'Phantom Covid Syndrome'...the mental itch of 'belonging and overcoming'

The ‘sudden’ massive Covid virus surge blankets over Beijing and all over China in matter of days and is exposing once again cultural and social characteristics how people in different cultures and societies deal with wide-spread and sudden challenges.

The people’s social environments in China started to roll in no time when the government took their hands off the Covid measures, people bracing up for infections, equipping themselves, family and friends with medicines and self-test kits until sold out. Self-quarantine at home, it was never so quiet in the Beijing streets during government-imposed Covid measures. And keeping each other updated on social media about how bad it feels, what to do, and sharing experiences. Certainly with lots of irony and humor as well along the serious notes.

The ‘Covid community feel’ even comes to a point if people don’t have Covid (yet), they feel a kind of lost and left out from the fast growing ‘Covid community’. Feeling urged, restless and fantasizing to live the ‘𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲’, mentally feeling the symptoms and a kind of belonging to but also agitation for the ‘𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱-𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱’ 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. Chinese social media is not short of ironic humor, to say the least.

The current Covid infection surge in China is not a light-hearted development, it definitely affects many families with serious issues including also significant numbers of deaths expected, especially among elderly during coming months.

Though it is remarkable to see how people in distinctively different cultures and societies deal with sudden changes and challenges in own ways, among each other and individually, emotionally and rationally.

A tough winter of belonging, agitation and moving forward to glimpses of a new spring…

#china #china2022 #china2023 #beijing #covid19 #pandemic #crosscultural #culturalawareness