January 30, 2022: Relieves Distress -

In the 1918 pandemic, people hoarded Vicks VapoRub, spread conspiracy theories and touted quack cures. They refused to follow health guidelines. In pandemics before and since, folk remedies sprang up. Some people were hyper-vigilant (“monitors”); others minimized or ignored the danger (“blunters”).

I just finished The Psychology of Pandemics, by Steven Taylor, which came out in October, 2019 - so RIGHT before the pan hit the fan.

You’d think it was written today, but he never mentions Zoom.

I recommend it, if you like that sort of thing, as I do. It’s comforting to see that we didn’t invent any of the individual or societal nuttiness we’ve endured, and it’s calming to note that people who display “reactance” (not listening to authority, not protecting others, not getting vaccinated) have always been with us. Affirming what seems pretty clear by now, Taylor reports that there is no known public-health strategy that will successfully change the beliefs or behaviors of the group of people who will display reactance.

One on one, sometimes listening, or therapy, can be successful. Taylor is a fan of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), but he knows – and so do we! - that getting millions of people into therapy against their will seems unlikely. Especially reactant people. Also, information campaigns and scare tactics have been proven ineffective, or even counterproductive.

We knew all of this before COVID, turns out.

Oh, wait, one exception on the unchanging-behavior front: during some recent pandemic (SARS? H1N1? I forget), somewhere, they tried drawing a PAIR OF EYES on the “Please wash your hands” signs over restroom sinks. And handwashing increased!

That was pretty much the big public health success in behavior change.

But back to Vicks VapoRub (punctuation is correct: no apostrophe, no hyphen.)

We have two jars. One might date from 1918. The historic label says it “RELIEVES DISTRESS OF COLDS.” (There is no reason we have two jars of Vicks VapoRub. It’s just our house.) The older jar of Vicks VapoRub never empties, even though it’s only fun-size. It’s like Chanukah in the medicine cabinet.

I’m repeating the name of Vicks VapoRub a lot, to snag the attention of The Algorithm. I self-identified as a mature woman in that post about my red boots. The FB ads since have been brutal. Every morning, I fumigate.

I would tell you about the ads, except there’s no reason to get them stuck in your craw. I’m taking this one, team. Let’s just say they are not targeted at the generic “mature human of EITHER sex.”

YOOHOO, MR. ALGORITHM! Over here! Tempt me to buy more decongestants! Please! I don’t care how gross the decongestant ads are! They will be an improvement.

I could of course quit FB, but Steven Taylor, in his caring-clinician role, doesn’t recommend that for me. He says that in “the next pandemic” (aka, our “current pandemic”), having an “active social media presence” might improve the mental health of individuals struggling with isolation, quarantine, distancing, loss, grief, and/or the cancelation of group activities

This is a reminder that I meant to thank you who have kept me company, these long months. Many thanks.