WASHINGTON (AP) – Maureen Brennan will spend Christmas with her daughter at her home in Nashua, New Hampshire, after rejecting invitations from other relatives to celebrate with them. Michael Smith will mark the holidays alone in Elko, Nevada, unwilling to risk becoming infected with the coronavirus before he can be vaccinated.
Neither feels overly festive this holiday season, reflecting the mood of many Americans, as a year marked by a national health crisis and economic equilibrium ends with the coronavirus pandemic that it is still out of control. According to a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research this also makes some Americans feel a little sadder, lonely, and less grateful than last year.
Smith, 69, said he usually spends Christmas alone, but the pandemic has been especially difficult because he enjoys frequenting local cafes and chatting with friends and neighbors. The Caribbean cruise that awaits each year, which would have jumped on January 3, was canceled.
So he has stayed home mostly, fearful of what might happen if he infected the virus, due to a one-month hospitalization for pneumonia five years ago.
“I’m stressed that I can’t get in my car and go somewhere,” said Smith, who fills his time by getting on the tractor and doing chores around his property.
Only 22% of Americans say they feel very, very festive this year, down from 49% a year ago. Those who feel festive are usually the least concerned about the virus.
Holidays are always a stressful time, “but now people feel very worn out because that’s been a long time,” said Dr. Karestan Koenen, a professor of psychiatric epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. “Some people are suffering financially and stimulus controls are running out.”
The pandemic, which has driven health care systems to the brink, has left millions of jobs and killed more than 310,000 in the United States, is casting a long shadow, with research showing it has affected the mental health of Americans. ..
About 4 out of ten Americans are still very worried that they or some family member are infected, with about three-quarters at least a little worried. The coronavirus vaccine has closed the year with some hope, but the survey found that only half of Americans are ready to be vaccinated immediately, with the rest unsafe or disinterested. The survey was conducted shortly before the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was released for emergency use.
Overall, half of Americans claim to be at least a little lonely this holiday season, up from 41% last year. Fifty-two percent say they are at least a little sad, compared to 44% last year.
Adults under the age of 30 are more likely than adults to say they feel very sad or alone and feel more of these emotions this year than last year.
Koenen said it is a time when young adults would normally start their independent lives. But now it is possible that graduation ceremonies have been canceled, that they are forced to live with their families and that it can be difficult to find work due to the slowdown in the economy.
For those living alone, it’s “very difficult right now (because) you’re literally alone all the time,” he said.
Brennan, 76, said he was lucky to have the company of his adult daughter and hadn’t cared much about the virus until the number of infections and deaths began to rise in recent weeks. She and her daughter have been cautious, wearing masks and sponsoring the same stores to minimize potential exposure.
“But when the numbers started to rise again … I felt a sense of foreboding, especially watching what was going on around (the city) with the lack of rigor and the lack of dressing in masks,” he said. say Brennan, a retired health worker, who said he has stocked up on bakery products and other favorites to get from house to house.
Both Brennan, whose husband died five years ago, and Smith said they have found satisfaction in helping others, rather than stopping at what they cannot do.
“It’s important to take care of those who need it absolutely and those who only need it temporarily,” said Brennan, who has donated to Nashua’s soup and children’s home.
Smith said he helped a couple of families, including a waiter at a cafe he frequents, who were struggling because of the loss of wages during the pandemic. Come January, donate to the local food bank.
Still, only 37% of Americans say they feel especially generous, compared to 52% last year.
Americans are also less likely to say they feel very grateful, even though a 60% majority still say so, down from 73% a year ago.
Last year, similar majorities between ages and races said they were grateful. Now, older Americans and black Americans are especially prone to say so. Koenen said it could be a reflection of his experiences.
“Maybe they’re grateful to continue here and maybe a longer life gives a perspective,” Koenen said. “We know that gratitude increases resilience and mental health.”
Focusing on gratitude can help reduce anxiety, as well as find ways to help others, Koenen said. “A lot of people felt powerless … but I think people feel better if they can do something,” he said.
Brennan said she has chosen to focus on the positive things, keeps pace with what’s going on in her community, and keeps in touch with friends, even though they can’t visit her.
“A lot is attitude,” he said. “You have to be very realistic about it, but it’s not easy.”
And Smith is more hopeful now that coronavirus vaccines have been approved.
“I hope (the time) when most of us will have had the vaccine,” he said. “Then we should come back to life.”
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Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan.
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,117 adults was conducted Dec. 3-7 using a sample drawn from the AmeriSpeak panel based on NORC probabilities, designed to be representative of the American population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is approximately 3.9 percentage points.
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AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.