An Unwanted Anniversary:
Reflections on a Year in the Shadow of COVID-19
BY DR. NURIT ISRAELI
On March 11, 2021, we marked one year of
the pandemic declaration. Exactly a year
earlier, the World Health Organization
declared the novel coronavirus to be a global
pandemic, its director stating that the agency
is “deeply concerned by the alarming levels of
spread and severity” of the outbreak. Most of us
had not anticipated the unprecedented impact
this virus would have on virtually every country,
every community, every family, each of us. Ever
since the pandemic took charge, the familiar
world disappeared.
Dates that remind us of traumatic events may
evoke a range of reactions. The pandemic’s oneyear
mark sparked memories and flashbacks.
Psychologists label this “an anniversary reaction.”
“Anniversary” does not seem to be a
most fitting word to describe anything related to
COVID-19. After all, no one wants to celebrate
an “anniversary” of a pandemic...
When I think about the days preceding the
onset of the pandemic, I recall many “Last
Times”: Last time I saw a beloved friend who
passed away. Last time I hugged my grandchildren.
Last time I flew anywhere. Last time I
went to the theater or to the movies. Last time
I visited a museum. Last time I met friends for
lunch, or dinner, or tea, indoors. Last time I left
the apartment maskless. Last time I attended
an event where faces were bare.
I scroll through photos from the past year: No
group photos of family gatherings. No photos of
holiday celebrations. A photo of us masked and
gloved meeting our grandsons outdoors. I check
my Amazon purchases: masks, more masks –
a garden variety of masks, face shields, hand
sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, a pulse oximeter,
a non-contact door opener, a UV light wand,
a sweatsuit, scissors to trim my hair, folding
chairs for outdoors, Zoom for Dummies, Albert
Camus’ The Plague, a few copies of Viktor
Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning – a choice
item for gifts during an affliction...
The year of the pandemic tested us in ways
we could not have imagined. We had to dramatically
alter the way we live, rapidly adjust
to change, devise new routines. We had to cope
creatively with sheltering-in-place, find ways
to get food delivered, discover which masks
were best suited for which circumstances, learn
how to use Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp, and
Messenger to stay connected. We couldn’t do
many of the things we used to love doing, so
we had to learn to love the things we could do.
We had to learn, or relearn, to appreciate the
merits of a slower pace – enjoy stillness, savor
quiet time, often alone.
The pandemic expanded our vocabulary.
Before March of 2020, I had not used terms
like PPE, Fomites, Viral load, Contact tracing,
droplet transmission, N95, or even social distancing.
During the first year of the pandemic,
I learned about SARS-CoV2, super-spreaders,
the differences between respirators and ventilators,
Remdesevir, long-haulers, and ways of
flattening a curve.
The pandemic warped our sense of time. Our
familiar ways of organizing time were suspended.
The normal calendar became irrelevant, as
homebound days ran into each other – each
day blending into the next, with little distinction
between them. We woke up every day to
new numbers, unfathomable numbers of those
claimed by the virus. We witnessed suffering
being allocated randomly: Some people contacted
the virus, though they took all necessary
precautions. Some people became gravely ill,
while others had no symptoms whatsoever.
Some people survived, while others – sadly –
did not.
Look back at your own version of coping
with a difficult year:
– How did you navigate your way through
pandemic-ruled days?
¬– How did you weather the hardships?
¬– What and who helped you cope?
Now that the worst may be behind us:
– What are the top items on your post-pandemic
list?
– What do you look forward to?
– What do you most hope for?
With the benefits of hindsight:
– What did you learn about yourself during
the first year of the pandemic?
– What did you know but now know better?
– What lessons will stay with you?
Think of the pandemic year as a chapter in
your life story:
– What would the title of the chapter be?
– What were the worst times? The best
times?
– How did the pandemic affect your relationships
(for better or worse)?
The unique characteristic of anniversaries of
disasters is that they are shared by many. These
events create what is often termed “collective
trauma” – psychological upheaval shared by a
group of people in response to a traumatic event.
The group may be small, like a family, it may be
a community, or it may be an entire society. We
all shared many losses, first hand or vicariously:
16 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ May 2021