The Positive Psychology and Wellbeing Research Lab Newsletter Issue#5

Issue 5, Fall 2020

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Newsletter

Inside

• We salute the Government!

• Covid-19 response by the community • Student campaigns and research

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Letter from the founder Dr Saddiga Jaber AIGhalib

2020 has certainly been a trying year. For many of us it was the first time we experienced a pandemic with such far reaching effects. The year started with uncertainty and fear of the unknown as the virus was still being researched. It felt confusing and nerve wrecking to receive changing guidelines from health authorities in the initial stages of the pandemic.

Sadly, almost 2 million people have lost their lives because of the Covid-19 virus. Some of us may have lost loved ones to this crisis and others may have been separated from their loved ones because of the lockdown. This crisis has unfortunately affected all facets of life; emotional, mental, social, and financial. One year on and many of us are still recovering from this impact. We are together in our grief and together we will fight to support and cheer each other.

As difficult as this year has been, we are much better and much stronger now than when we started. In Saudi Arabia, the pandemic is under control and the number of infections is reducing every day. Hats off to the government and medical professionals for their swift and effective response to the crisis. They have handled the pandemic much better and more efficiently than most countries. With the vaccination drive underway, we are hopeful for a much better future ahead.

This edition of our newsletter will focus on efforts and campaigns by the government, organizations, and individuals to cope with the crisis. We will also present research done by Psychology students regarding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and how people coped with it. We are also proud to showcase student campaigns to raise awareness on many essential topics.

We hope you have a great time reading the newsletter!