Adjusting to the New Normal: COVID-19 & Mental Health

With vaccination rates increasing, businesses re-opening and countries loosening restrictions, people are slowly emerging from their homes and resuming their daily lives after over one and half years of a global pandemic. While vaccinations have helped to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and substantially reduced the severity, COVID and COVID variants continue to infect those across the globe with no end in sight. Many of us need to mentally prepare for a new normal, as we recognize that life is not the same as it was in the past. Additionally, the pandemic has created uncertainty in nearly every aspect of daily life, and has taken a toll on our mental wellbeing. What effect has the pandemic had on mental health? What are some healthy ways to cope with coronavirus-related anxiety? In this webinar, mental health experts share their insights into the psychological impact of living in a COVID-19 world in Japan and the United States, and how we can best transition to this new way of life.

Speakers:
Jeremy Hunter, Founding Director of the Executive Mind Leadership Institute & Associate Professor of Practice, Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University
Kaori Itokazu, Counselor, Ganjuu Wellbeing Service, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)
Mark James, Philosopher & Cognitive Scientist, Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)

Moderator:
Ramona Handel-Bajema, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer, Japan Society