Beyond the health, social and economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are also enormous psychological implications, the extent of which are yet to be fully understood. Last week, Thomas Schaefer, finance minister of Germany's Hesse state, took his own life, apparently after expressing despair concerning the pandemic. Several nations are also reporting a dramatic increase in domestic violence related to the lockdown. Levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness and insomnia have all risen, and those with pre-existing mental health conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive and health anxiety disorder, are having a particularly hard time.
While the research of bio-scientists and the work of healthcare professionals is of the highest importance right now, exploring the psychological aspects of the pandemic can also be helpful. Understanding people's behaviours, intentions and emotional states can enlighten and enrich our public health strategies. This knowledge can also inform the way we frame our health messages, and the type of services we offer to people. Good examples of psychology's response to the Covid-19 pandemic are already emerging.
A study led by Prof Richard Bentall at the University of Sheffield is looking at the psychological effects of Covid-19 on the general public. Out of more than 2,000 respondents, about 25 per cent had not yet wholly refrained from panic buying. Furthermore, at least 30 per cent were less than definite about opting to be vaccinated against Covid-19, if a vaccine were available. People fear coronavirus, but for whatever reason, some of us also fear vaccines.
Understanding who is most resilient and why can help shape public health strategy
This ongoing UK research also explored the emotional effects of the pandemic. The study started on March 23, before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown. After this announcement, there was a massive spike in the levels of depression and anxiety symptoms being reported. The spike had partially decreased by March 25, but remained relatively high during the rest of the week. What we know from this research is that some groups are more badly psychologically affected than others, for example, people with young children and those with a prior history of mental health problems.
This study will soon be expanded to several other nations, including Saudi Arabia, India and Spain. This type of research will ultimately give us an idea about the mental health effects of the pandemic. It will also tell us which groups are at heightened risk and which are most resilient to the psychological fallout. Understanding who is most resilient and why can help shape public health strategy. Knowing who is at heightened risk can also help us better target our support and preventive interventions.
Beyond research, psychologists have also been responding to the crisis by offering services and support online. While online counselling and psychotherapy are nothing new, the up-scaling of some operations is unprecedented. The Oxford University Centre for Mindfulness, for example, has started offering weekly online mindfulness sessions, free and open to the public. Based on demand during week one, they had to increase their capacity to 1,000 participants at a time.
Making such a programme widely available is a good move. Mindfulness helps reduce stress and stress hormones, thereby providing a boost to the immune system. It can also lead to people becoming less irritable and stress-reactive, which might help make lockdown more bearable for those who are struggling. Research also suggests mindfulness can help with insomnia, which can become a concern while working from home, especially if we are not getting our usual dose of fresh air and exercise.
Our team at Zayed University have started offering online mindfulness sessions for staff and faculty, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, despite the occasional technical glitches. Preserving and creating a sense of community and belonging through shared online activity is particularly essential and health-promoting right now.
Shaping government initiatives aimed at influencing or changing the public's behaviour is another area where psychology can make a significant contribution to the current crisis. In recent years, governments have increasingly turned to psychologists for "behavioural insights".
The UK government, for example, set up the behavioural insights team, unofficially known as the "Nudge Unit". Such groups have demonstrated time and again that doing things just a little bit differently can have a considerable effect – nudge them in the desired direction, if you will. For a simple example, having people opt out of organ donation rather than opt in massively increases the number of organ donors in the population.
The insights that these teams bring to the table are based on decades of psychological research into human behaviour and our decision-making processes, both rational (like washing hands) and irrational (hoarding toilet paper). As this crisis unfolds, we may well further benefit from this area of psychology. We don't know the future, but we do know a bit about human nature – at least enough to make some useful predictions that we can scientifically test.
Justin Thomas is a psychology professor at Zayed University
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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SPECS
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The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
England's Ashes squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
The%20new%20Turing%20Test
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Squads
India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur
West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
SPECS
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Scores
Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
