The COVID-19 pandemic feels like a life time ago. Yet, when we look back, some of our experiences seem so vivid, it’s as if they just happened yesterday. The compounded feelings of anxiety, fear, helplessness, loneliness, and boredom from that time may occasionally come back like a dark cloud overhead. For some, the loss and devastation they experienced during the pandemic remain as the lasting pain in their life.

Research has begun to examine the unique characteristics of memories from the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings reveal individual and group differences in how people remember things happening during this horrific period. More important, the memories have important implications for one’s sense of self and well-being.

Characteristics of memories from the pandemic

People often report that their memories for what they experienced during the pandemic are blurry, but important to them. Compared with memories from before and after the pandemic, pandemic memories are often less detailed, less about specific events and more about general routines, and more emotionally negative. The memories often focus on pandemic experiences such as quarantine, social distancing, sickness, and financial hardship. There are also positive memories that focus on relationships and work-life balance.

Critically, people who include more negative affect in their memories and who remember more details about the pandemic and the lockdown show worse psychological well-being. On the other hand, positive framing of the experiences and making sense of what happened are linked to better psychological adjustments. Frequently sharing important experiences with others also positively predicts mental health. Additionally, there are special types of memories from the pandemic that are associated with well-being.

Memory about social distancing

Social distancing was a critical measure during the COVID-19 pandemic to contain the infection. At the initial implementation, it generated a great deal of anxiety and distress from health professionals and the general public for its potential consequences in loneliness, social isolation, and ill-being. However, the stress over social distancing was not shared in many Asian cultures where relationships are not similarly threatened by the restriction to in-person interactions.

The different cultural attitudes toward social distancing and its consequences can influence how people appraise the situation and, in turn, how they remember their experiences, even in the same country where people went through similar social distancing measures. Compared with White Americans, Asian Americans remember more positive experiences related to social distancing, and having positive social-distancing memories is associated with well-being among Asian Americans. African Americans also recall more positive social-distancing memories than White Americans.

Pandemic memories about the self and others

We not just remember our own experiences from the pandemic, but we also have important memories focusing on others, especially family members and friends. Both kinds of memories, autobiographical and vicarious, are important for our self-identity and well-being.

Interestingly, in the Western cultural context that emphasizes individuality and uniqueness, people view vicarious memories as less important than autobiographical memories for themselves and their relationships. Accordingly, when remembering the pandemic, Americans remember more experiences about themselves than about others; and the higher their self-esteem, the more likely they are to recall autobiographical memories over vicarious memories.

In comparison, in the Asian cultural context that emphasizes interdependence and collective goals, people often attend equally to things happening to themselves and others. Accordingly, Chinese recall similar numbers of autobiographical and vicarious memories from the pandemic, and remembering their own experiences (vs. others’) does not benefit their self-esteem.

Memories for national events during the pandemic

Many important national events took place during the pandemic, and memories for these events are important for our collective identity. National events that we directly experienced and those that disrupted our daily lives for extended periods can become part of our personal history.

As one may expect, memories for national events from the pandemic are dominated by COVID-related events of infections and lockdown. Among Americans, elections, social upheavals, and financial/economic issues are frequent topics. Chinese attribute great control to their government about what happened in the country during the time, which in turn predicts individual well-being. In addition, Chinese remember more positive national events from the pandemic than Americans, and Americans report that their memories feel farther away in time than Chinese. In both countries, people who frequently share national events with others, who view the events as personally important, and who have strong emotional reactions to the events show better psychological well-being.

Gender differences

The COVID-19 pandemic took a greater psychological toll on women, who experienced greater distress and mental health issues than did men. While psychological well-being decreased over time during the pandemic, females, especially adolescent females, fared the worst.

When remembering the pandemic, females often provide lengthier, more detailed, and more emotional memories and focus more on relationships than males. Females also view their pandemic memories as more personally important than males. Remembering negative experiences from the pandemic is associated with lower well-being particularly among females, while sharing memories with others facilitates well-being for both genders.

Conclusion

While the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, it continues to impact our sense of self and well-being through remembrance and recollection. To attenuate the negative psychological consequences of the pandemic, it is important to understand aspects of memory that play particularly important roles in our making sense of the pandemic experiences. It is also important to take into account individual, gender, and cultural characteristics that shape the link between memory and well-being.