How To Cope In A Crisis

Plus: Future-Proofing The Office

Shots Neha Gupta/Getty Images Help A Loved One — Or Yourself — Get Through Rough Times Sometimes when someone we know is struggling, it's hard to figure out how help. Sometimes we don't know how to help ourselves. Writer Terri Cheney has been there. She says learning to cope with bipolar disorder for decades has given her insights into how to handle the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic.  We need to have compassion with ourselves and others, she says, and if someone is having a hard time, try to resist the impulse to give advice. Instead draw them out and give them a chance to open up. Because when "they can express some of the darkness that's inside them and it dissipates when it hits the light," she says. Read on for more advice for dealing with the emotional turmoil of the current crisis.  BONUS: How to help a child struggling with anxiety Newsletter continues after sponsor message enjoynz/Getty Images  Researchers May Have Found A Drug-Free Way To Alter Consciousness In pursuit of treatments for mental illness, researchers are studying all sorts of drugs that affect the brain, including some psychoactive ones like ketamine. Now researchers have discovered a way to mimic the mind-altering effects of the drug ketamine by inducing a particular rhythm in one area of the brain.  The finding could be a step toward finding non-drug methods to control states of consciousness -- and even pain.  "In the operating room we'd love to have a drug like ketamine that just produces the pain-killing properties without having these other psychological manifestations," says Dr. Ken Solt, an anesthesiologist at Harvard Medical School.  Read more about this breakthrough and what it tells scientists about the human brain. BONUS: How ketamine changed one man's life for good Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images More Nature, Less Dystopia. Redesigning The Office For The Next 100-Year Flu Office designers are scrambling now to try to get office workers safely back to their desks. But after the immediate threat of the coronavirus has passed, which short-term fixes will be part of the new normal? And what other design changes could be coming our way? While the scale of the current pandemic is new, the need for architects to prioritize human health is not, says Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, director of the Institute for Health in the Built Environment. "We've designed buildings for 100-year floods," he says. "Now we have to learn to design for the 100-year flu." Read on to learn the new ideas for building design that may soon show up in an office building near you. More of this week's health stories from NPR Is junk food as dangerous as smoking? In parts of Mexico, minors will be banned from buying soda and candy Six months into a pandemic, why can’t the U.S. make enough N95 masks? Should you wear disposable coveralls to stay safe on a plane?   We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism on Shots and follow us on Twitter at @NPRHealth. Your Shots editor, Carmel Wroth What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: shots@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Goats & Soda, Daily News, Best of NPR and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Health emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy