We’re all just trying to get by
Pandemic shaming doesn’t work. In fact, it can be harmful. HIV prevention specialists have already weighed in on this. If you want a specific example, consider my paternal grandmother, an...
Category: Mental health
It’s not always about you, dammit — and that’s a good thing
When I started this column about mental health in America, I never could have predicted just how insanely bizarre the year that lay ahead would be. It’s not time to take stock yet — more...
When the impossible no longer exists and Mondays offer a new opportunity
Overcoming obstacles seems to be the premise of the year 2020. For many, the different events have become challenges that are seen as insurmountable at first, but after a while we manage to overcome...
Only connect!
I’m writing this column from a place of profound personal despair and exhaustion. Forget knowing what the country will look like in the coming weeks — I have no idea what my own life will look...
The rituals of October
When I used to work in Russia, I noticed that Russians aren’t very big on the horror genre — certainly not as big as Americans are. It made sense. Real life in Russia can be spooky enough,...
The different faces of fear in coronavirus times
This is a strange and difficult year, and we have experienced many changes that have altered our perceptions about life. Although quarantine has been relaxed in some countries, the coronavirus is...
Doomscrolling is not a moral requirement
I’m going to be honest — I think it’s very hard for most regular people to keep it together this year, even the ones rushing to call themselves “lucky” and to explain that they are much...
Yes, we CAN be nuanced about isolation
In spite of what never-ending social media hysteria has taught us, it is, in fact, possible to walk and chew gum at the same time. To that end — it’s possible to grasp that lockdowns and social...
Containing mysteries
One of my favorite characters in literature is Fyodor Dolokhov in Lev Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” — a seemingly terrible, cold, and profoundly calculating man who is nevertheless capable of...
No, voting is not about making yourself look good
I’m going to get right to the point — watching people complain on Twitter about how their perfect candidate did not get the Democratic nomination annoys the living shit out of me. It wouldn’t...