Looking back, moving forward: Psychological implications of local COVID mandates

At a Silicon Valley Association of Republican Women (SVARW) event, local changemaker Jane Kearney (VP of Programs of Silicon Valley-based Liberty Forum, as well as clinical psychologist) examines repercussions of recent restrictive yet inconsistent COVID-19 lockdowns. This pandemic may be functionally almost over, but the consequences of ever-changing governance live on, suggests Kearney. To receive daily updates of new Opp Now stories, click here.

(7:09–7:19)

So, let’s start with the obvious: This is not normal. We’ve been living in a changing maze, a pandemic of fear, now for two years.

(7:48–8:06)

We’ve been subjected to intermittent reinforcement. And this is what we usually associate with slot machines, right? It’s a very powerful psychological tool, where you get a promise of a reward and then you get dangled, that’s a payoff…

(8:10–8:29)

And then we have a constantly moving bar, so [residents] were motivated and then defeated, as they can’t even declare when a state of emergency is going to be over. So this lack of control, this sense of lack of control over our lives, is one of the most significant destructive forces for our mental health.

(8:54–10:02)

We have mixed messages, right? And enduring confusion. No masks, two masks. And confusing advice… All of this has resulted in chaos, traumatization, and great psychological pain. The human psyche needs a certain amount, a decent amount, of regularity, certainty, and predictability to enjoy a sense of well-being. And while the fear level was being drilled, driven up and up and up, we were afforded, offered a way out, although one that didn’t pass the smell test.

Watch the whole thing here.

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Image by Alex Fu