Remaining resilient while the pandemic drags on

Show Me the Science

Even as the numbers of COVID-19 cases around the country decline again, with cooler weather and people moving back indoors, we’re being warned about the possibility of another swing upward in cases. Such an increase would represent yet another wave of illness during this pandemic. And after all these months, the stress is getting to many people. Groups particularly vulnerable to such stress are older adults — who face the greatest risk from the virus — and young children. But as the pandemic continues, we’ve been hearing more about resilience in these groups. In this episode, we speak with a pair of experts on resilience. Psychiatrist Eric J. Lenze, MD, director of the Healthy Mind Lab at Washington University, recently was awarded a $9.1 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study resilience in older adults, as well as the pandemic’s potential cognitive and emotional effects on them, such as depression, anxiety and even dementia. His team is looking in particular at the impact? of exercise and mindfulness on resilience in seniors. We also speak with Neha Navsaria Kirtane, PhD, an associate professor of child psychiatry, about resilience in children and adolescents. During the pandemic, they’ve faced changes in schooling and in how they are allowed to interact with friends. Some kids can’t get vaccinated yet, but almost all are back at school, in person. She says adult mentors who can point out to children when they are doing well and provide examples of resilience are important in helping kids remain hopeful as we head toward an uncertain future.

The podcast, “Show Me the Science,” is produced by the Office of Medical Public Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.