions on the use of telemedicine , so it is now easier for people to access mental health services online .
Finding a therapist can be difficult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or the means to pay , but free or low-cost options do exist : Opencounseling.com , for instance , allows you to search for free or low-cost therapists in addition to those who accept insurance or who can be paid for out-of-pocket .
One key benefit of therapy is the close relationship between the patient and the provider , which fosters a strong sense of belonging .
“ You ’ re meeting with somebody with whom you have a real relationship—this is a person who cares about you , seeks to understand you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says Bruce Wampold , a professor emeritus of counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison .
“ And for many people , this is particularly healing.
” Therapy can also help by nudging people toward constructive ways of coping with stress and anxiety .
In their November 2020 study , Prout and her colleagues surveyed adults about what strategies they used to make themselves feel better during the pandemic .
They found that people who connected with and helped others felt less distressed than those who coped in less healthy ways , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passive-aggressively .
One of the hardest things about the coronavirus is that it creates so much uncertainty about the future .
“ We like to be able to plan and set goals , ” Ramanathan-Elion says .
“ We like to go through life in this very organized fashion.
” Yet many of us do not know when we will get access to a COVID vaccine or whether we can pay next month ’ s rent or when social isolation will end .
We do not know whether we will get sick with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do .
Psychologists who work with people who have serious injuries or chronic illnesses note that such people always have to manage an unknown future , and they often do so best by focusing on the present—paying attention to their sensations and feelings in the moment rather than focusing on what can not be known with any assurance .
The goal is to “ just look at this one day at a time .
Because we really don ’ t know what tomorrow is going to look like , ” Hosey says .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ grounded in the present is “ mindfulness , ” and there are various ways to do it , including through short meditations .
A 2018 review and analysis of 18 studies concluded that regular mindfulness exercises—such as focused breathing and “ body scans , ” in which you pay attention to how the parts of your body feel and try to relax them—reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression even in the absence of any other treatments .
( If you want to try guided meditations , Ramanathan-Elion recommends the smartphone apps Breathe 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the idea of meditation makes you uncomfortable , it is possible to be mindful without it .
One way is to focus on the sensations you experience while you do everyday things such as eating and brushing your teeth .
Nitza says she recently bought several adult coloring books because she has found that coloring is what helps her “ focus my attention on the immediate thing.
” However we get to it , mindfulness makes us feel calmer because “ it slows down our breathing , and it sends that message to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and there ’ s no trigger in the environment ; there ’ s no stressful issue that we need to be attending to , ” Ramanathan-Elion says .
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to keeping your mental health intact , and the approach that is best for you will depend on your situation , your access to resources and your preferences .
Psychologists say to trust your instincts and to try the available strategies that you think might help the most .
Be willing to try out new things if the approaches you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working .
And keep in mind that the more time we spend in this pandemic , the better we will get at muddling our way through—because humans adapt surprisingly well to challenging situations .
It has been tough , and it could get tougher , no question .
But people are “ stronger than they think , ” Figley says .
“ I frequently find people are unbelievably resilient .
”

Amy Nitza has spent decades helping people in crisis. The director of the Institute for Disaster Mental Health at the State University of New York at New Paltz has traveled to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, to Botswana during an HIV crisis and to Haiti to help traumatized children forced into domestic servitude.
But the COVID-19 pandemic, Nitza says, is different. It keeps coming at people month after month as loved ones get sick or die, as jobs are lost, and as the actions taken to avoid infection—such as isolation from family—cause intense emotional pain and stress. Millions of people around the globe have died from the coronavirus, and the numbers keep climbing; grief, fear and economic hardship have hit every nation. The U.S. has the highest death toll on the planet—more than 550,000 people had perished by early April 2021—and millions on millions have become seriously sick. Usually disasters have survivors and responders, Nitza says, but COVID is so widespread that people are both of those things at once. “We’re training everybody [on] how to take care of themselves and how to support the people around them,” she says.
So far 2021 has been especially dark and hard. Deaths climbed to exceed the losses of 9/11 every day. Sometimes outbreaks recede but then rise back up again like storm-tossed seas. Millions of Americans still have not been vaccinated. Many hospitals are overwhelmed with waves of new COVID patients. So no one knows when the pandemic will end or whether the future will look anything like the past. “We as a nation have never been in anything like this,” says Charles Figley, who has worked in disaster psychology for 40 years and is director of the Traumatology Institute at Tulane University in New Orleans.
The stresses are taking a terrible toll on our country’s mental health. In June 2020 researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed 5,412 U.S. adults and found that 25.5 percent had symptoms of anxiety and 24.3 percent had symptoms of depression—a threefold and fourfold increase, respectively, from 2019. It is “a staggering number,” says Susan Borja, chief of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Dimensional Traumatic Stress Research Program. In a study that has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers at the City University of New York and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill surveyed 5,250 U.S. adults in April 2020 and found that 35 percent had moderate or severe anxiety symptoms. Those who had recently lost income were doing extremely poorly.
The pains of the pandemic and its consequences are sharpest among people of color, who are “more exposed and less protected,” in the words of physician Camara Phyllis Jones, who studies health inequities. In November 2020 unemployment rates among Black and Hispanic workers were 75 and 42 percent higher, respectively, than that among white workers. Compared with white households, many more Black and Hispanic households are struggling with food insecurity, and nonwhite children are more likely to be learning remotely from home rather than in person at school. These hardships fall on top of the direct agonies inflicted by the disease: In a study published in July 2020, New York University researchers found that in urban U.S. counties where the population was substantially nonwhite, the COVID death rate was nearly 10 times higher than it was in predominantly white counties with the same median income. Among Native Americans, another less protected group, the death rate during the first half of 2020 was nearly twice that among white people.
We can now glimpse, with the advent of vaccines, a time in the future when the pandemic sputters out. But to get there, we have to keep going through months of trauma and strain. How do we do that? How do we endure more and more of the isolation, the deaths, the flare-ups, the economic wreckage, the fear and the uncertainty?
There are ways—not perfect solutions but methods that can help. Psychologists who specialize in trauma and disaster recovery, as well as those who work with patients who have chronic injuries or disabilities, say that although it feels impossible and although there will be losses, most of us will get through this disaster. And they point to strategies for coping born of experience and science. When people in devastating situations can spot warning signs of mental trouble, acknowledge and express their distress, focus on the present moment and the small things they can control, and find ways to connect with others, they can get through the darkest of moments and show resilience.
“The majority of people who have a major catastrophic life event are going to eventually either return to baseline or, in some cases, come out better on the other side than they were before,” says Megan Hosey, a rehabilitation psychologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, who works with chronically ill patients in intensive care units. Most of us, she says, “will be able to adapt and recover.” To do so, however, we will need to be flexible, open and honest with ourselves and learn how to take things one day at a time.
Look for Warning Signs
It can be hard to tell the difference, in the midst of a crisis, between normal levels of angst and those that indicate we might be edging into serious psychological problems. Key signs of declining mental health include changes in appetite or sleep patterns that last more than a week. If you find yourself becoming more irritable—maybe you are lashing out more frequently at your family members—that can be another sign of depression or anxiety. Having more trouble concentrating than usual or being unable to enjoy things you used to enjoy may also indicate that your mental health is declining and that you need to try new coping strategies.
Keep track, too, of how much you rely on medications, as well as on recreational drugs or alcohol. “We are seeing an uptick in substance and alcohol use in the context of the pandemic,” Hosey says. This does not mean that it is dangerous to have a beer or a glass of wine when you are feeling stressed. But “if a medication or a substance is one of your primary ways of coping and you’re finding you need more and more of it to get through the day, that’s a red flag,” she says.
Other things to look out for are physical symptoms such as pain, dizziness or indigestion. When people struggle emotionally, their distress often manifests itself physically (of course, serious physical symptoms warrant a visit to a physician to rule out other causes). Psychologist Tracy A. Prout and her colleagues at Yeshiva University, along with researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel and the University of Pisa in Italy, surveyed 2,787 adults around the world about their mental health during the pandemic. They found that the people who were experiencing the most distress also had the most physical symptoms, as the group reported in its study, published in November 2020 in Frontiers in Psychology.
Credit: Cat O’Neil
Fear Is Okay
Behind these signals are the loneliness, unpredictability, fear and deprivation of the pandemic, and those are experiences that hospital patients with long-term illnesses and injuries know all too well. Mana Ali, a rehabilitation psychologist at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., treats people with spinal cord injuries and paralysis. She says that one of the first things she tells these individuals is to acknowledge such emotions and to not feel bad about having them. “I always tell my patients, ‘It’s totally normal that the anxiety is there—it’s about managing it,’” she says. We tend to think that fear and worrying are bad and that strength is the absence of those things, but that is not the case, she adds: “You can feel scared and fearful and angry and resentful and simultaneously be a victor and be resilient. Reminding people that they are both, versus either/or, is extremely important.”
Disaster and rehabilitation psychologists have done research showing that writing about negative feelings is very effective. “There’s something about writing it down that’s super important,” Nitza says. In the early 1980s psychologist James W. Pennebaker, then at the University of Virginia, and his colleague conducted a study in which they told some college students to write about their stressful experiences and feelings for 15 minutes a day four days a week. They told others not to do anything unusual. The students who engaged in this “expressive writing,” as Pennebaker called it, were only half as likely to visit the student health center over the next six months as those who did not. More recent analyses have supported these findings, confirming that writing about feelings is a powerful way to work through them.
These admissions about negative emotions are important because they “open the door for, ‘What can I do next?’” Hosey explains. To be fair, this question can be hard to answer in the midst of a world-shaking pandemic. Nitza suggests trying to pinpoint what exactly worries you most at the moment and then identifying aspects of the situation that you can control or make progress on. If you have just lost your job and you are worried about paying your bills, brainstorm small things you can do to give yourself a sense of control. Maybe a goal for this week is to create a new household budget or to find out about financial relief programs you might be eligible for.
This kind of brainstorming requires open-mindedness about “things you’re willing to learn and try,” explains Deepa Ramanathan-Elion, a rehabilitation psychologist at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, who works with military service members who have traumatic brain injuries. “If you continue in a sort of rigid way of thinking, it’s going to be very difficult for you to adapt to a changing environment, no matter what the situation is—whether it’s COVID or something else,” she says. “You really need to be able to adapt and be flexible.” That might mean considering jobs you would not have considered in the past or asking people you would not normally reach out to for help or support.
The idea is to think of problems as obstacles you can overcome (at least partially) rather than as insurmountable hurdles you can do nothing about. There are aspects of this pandemic we cannot control—but by focusing on the things we can tweak at least a bit and by thinking of ourselves as resilient and adaptable, we will do better, Ali says. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which focuses on helping individuals identify, understand and change their thinking and behavior patterns in these ways, has consistently been shown to boost mental health. A 2020 study found that Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy improved symptoms in people suffering from either anxiety or depression.
Ali often thinks of her father and his family, who are from Somalia and have faced many hardships. “They have absolutely nothing, but they have this strong sense of resilience,” she says. “If they feel like they can get through it, they can get through it. So trying to cultivate that in people, regardless of resources—having them see that ‘you can do this’—I think is very, very, very important.”
Find New Ways to Connect
Seeking out others can help, too. Researchers at the RAND Corporation found, based on interviews done after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that the most common way adults dealt with their distress was by connecting with friends and family.
The trouble now is that staying safe during this pandemic strains those connections. It often requires physical distance from loved ones, which means people are forced to give up what they emotionally need the most. In a 2015 analysis of 70 studies, researchers at Brigham Young University found that people who reported feeling lonely were 26 percent more likely to die over the next seven years, on average, than those who were not lonely. “There is a consistent and growing—and highly replicated across context and across countries—literature on the detrimental effects of social isolation and loneliness and the mitigating or positive well-being effects of social support,” says Courtney Welton-Mitchell, a psychologist at the Colorado School of Public Health and at the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. (If you are feeling extremely isolated or are having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.)
If you are older and alone, connecting with others can be hard, especially if you are not tech-savvy enough to link up over a computer or a smartphone. Welton-Mitchell suggests reaching out to family members and friends regularly by phone, e-mail or snail mail and perhaps setting up regular phone calls or physically distanced visits. You can also sign up for Caring Calls, a service organized by the nonprofit organization DOROT, which facilitates once- or twice-weekly telephone conversations between older adults and volunteers. To sign up by phone, call 1-212-769-2850. If you are comfortable using the Internet, you can sign up for a service such as Big & Mini or Eldera, either of which connects older adults with younger people through video calls.
Working toward a meaningful cause—even from the safety of your home—can also improve emotional health. It helps to “feel like you’re committing to something that’s greater than yourself,” says William Garmoe, a neuropsychologist who works with Ali at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital. In a 2007 paper, a group of 20 international disaster psychologists analyzed research on the most important psychological needs people have in the midst of a disaster. They reported the top five are to feel safe, calm, self-efficacious, socially connected and hopeful. When people engage in activities that benefit others, they may be able to check off three of those needs—feeling more useful, connected and hopeful about the future. If you are not sure where to start, search VolunteerMatch.org or Idealist.org for local or virtual opportunities.
Virtual therapy provides another means of connection. Since the pandemic began, federal and state legislation has loosened a number of restrictions on the use of telemedicine, so it is now easier for people to access mental health services online. Finding a therapist can be difficult if you do not have health insurance or the means to pay, but free or low-cost options do exist: Opencounseling.com, for instance, allows you to search for free or low-cost therapists in addition to those who accept insurance or who can be paid for out of pocket.
One key benefit of therapy is the close relationship between the patient and the provider, which fosters a strong sense of belonging. “You’re meeting with somebody with whom you have a real relationship—this is a person who cares about you, seeks to understand you, is warm and accepting,” says Bruce Wampold, a professor emeritus of counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “And for many people, this is particularly healing.
Therapy can also help by nudging people toward constructive ways of coping with stress and anxiety. In their November 2020 study, Prout and her colleagues surveyed adults about what strategies they used to make themselves feel better during the pandemic. They found that people who connected with and helped others felt less distressed than those who coped in less healthy ways, such as by repressing their feelings or expressing hostility indirectly.
Pay Attention to Yourself
One of the hardest things about the coronavirus is that it creates so much uncertainty about the future. “We like to be able to plan and set goals,” Ramanathan-Elion says. “We like to go through life in this very organized fashion.” Yet many of us do not know when we will get access to a COVID vaccine or whether we can pay next month’s rent or when social isolation will end. We do not know whether we will get sick with COVID or what will happen if we do.
Psychologists who work with those who have serious injuries or chronic illnesses note that such people always have to manage an unknown future, and they often do so best by focusing on the present—paying attention to their sensations and feelings in the moment rather than focusing on what cannot be known with any assurance. The goal is to “just look at this one day at a time. Because we really don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like,” Hosey says.
One evidence-based approach that helps people stay grounded in the present is “mindfulness,” and there are various ways to do it, including through short meditations. A 2018 review and analysis of 18 studies concluded that regular mindfulness exercises—such as focused breathing and “body scans,” in which you pay attention to how the parts of your body feel and try to relax them—reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression even in the absence of any other treatments. (If you want to try guided meditations, Ramanathan-Elion recommends the smartphone apps Breathe2Relax and Mindfulness Coach.)
If the idea of meditation makes you uncomfortable, it is possible to be mindful without it. One way is to focus on the sensations you experience while you do everyday things such as eating and brushing your teeth. Nitza says she recently bought several adult coloring books because she has found that coloring is what helps her “focus my attention on the immediate thing.”
However we get to it, mindfulness makes us feel calmer because “it slows down our breathing, and it sends that message to the brain that we’re okay and there’s no trigger in the environment; there’s no stressful issue that we need to be attending to,” Ramanathan-Elion says.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to keeping your mental health intact, and the approach that is best for you will depend on your situation, your access to resources and your preferences. Psychologists say to trust your instincts and to try the available strategies that you think might help the most. Be willing to try out new things if the approaches you first choose do not seem to be working.
And keep in mind that the more time we spend in this pandemic, the better we will get at muddling our way through—because people adapt surprisingly well to challenging situations. It has been tough, and it could get tougher, no question. But humans are “stronger than they think,” Figley says. “I frequently find that people are unbelievably resilient.”


scientificamerican--2020-12-21--The White House--Scene of COVID Outbreaks under Trump--Will Get a Deep Clean for President-Elect Bid

The White House--Scene of COVID Outbreaks under Trump--Will Get a Deep Clean for President-Elect Biden

It was a down-in-the-mud presidential campaign , but the dirtiest part comes on Inauguration Day .
As Joe Biden lifts his right hand to take the oath of office at noon on Jan. 20 at the Capitol , a team of specially trained cleaners will be lifting their hands to disinfect the White House .
The executive mansion will get a deep clean after two COVID-19 outbreaks this fall led to President Donald Trump and members of his staff and family becoming infected .
The departure of one president and the arrival of another is always a fast but highly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members and moving crews .
But this year is different .
The shift means more than rearranging the Oval Office and putting new clothes in bedroom closets : It means a top-to-bottom disinfection amid a pandemic .
Biden , who at 78 is taking office as the oldest president in U.S. history , is at high risk of complications from the virus .
So , the General Services Administration will oversee a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of every doorknob , toilet handle , light switch , stair railing , telephone , elevator button @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 55,000-square-foot mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave .
But can such a large building get fully clean in just five or six hours ?
Experts say that should not be a problem with a large enough team and preparation time .
K. Mark Wiencek , lead microbiologist for South Carolina-based Contec Inc. , which sells cleaning supplies to hospitals , said GSA cleaners should focus on the rooms last occupied by the Trump staff , since the virus can ’ t survive long on surfaces .
Cleaning crews , he added , should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not introduce any germs .
He recommended replacing the air filters and using fogging and spraying disinfectant to kill viruses .
The GSA said it is already cleaning the White House East Wing and West Wing offices daily with disinfectant .
GSA officials said they expect no difficulties in making the transition and pledged that all furniture and surfaces would be cleaned .
“ GSA will thoroughly clean and disinfect the building spaces between the administrations and ensure that everything is up to standard , ” a spokesperson said in a statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leave the cleaning chemicals on surfaces a full 10 minutes before wiping them down , said O.P .
Almaraz , a disaster relief expert in West Covina , California , and president of Allied Restoration , which has cleaned dozens of businesses after suspected COVID cases .
“ With a large enough crew , a professional disinfection company could apply disinfectants to the entire White House in six hours , ” he said .
It ’ s important , he explained , that the crew pay “ special attention to points that may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ door handles and light switches.
” As long as cleaners have an organized plan for each room , Almaraz doesn ’ t see them having trouble getting done before the Bidens move in at the end of the day .
Sheldon Yellen , CEO of Michigan-based Belfor Property Restoration , said cleaning crews need to be rehearsed and in fully ventilated suits to clean the White House in one afternoon .
“ It ’ s a level 3 clean , ” he said , noting the building needs the most intensive service because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disposing of anything that doesn ’ t have to stay for the Bidens , including pillows and bedsheets .
He said books need to be wiped down , not just on the binding but all sides .
He recommended cleaning the ductwork and ventilation systems as well .
Jack Shevel , co-founder of San Diego disinfection company Zappogen , said that because COVID-19 spreads by airborne transmission , it is best to disinfect using an electrostatic sprayer or fogger filled with a disinfectant designed to kill airborne pathogens .
That covers a large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ To truly disinfect all those rooms quickly and thoroughly , they should be sprayed with a fine micron mist that can reach all crevices and surfaces evenly , ” he said .
Still , the White House cleaners must be careful to remove paintings , antiques and other valuable items before spraying with disinfectant , said Ernesto Abel-Santos , professor of biochemistry at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas .
Those items should be cleaned by hand .
Abel-Santos said a simple alcohol-based disinfectant should be enough to kill the COVID virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on some surfaces for days , it typically degrades within hours .
People are much more likely to be infected by droplets expelled when someone coughs , sneezes or talks .
During the turnover , cleaners should focus on the most commonly used areas of the building , he said , such as the Oval Office and bedrooms .
“ The rest can get deep-cleaned as needed , ” he added .
Even more important than cleaning , however , is asking the new president and his family and staff to physically distance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hands , according to Abel-Santos .
“ You don ’ t realize how many times in a day you touch your face with your hands , ” he said .
“ If you touch a surface and then touch your face , it increases the probability of contagion.
” KHN ( Kaiser Health News ) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues .
It is an editorially independent program of KFF ( Kaiser Family Foundation ) that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente .

It was a down-in-the-mud presidential campaign, but the dirtiest part comes on Inauguration Day.
As Joe Biden lifts his right hand to take the oath of office at noon on Jan. 20 at the Capitol, a team of specially trained cleaners will be lifting their hands to disinfect the White House.
The executive mansion will get a deep clean after two COVID-19 outbreaks this fall led to President Donald Trump and members of his staff and family becoming infected.
The departure of one president and the arrival of another is always a fast but highly synchronized behind-the-scenes ballet by White House staff members and moving crews.
But this year is different. The shift means more than rearranging the Oval Office and putting new clothes in bedroom closets: It means a top-to-bottom disinfection amid a pandemic. Biden, who at 78 is taking office as the oldest president in U.S. history, is at high risk of complications from the virus.
So, the General Services Administration will oversee a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of every doorknob, toilet handle, light switch, stair railing, telephone, elevator button, computer keyboard and other objects inside the 55,000-square-foot mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
But can such a large building get fully clean in just five or six hours?
Experts say that should not be a problem with a large enough team and preparation time.
K. Mark Wiencek, lead microbiologist for South Carolina-based Contec Inc., which sells cleaning supplies to hospitals, said GSA cleaners should focus on the rooms last occupied by the Trump staff, since the virus can’t survive long on surfaces. Cleaning crews, he added, should wear masks and gloves to protect themselves and not introduce any germs.
He recommended replacing the air filters and using fogging and spraying disinfectant to kill viruses.
The GSA said it is already cleaning the White House East Wing and West Wing offices daily with disinfectant.
GSA officials said they expect no difficulties in making the transition and pledged that all furniture and surfaces would be cleaned. “GSA will thoroughly clean and disinfect the building spaces between the administrations and ensure that everything is up to standard,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
It’s vital that cleaners leave the cleaning chemicals on surfaces a full 10 minutes before wiping them down, said O.P. Almaraz, a disaster relief expert in West Covina, California, and president of Allied Restoration, which has cleaned dozens of businesses after suspected COVID cases.
“With a large enough crew, a professional disinfection company could apply disinfectants to the entire White House in six hours,” he said. It’s important, he explained, that the crew pay “special attention to points that may be touched often, like tabletops, door handles and light switches.”
As long as cleaners have an organized plan for each room, Almaraz doesn’t see them having trouble getting done before the Bidens move in at the end of the day.
Sheldon Yellen, CEO of Michigan-based Belfor Property Restoration, said cleaning crews need to be rehearsed and in fully ventilated suits to clean the White House in one afternoon.
“It’s a level 3 clean,” he said, noting the building needs the most intensive service because of confirmed COVID cases. That means disposing of anything that doesn’t have to stay for the Bidens, including pillows and bedsheets. He said books need to be wiped down, not just on the binding but all sides. He recommended cleaning the ductwork and ventilation systems as well.
Jack Shevel, co-founder of San Diego disinfection company Zappogen, said that because COVID-19 spreads by airborne transmission, it is best to disinfect using an electrostatic sprayer or fogger filled with a disinfectant designed to kill airborne pathogens. That covers a large area more easily than just wiping surfaces.
“To truly disinfect all those rooms quickly and thoroughly, they should be sprayed with a fine micron mist that can reach all crevices and surfaces evenly,” he said.
Still, the White House cleaners must be careful to remove paintings, antiques and other valuable items before spraying with disinfectant, said Ernesto Abel-Santos, professor of biochemistry at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Those items should be cleaned by hand.
Abel-Santos said a simple alcohol-based disinfectant should be enough to kill the COVID virus. Although the virus can be detected on some surfaces for days, it typically degrades within hours. People are much more likely to be infected by droplets expelled when someone coughs, sneezes or talks.
During the turnover, cleaners should focus on the most commonly used areas of the building, he said, such as the Oval Office and bedrooms. “The rest can get deep-cleaned as needed,” he added.
Even more important than cleaning, however, is asking the new president and his family and staff to physically distance, wear their masks and wash their hands, according to Abel-Santos.
“You don’t realize how many times in a day you touch your face with your hands,” he said. “If you touch a surface and then touch your face, it increases the probability of contagion.”
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.


scientificamerican--2020-12-24--What Happens to White Christmases as the World Warms?

With that famous song , sleigh rides and snowmen who magically come alive , so much of the cultural imagery associated with Christmas features a glistening carpet of snow .
But as rising global temperatures start to dull winter 's bitter edge , will the proverbial White Christmas become just a bit of Yuletide lore ?
Although logic would seem to suggest that warming would mean less snow , the impact of climate change on where—and how much—snow falls is more complicated than that .
Climate science can not say whether there will be snow on the ground in Boston @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but there are some general trends scientists expect to see—and also some less intuitive ones .
One reason the influence of climate change on snow is difficult to untangle is that snow can be a very localized phenomenon .
One town may be socked in , whereas houses just a few miles away get only a dusting .
And the chances of a given location having snow on the ground on any particular date , such as December 25 , can vary widely from year to year outside of the most northern locations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most related research has been conducted ) .
Those traits , along with variations in how snow is measured , make compiling snowfall data to look for trends a delicate business .
`` That 's why you look at multiple years , at multiple stations .
Never trust just a couple of measurements , '' says New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson , who studies snow and climate at Rutgers University .
On top of those issues , there are more ingredients to consider when understanding precipitation trends than there are for temperature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come into play .
And snow has even more constraints than rain , as it only materializes when temperatures fall below the freezing point .
That temperature dependence means that in a warmer future , `` you 're going to have more cases where temperatures are just above that magic mark , '' Robinson says , meaning more winter precipitation will fall as rain .
This trend will start in more southerly locations ( in the Northern Hemisphere ) , and at lower elevations , and will gradually progress northward as the planet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temperatures do stay below freezing , however , more snow could actually fall because warmer air holds more moisture .
There is already some evidence backing both of these expected trends , Robinson says , with regions such as the Upper Midwest recording more snow in recent years and the southern reaches of the U.S. seeing declines .
That second point about moisture in a warmer atmosphere is behind one of the quirks scientists have uncovered : although snow will become less common overall , extreme snowfalls will decline at a slower rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ snowstorms become a bigger proportion of all snow events .
M.I.T .
atmospheric scientist Paul O'Gorman explained this quirk in a 2014 study in Nature , noting that extreme snowfalls happen in a narrower temperature band than snow overall—temperatures need to be cold enough to freeze precipitation , but not so cold that the atmosphere dries out .
So warming temperatures chip away faster at the broader temperature range in which all snow occurs than they do at the range for extreme snowfalls .
Warming may also boost—and change the timing of—a particular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which in the U.S. is mostly commonly associated with the Great Lakes .
Lake-effect snow happens when cold Canadian air pushes down over the lakes when they are still relatively warm and not yet iced over .
This cold air causes the lake water to evaporate , which warms the air above the lake surface .
That air rises , cooling again as it does so ; any moisture in it can then freeze and fall as snow .
Rising temperatures will keep lakes warmer , providing more moisture when cold winds happen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will also keep the lakes ice-free for longer into the fall , expanding the lake-effect season .
Climate models suggest that trend will not last forever , though , as air temperatures could eventually become too warm to support snow .
But while it does , it could mean that areas where lake-effect snow is common could see more Christmas snow if conditions are right .
Yet on a broader scale , picking out any seasonal trends in snow extent—the area covered by snow—is more difficult .
There is a clear trend toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was particularly evident during the recent extremely warm years in the western U.S. `` Irrefutably , [ snow extent ] is declining in the spring , '' Robinson says .
But for fall and winter `` there 's no clear signal , '' he adds .
`` There 's no glaring change … when it comes to Christmas-time snow . ''
The bottom line , he says , is that we will see snowstorms in the future , and some of those will coincide with Christmas .
`` There 's still going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` I think people can expect change , but if they 're looking for the total demise of snow , I think that 's premature . ''

With that famous song, sleigh rides and snowmen who magically come alive, so much of the cultural imagery associated with Christmas features a glistening carpet of snow.
But as rising global temperatures start to dull winter's bitter edge, will the proverbial White Christmas become just a bit of Yuletide lore? Although logic would seem to suggest that warming would mean less snow, the impact of climate change on where—and how much—snow falls is more complicated than that. Climate science cannot say whether there will be snow on the ground in Boston or Chicago on Christmas Day 2050, but there are some general trends scientists expect to see—and also some less intuitive ones.
One reason the influence of climate change on snow is difficult to untangle is that snow can be a very localized phenomenon. One town may be socked in, whereas houses just a few miles away get only a dusting. And the chances of a given location having snow on the ground on any particular date, such as December 25, can vary widely from year to year outside of the most northern locations (in the Northern Hemisphere, where most related research has been conducted). Those traits, along with variations in how snow is measured, make compiling snowfall data to look for trends a delicate business. "That's why you look at multiple years, at multiple stations. Never trust just a couple of measurements," says New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson, who studies snow and climate at Rutgers University.
On top of those issues, there are more ingredients to consider when understanding precipitation trends than there are for temperature, because wind patterns in the atmosphere come into play. And snow has even more constraints than rain, as it only materializes when temperatures fall below the freezing point.
That temperature dependence means that in a warmer future, "you're going to have more cases where temperatures are just above that magic mark," Robinson says, meaning more winter precipitation will fall as rain. This trend will start in more southerly locations (in the Northern Hemisphere), and at lower elevations, and will gradually progress northward as the planet heats up. In places where winter temperatures do stay below freezing, however, more snow could actually fall because warmer air holds more moisture. There is already some evidence backing both of these expected trends, Robinson says, with regions such as the Upper Midwest recording more snow in recent years and the southern reaches of the U.S. seeing declines.
That second point about moisture in a warmer atmosphere is behind one of the quirks scientists have uncovered: although snow will become less common overall, extreme snowfalls will decline at a slower rate than average ones, so that blockbuster snowstorms become a bigger proportion of all snow events. M.I.T. atmospheric scientist Paul O'Gorman explained this quirk in a 2014 study in Nature, noting that extreme snowfalls happen in a narrower temperature band than snow overall—temperatures need to be cold enough to freeze precipitation, but not so cold that the atmosphere dries out. So warming temperatures chip away faster at the broader temperature range in which all snow occurs than they do at the range for extreme snowfalls.
Warming may also boost—and change the timing of—a particular type of snowfall: lake-effect snow, which in the U.S. is mostly commonly associated with the Great Lakes. Lake-effect snow happens when cold Canadian air pushes down over the lakes when they are still relatively warm and not yet iced over. This cold air causes the lake water to evaporate, which warms the air above the lake surface. That air rises, cooling again as it does so; any moisture in it can then freeze and fall as snow. Rising temperatures will keep lakes warmer, providing more moisture when cold winds happen to blow overhead.
Those warmer temperatures will also keep the lakes ice-free for longer into the fall, expanding the lake-effect season. Climate models suggest that trend will not last forever, though, as air temperatures could eventually become too warm to support snow. But while it does, it could mean that areas where lake-effect snow is common could see more Christmas snow if conditions are right.
Yet on a broader scale, picking out any seasonal trends in snow extent—the area covered by snow—is more difficult. There is a clear trend toward earlier melt in the spring, which was particularly evident during the recent extremely warm years in the western U.S. "Irrefutably, [snow extent] is declining in the spring," Robinson says. But for fall and winter "there's no clear signal," he adds. "There's no glaring change … when it comes to Christmas-time snow."
The bottom line, he says, is that we will see snowstorms in the future, and some of those will coincide with Christmas. "There's still going to be winter," Robinson says. "I think people can expect change, but if they're looking for the total demise of snow, I think that's premature."


scientificamerican--2020-12-24--How You Can Help Stop Invasive Spotted Lanternflies

Since it was first noticed in Berks County , Pennsylvania , in 2014 , the spotted lanternfly—a one-inch-long plant hopper that resembles a moth and is native to parts of Southeast Asia—has been wreaking havoc on East Coast lumber , tree fruit and wine industries .
It has spread to at least 26 Pennsylvania counties as well as parts of New Jersey , Delaware , Maryland and Virginia .
The invasive , plant-killing insects are known to lay their eggs on almost any surface , including vehicle exteriors .
These egg masses “ are most concerning because they can go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says Maureen Tang , a chemical and biological engineer at Drexel University .
Tang is coordinating a project that asks the pubic to help halt the lanternfly ’ s spread : anyone who spots an egg mass can submit photos , with which Tang ’ s team will train a sophisticated algorithm that scanning devices can use to search for the eggs .
( You can contribute photos here . )
Adult lanternflies can fly but prefer to hop .
They feast on more than 70 plant species and leave behind “ honeydew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other stinging insects , and which breed a black , sooty mold that can be fatal to vegetation .
The mature insects die in the cold , but their egg masses , which can hold between 30 and 50 eggs and look like a grayish putty , withstand winter temperatures and release a new generation in the spring .
The team currently has about 400 crowdsourced photos for its data set and anticipates thousands by winter ’ s end , says Drexel mechanical engineer Antonios Kontsos , who is building the image-processing algorithm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let scanning devices detect significant infestations in real time , Kontsos says .
The system will first be put to work in high-risk areas such as rail and shipping yards , where storage containers often sit around for long periods of time and it is difficult and dangerous for a human to check underneath them for egg masses , Tang says .
The lanternflies ’ favorite tree , Ailanthus—native to areas the bugs came from—tends to grow near railroad tracks .
Drones already use computer vision to scan for signs of pests , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ check for significant areas of damage .
But Tang says her team ’ s type of discrete , close-up egg detection system is new .
“ ; We ’ ve seen a lot of ingenuity come from spotted lanternfly [ research ] , and this is another great example , ” ; says Heather Leach , who studies these insects at Pennsylvania State University and is not involved in the photo initiative .
Any methods that improve the ability to detect and reduce spread of the bug , especially in areas where it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a better chance at controlling it , Leach says .
The team aims to finish the algorithm and start using it to search for eggs before the bugs begin emerging .
Egg masses are much easier to contain than jumping nymphs or swarming adults , notes Karen Verderame , Drexel ’ s curator of entomology .
Researchers will first target top-priority areas using a portable scanning device that can search for egg masses in visible , infrared and ultraviolet light , Kontsos says .
He anticipates someday using a version of this device @ @ @ @ @ @ @ installing it on a drone for efficient , large-area scans .
“ From an environmental perspective , [ this multidisciplinary effort is ] the way of the future , ” Verderame says .
“ You have to take an out-of-the-box perspective .
It really will take a collaboration of the sciences .
”

Since it was first noticed in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014, the spotted lanternfly—a one-inch-long plant hopper that resembles a moth and is native to China—has been wreaking havoc on East Coast lumber, tree fruit and wine industries. It has spread to at least 26 counties in Pennsylvania, as well as parts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and New York State.
The invasive, plant-killing insects are known to lay their eggs on almost any surface, including vehicle exteriors. These egg masses “are most concerning because they can go very far by hitchhiking,” says Maureen Tang, a chemical and biological engineer at Drexel University. Tang is coordinating a project that asks the public to help halt the lanternfly’s spread: anyone who spots an egg mass can submit photographs, with which Tang’s team will train a sophisticated algorithm that scanning devices can use to search for the eggs. (You can contribute images here.)
Adult lanternflies can fly but prefer to hop. They feast on more than 70 plant species and leave behind “honeydew” droppings, which attract wasps and other stinging insects and which breed a black, sooty mold that can significantly damage plants. The mature insects die in the cold, but their egg masses, which can hold between 30 and 50 eggs and look like a grayish putty, withstand winter temperatures and release a new generation in the spring.
Lanternfly eggs. Credit: Getty Images
The team currently has about 400 crowdsourced photographs for its data set and anticipates thousands by winter’s end, says Drexel mechanical engineer Antonios Kontsos, who is building the image-processing algorithm. Once fully trained, it will let scanning devices detect significant infestations in real time, Kontsos says. The system will first be put to work in high-risk areas such as rail and shipping yards, where storage containers often sit around for long periods of time and it is difficult and dangerous for a human to check underneath them for egg masses, Tang says. The lanternflies’ favorite tree, Ailanthus altissima—which is native to areas the bugs came from—tends to grow near railroad tracks.
Drones already use computer vision to scan for signs of pests by flying over crops and treescapes to check for significant areas of damage. But Tang says her team’s type of discrete, close-up egg detection system is new.
“We’ve seen a lot of ingenuity come from spotted lanternfly [research], and this is another great example,” says Heather Leach, who studies these insects at Pennsylvania State University and is not involved in the photography initiative. Any methods that improve the ability to detect and reduce spread of the bug, especially in areas where it has not yet been established, offer a better chance at controlling it, Leach says.
The team aims to finish the algorithm and start using it to search for eggs before the bugs begin emerging. Egg masses are much easier to contain than jumping nymphs or swarming adults, notes Karen Verderame, curator of entomology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Researchers will first target top-priority areas using a portable scanning device that can search for egg masses in visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, Kontsos says. He anticipates someday using a version of this device in a “precision-agriculture framework”—installing it on a drone for efficient, large-area scans.
“From an environmental perspective, [this multidisciplinary effort is] the way of the future,” Verderame says. “You have to take an out-of-the-box perspective. It really will take a collaboration of the sciences.”
Editor’s Note (2/3/21): This story has been edited after posting to update descriptions of the lanternfly’s native range, the states where the insect has spread in the U.S. and Karen Verderame’s affiliation.
A version of this article with the title “Lanternfly Invasion” was adapted for inclusion in the March 2021 issue of Scientific American.