Back to not-so-normal: Psychologists eye pandemic stress as U.S. reopens

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Thor Benson
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Here's my second piece for NBC News.

I wrote about how chronic stress caused by the pandemic could be contributing to people behaving more aggressively

Back to not-so-normal: Psychologists eye pandemic stress as U.S. reopens
Marie-Christine Nizzi, a postdoctoral researcher at Dartmouth College and the Brain Institute at Chapman University, studies trauma and resilience, which
nbcnews.com
11:58 AM · Jun 22, 2021

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/back-not-normal-psychologists-eye-pandemic-stress-us-reopens-rcna1204

Marie-Christine Nizzi, a postdoctoral researcher at Dartmouth College and the Brain Institute at Chapman University, studies trauma and resilience, which includes how the brain handles stress — and, sometimes, doesn't handle it.

It's the latter that is particularly timely. With many Americans inching toward normalcy, psychologists like her are keeping a close eye on how the mental weight of the pandemic is showing up in society — even if the worst is months behind most people.

Nizzi, who has been working on a survey of Americans' mental health since April of last year, said the pandemic has caused many Americans to develop chronic stress, which could lead to them behaving more aggressively in their daily lives.

"People can't have an emergency stress response that stays the same forever, so they convert from an acute stress response to a chronic stress response," she said. "As the stress becomes chronic, their ability to cope with all of the changes is starting to be overwhelmed."

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