It took only seven months between German Health Minister Lauterbach erroneously claiming Germany had “successfully overcome the pandemic” and districts making the default policy a mask BAN.
I had a disturbing conversation this evening with a friend of 20 years.
This is someone hyper rational who has a terminal degree in a quant field.
Someone whose progressive credentials would usually put me to shame any day of the week.
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@awsparling And there is some lingering resentment about being given less commingled with a subtle shame about that avoidance.
@awsparling I heard reactance in the answers. Lots of quiet messaging about not wanting to deprive their child of experiences, but the examples were mostly parent centred.
The unspoken part that I sensed was the tension of knowing about risk and fearing a return to childhood patterns.
There is a lot of misinformation circulating about the role of “shame” in public health messaging.
What works in eliciting behaviour change?
Educating others about downstream impacts to others and introducing moral dimension to compliance.
Some literature follows. 🧵
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Bonding with others and taking their perspective (inter subjective empathy) during stressful events leads to increased behavioural compliance.
The healthy (and effective) cousin of shame is prosocial cuing before a target behaviour.
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This is why campaigns related to behaviour causing bystander harm (eg speeding, drunk driving, condom use) frame messaging around preventing suffering to others.
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I thought I’d share a little personal year-end practice from our family. Hopefully it can bring you happiness and deep connections, too!
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Therapy related to attachment often includes an activity that involves imagining an ideal parent.
I believe this tool isn’t just reparative for past attachment injury, but can also be a powerful avenue to become the best parents we can be for our own children, now.
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Dr. Brown at Harvard literally wrote the book on attachment injury in adults. (The flip side of secure attachment.)
In the clip below, he guides the viewer through a brief visualization of the ideal parent.
Scenario: Getting a flu shot at the local pharmacy. Pharmacist and our group are masked.
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Young dad walks in, unmasked. I overhear that he has a sick toddler at home and is trying to select an analgesic with the pharmacist.
I tell him I hope his little one feels better soon.
Dad tells me he has 3 kids - all sick continuously for over a month. He was just sick.
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I explain that Covid is making life so hard for families, and that immune deficits can persist in adults for upwards of 8 months, making them susceptible to flu, RSV, colds, and Covid reinfection.