Conversely, resilience to illness is associated with social connectedness, social support, positive affect, and a high quality relationship with parents in childhood. Such findings suggest that psychological interventions can have biological impacts. /5

Of course, stress reduction & other psychological caretaking should not replace handwashing, physical distancing, etc. But it may be biologically justified to reduce stress, loneliness, & negative affect, while increasing a feeling of social belonging & positive affect. /6

We don’t yet know if these sorts of findings apply to Covid-19 or generalize to a pandemic. But they provide a solid foundation for hypotheses to test. By ignoring this research, we miss a golden opportunity to make game-changing and potentially life-saving discoveries. /7

As more people lose their jobs, this research becomes even more relevant. It also helps to explain (& could have been used to predict) recent evidence that Covid-19 exposure is more lethal for people who experience social & economic disadvantage. /8 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/07/coronavirus-is-infecting-killing-black-americans-an-alarmingly-high-rate-post-analysis-shows/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/20...

What you think & feel, & how you experience the world, translates into vulnerabilities for illness. Research that acknowledges these links could prove vital to epidemiologists, virologists, & other biologists on the front lines of dealing with this pandemic. /9

As research continues to dissolve the illusory boundaries between the mental and the physical, psychological scientists have an opportunity to remedy the media& #39;s current blind spot and create opportunities for discovery that could ultimately save lives. /10