Harvard’s Dr David R Williams focuses on ‘the new normal’ at the Department of Behavioural Sciences Postgraduate Research Conference
Life during the pandemic cause you to have another alcoholic beverage or two over your limit? Those extra drinks may lead to more than a pesky hangover, and those effects can be lasting and devastating. Alcohol is one of many coping mechanisms people have adopted because of COVID-19, meaning it’s one of the consequences of the pandemic and the way we have been required to live these past years. This is the new normal, dealing with the fallout of massive social trauma, and finding new approaches and opportunities to take us forward.
Dr David R Williams, Professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology at Harvard University spoke on the topic in his feature address at the 4th Biennial Department of Behavioural Sciences Postgraduate Research Conference.
The 4th Biennial DBS Conference, themed “Deconstructing the ‘New Normal’: Prospects and Challenges for Caribbean Societies” and held virtually on April 7-8, 2022, was a discussion that invited perspectives on how the two-year pandemic has changed us forever. It also offered academics an opportunity to interrogate those effects while providing strategic interventions to tackle them effectively. The conference afforded current postgraduate students, researchers, and faculty members the opportunity to collaborate and advance critical discussions on such a pertinent topic.
In deconstructing the “new normal”, the Department of Behavioural Sciences recognised that the pandemic itself has caused our society to be put on pause, and has changed us as individuals and as a society. As individuals, we may now be hyper-focused on levels of cleanliness in a way we weren’t before; as a society, there has been an increase in global inequities for many marginalised groups. More so now than ever, the “haves” and “have-nots” are clearly delineated.
As Dr Talia Esnard, Head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences, most eloquently put it in her opening remarks, “We can all understand and appreciate how the pandemic has given us both a curve ball, and it can be seen as a wrecking ball. It also depends on how you look at it and the perspective that you apply, but there is absolutely no doubt that we have all, in one way or the other, been affected by this pandemic.”
In his keynote address, “Improving Health in the Caribbean Region: Challenges and Opportunities”, Dr Williams referenced several studies and data that had some hard truths many of us might wish to ignore. The COVID-19 pandemic has, unfortunately, aggravated the vulnerability of Caribbean citizens to the effects of mental health issues. As a result of this, many vulnerable populations are more likely to experience trauma, whether it be socially, economically, or mentally. What the data also shows is that the pandemic has almost single-handedly aggravated risk factors for non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
The pandemic has seen, to a large extent, increased alcohol consumption worldwide, motivated by the stress of coping with a “once in a lifetime event”.
“But what about that extra drink though?” you might ask. Dr Williams presented research from the UK Independent Scientific Committee (2010 Drugs Ranking) that showed alcohol as the world’s most dangerous drug, with heroin in the number two spot. This bit of information is sobering, but there’s more. A 2011 WHO report on alcohol revealed that alcohol kills more people than AIDS, tuberculosis, or violence, with 2.5 million people dying each year of alcohol-related causes. You may think that you just ‘take a little thing’ every time you lime, and that only alcoholics are affected adversely, but the same 2011 report stated that even a moderate level of alcohol consumption can increase your risk for 60 different diseases (such as breast cancer), and carries a significant social burden on the population. Our coping mechanisms in the Caribbean tend to often involve alcohol and usually have social components. Due to the pandemic’s isolation, quarantine, and social distancing policies, many have begun to imbibe at home in attempts to drown their anxiety, fear, and depression.
As the pandemic has progressed, issues of mental health associated with the lockdown and social restrictions have been exacerbated. Social support has seen decreases as worry and fear for the livelihood of self, family, co-workers, and friends, as well as grief and the loss of loved ones, have all increased. Due to these numerous areas of stress, many have relied on unhealthy behaviours, including increases in alcohol and drug intake, while many reported worsening mental health, undesired weight changes, and disturbed sleep.
Improving health in the Caribbean region does have many opportunities, and Dr Williams was able to reference many. Early intervention programmes for children, upgrading housing conditions, utilising the calming effects of music, re-connecting to a spiritual resource, and even forgiveness are some of the many ways in which health can be improved in our region. Dr Williams outlined that the change relies heavily on changing our own perspectives and the stigma of seeking out mental health services. The stigma against mental health treatment must change for us to see progress towards improving the health of our society.
For Dr Williams, one of the many challenges involves our communication, and how the healthcare system can effect change through communication. “What really works best with the public is narrative. To the extent that we can find true stories so that people can understand it, and empathise, and see the real challenge and need. That can have a huge impact on raising awareness levels. Oftentimes in public health, and among healthcare providers, we just assume that people know much more than they do. The challenge of communication and communicating well and raising awareness levels is really a powerfully important one.”
However, there is hope. According to Dr Acolla Lewis-Cameron, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at The UWI St Augustine Campus, “While this period has been one of hardship, both professionally and personally for many of us, it has presented, and continues to offer a rare opportunity to reflect, reimagine and reset our lives, our businesses, our communities, and our countries.”
