How to reduce the mental trauma of covid-19

第一段

In Ecuador people are still searching for the bodies of relatives who died of covid-19 four month ago.In Italy a boy begged a priest to forgive the "sin" of lowering his face mask outdoors. Not since the second world war have so many people in so many places been traumatised at once.Even after the disease itself is brought under control, the mental scars will linger.

重点词汇

• trauma

  • (a) severe emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience

    • the trauma of marriage breakdown
    • He had psychotherapy to help him deal with his childhood traumas.

• relative

  • a member of your family

    • I don't have many blood relatives (= people related to me by birth rather than by marriage).
    • All her close/distant relatives came to the wedding.
    • The children are being cared for by a relative.
    • There weren't many people at the funeral - just close family relatives.

• priest

  • a person, usually a man, who has been trained to perform religious duties in the Christian Church,

    • Father O'Dooley was ordained a priest in 1949.
    • There is still a ban on women priests in the Catholic Church.

• scar

  • a mark left on part of the body after an injury, such as a cut, has healed

    • a prominent/a noticeable/an ugly scar
    • That burn will leave a bad scar.
    • He had a long scar across his cheek.

  • a sign of damage to a person's mental state

    • His early years in the refugee camp left a deep psychological scar.

• linger

  • to take a long time to leave or disappear

    • After the play had finished, we lingered for a while in the bar hoping to catch sight of the actors.
    • The smell from the fire still lingered days later.
    • It's impossible to forget such horrific events - they linger (on) in the memory forever.

第二段

For many, the pandemic is merely an annoyance . Bur some groups face a particular risk of post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), the symptoms of which include nightmares, flashbacks and feelings of guilt, anxiety or isolation.The most vulnerable are those who have been very ill, or lost relatives, as well as victims of previous traumas(such as refugees), and those with front-line jobs, such as doctors and nurses. In Spain nearly a sixth of those infected are health-care workers, and most of them show signs of PTSD. In Bangladesh, where the incomes of poor people briefly fell by 80% when lockdowns were tight, 86% of people in one poll reported covid-19-related stress.

重点词汇

• poll

  • a study in which people are asked for their opinions about a subject or person

    • We're carrying out/conducting a poll to find out what people think about abortion.
    • The latest opinion poll puts the Democrats in the lead.

• refugee

  • a person who has escaped from their own country for political, religious, or economic reasons or because of a war

    • We have been tasked with setting up camps for refugees.
    • The refugees were packed shoulder to shoulder on the boat.
    • Many refugees have arrived at the border without passports.
    • We have only a small amount of food and clothing to deal out to each refugee.

• vulnerable

  • able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced, or attacked

    • I felt very vulnerable, standing there without any clothes on.
    • It is on economic policy that the government is most vulnerable.
    • Tourists are more vulnerable to attack, because they do not know which areas of the city to avoid.
    • Start-ups are very vulnerable in the business world.
    • Small companies such as ours are very vulnerable in a recession.

• victim

  • someone or something that has been hurt, damaged, or killed or has suffered,

    • to provide financial aid to hurricane/flood, etc. victims
    • he children are the innocent/helpless victims of the fighting.
    • The new drug might help save the lives of cancer victims.
    • Our local hospital has become the latest victim of the cuts in government spending.

• lockdowns

  • a situation in which people are not allowed to enter or leave a building or area freely because of an emergency

    • The Secret Service is imposing a virtual lockdown on the city.
    • The school has been placed on lockdown this morning while authorities investigate a bomb threat.

• symptom

  • any feeling of illness or physical or mental change that is caused by a particular disease

    • He's complaining of all the usual flu symptoms - a high temperature, headache, and so on.
    • He's been HIV-positive for six years, but just recently he's started to develop the symptoms of AIDS.

第三段

Humans are resilient . Those who experience trauma mostly cope. When their homes are destroyed by earthquakes, they rebuild them and carry on .Even the mass bombing of cities in the second world war did not break civilian morale. Nonetheless , the world should take the collective mental damage of covid-19 seriously .Steps to reduce it cost little, and can benefit not only individuals but also society more broadly.

重点词汇

• individual

  • a single person or thing, especially when compared to the group or set to which they belong

    • Every individual has rights which must never be taken away.
    • Like many creative individuals, she can be very bad-tempered.
    • We try to treat our students as individuals.

• resilient

  • able to quickly return to a previous good condition

    • This rubber ball is very resilient and immediately springs back into shape.
    • She's a resilient girl - she won't be unhappy for long.

• cope

  • to deal successfully with a difficult situation

    • It must be really hard to cope with three young children and a job.
    • It's only been a year since he died - how's she coping?
    • He had so much pressure on him in his job that eventually he just couldn't cope.

• morale

  • the amount of confidence felt by a person or group of people, especially when in a dangerous or difficult situation

    • A couple of victories would improve the team's morale enormously.
    • There have been a lot of job losses recently so morale is fairly low.

• civilian

  • a person who is not a member of the police or the armed forces

    • The bomb killed four soldiers and three civilians.
    • Bombing civilians is a crime against humanity .
    • The first fatalities of the war were civilians.

• nonetheless

  • despite what has just been said or done

    • There are serious problems in our country. Nonetheless, we feel this is a good time to return.
    • Despite being younger than the others, Smith was nonetheless a valuable member of the team.
    • Today, the paying of a dowry is illegal, but the practice continues nonetheless in some areas.
    • Security at the event has been tightened since last year. Nonetheless, about 1000 managed to get in without tickets.

第四段

Research into previous disasters suggests that survivors' long-term mental health depends more on "perceived support " than "received support" . In other words, donations of money or food matter less than the feeling that you can turn to your neighbours for help.Such help is typically offered spontaneously, but governments can also chip in. France ,for example, sets up "medical and psychological emergency units" after terrorist attacks and other disasters. These try to minimise the long-term mental-health consequences of such events by offering immediate walk-in psychological support near the site of the disaster. Several cities in France have reactivated this "two-tent model" , one for medical care and the other for mental care, to help people cope with the toll of the virus.

重点词汇

• spontaneously

  • in a way that is natural, often sudden, and not planned or forced:

    • This story may prompt you to burst spontaneously into uncontrollable sobs.
    • They gave him a mike, and he spontaneously interviewed everyone.
    • My best friend, who doesn't have kids, always expects me to do things spontaneously with her.
    • Hundreds of people could spontaneously appear at my house for a party.

• perceived

  • to come to an opinion about something, or have a belief about something

    • How do the French perceive the British?
    • Women's magazines are often perceived to be superficial.
    • America is perceived of as being less class-conscious than Britain.
    • How do you perceive your new role?

第五段

Some people draw comfort from the fact that are not alone-millions are facing the same tribulations at the same time. But the pandemic also presents unusual challenges. No one knows when it will end. Social distancing makes it harder to reconnect with others , a step in recovering from trauma. And the economic shack of covid -19 has undermined mental-health services everywhere , but especially in poor countries.

重点词汇

• tribulation

  • a problem or difficulty
  • Difficult situations and unpleasant experiences

• undermine

  • to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually:

    • The president has accused two cabinet members of working secretly to undermine his position/him.
    • Criticism just undermines their confidence.

第六段

The most important measures will be local. A priority should be bring in people together by ,say ,expanding internet access. Mutual-aid networks(eg,WhatsApp groups to deliver groceries to the elderly), which tend to peter out once the initial disaster subsides, should instead be formalised and foucused on the most vulnerable.Mental-health professionals should connect patients to such services, and train more lay folk as counselllors. In Zimbabwe, well before the pandemic, hundreds of grandmothers were taught how to provide talk therapy on village benches to depressed taught how to provide talk therapy on village benches to depressed neighbours who could not afford to visit a distant clinic. Such innovations can work elsewhere ,too.

重点词汇

• priority

  • something that is very important and must be dealt with before other things:

    • The management did not seem to consider office safety to be a priority.
    • My first/top priority is to find somewhere to live.
    • Repairing the plumbing is a priority task
    • Banks normally give priority to large businesses when deciding on loans
    • Official business requirements obviously take/have priority over personal requests

• mutual-aid

  • (of two or more people or groups) feeling the same emotion, or doing the same thing to or for each other

    • Theirs was a partnership based on mutual respect, trust and understanding.
    • Both countries are acting to their mutual advantage.
    • The agreement was terminated by mutual consent.
    • The two groups have existed in a state of mutual distrust for centuries.

• grocery

  • a store that sells food and small things for the home

    • America's largest grocery store chain will be bringing two new stores to Oakland.
    • More people are buying their groceries online.

• peter out

  • to gradually stop or disappear:

    • The fighting which started in the night had petered out by morning.
    • The track petered out after a mile or so

• subsides

  • If a condition subsides, it becomes less strong or extreme:

    • The police are hoping that the violence will soon subside.
    • As the pain in my foot subsided, I was able to walk the short distance to the car.

• vulnerable

  • able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced, or attacked:

    • I felt very vulnerable, standing there without any clothes on.
    • It is on economic policy that the government is most vulnerable.
    • Tourists are more vulnerable to attack, because they do not know which areas of the city to avoid.

• counsellors

  • someone who is trained to listen to people and give them advice about their problems:

    • The college now has a counsellor to help students with both personal and work problems.
    • The doctor suggested that I might like to see a counsellor to help me deal with stress better.
    • A trained counsellor can provide non-judgmental support, as often it is hard to speak openly to family and friends.
    • My colleague found that his sessions with the grief counsellor helped him work through his feelings.

• therapy

  • a treatment that helps someone feel better, grow stronger, etc., especially after an illness:

    • Have you had any therapy for your depression?
    • The centre has developed a form of therapy for autistic children.
    • You could have some therapy to improve mobility in that leg.

第七段

Religious services and sporting events can provide a physical or virtual space for mourning. The story of the pandemic can be taught in schools, helping those for whom it was a hassle empathise with those for whom it was life-changing. The mental trauma of covid-19 cannot be erased, but it can be eased.

重点词汇

• virtual

  • almost a particular thing or quality:

    • Ten years of incompetent government had brought about the virtual collapse of the country's economy.
    • He is a virtual prisoner in his own home.
    • Falling orders led to the virtual ruin of her company.
    • She suffered a virtual breakdown when her marriage broke up.

• hassle

  • (a situation causing) difficulty or trouble:

    • I can't face the hassle of moving again.
    • My boss has been giving me a lot of hassle this week.
    • It's one of the few bars that women can go to and not get any hassle from men.

• empathise

  • to be able to understand how someone else feels:

    • It's very easy to empathize with the characters in her books.
    • If true, then similarity of body is a key factor in the extent to which two parties can empathize with one another.