{"id":9448,"date":"2019-11-25T14:13:24","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T19:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/?p=9448"},"modified":"2019-11-26T08:48:44","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T13:48:44","slug":"vaccine-defenders-uu-holds-up-zika-is-gone-and-other-id-things-to-be-grateful-for-2019-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/vaccine-defenders-uu-holds-up-zika-is-gone-and-other-id-things-to-be-grateful-for-2019-edition\/2019\/11\/25\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaccine Defenders, U=U Holds Up, Zika Is Gone, and Other ID Things to Be Grateful For, 2019 Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

A High Wind in the Park, London, 1819.<\/p><\/div>\n

An excellent episode<\/a> of the Freakonomics podcast introduced me to the headwinds vs tailwinds asymmetry, and how we humans perceive life.<\/p>\n

It goes like this:\u00a0We go for a walk, a run, or a bike ride, and the wind faces us dead-on, making the exercise a struggle.<\/p>\n

(In windy Boston, the wind is always<\/em> in my face. Always always always.)<\/p>\n

When the route changes, there’s a brief moment of relief, but it’s short-lived. What we remember about the experience is the headwind, certainly not the boost the tailwind might have given us on the way home.<\/p>\n

The researchers on that podcast<\/a> argue that this same blindness to various good things, privileges, and benefits is how we perceive all<\/em> of our life. We’re intrinsically wired to complain about the barriers and struggles.<\/p>\n

In short:<\/p>\n

Barriers and hindrances command attention because they have to be overcome; benefits and resources can often be simply enjoyed and largely ignored.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While evolution might have hard-wired this attitude in us for survival purposes, it can also make us into a bunch of unappreciative whiners.<\/p>\n

Which is why the flip-side — expressing gratitude — is so important. Research consistently shows it makes us happier. And it definitely makes us better company, an important consideration as we approach the holiday season.<\/p>\n

In that spirit, in what’s become a Thanksgiving Holiday tradition, I list below a series of ID\/HIV things to be grateful for in late 2019. And hey, there’s so much<\/em> to be grateful for!<\/a><\/p>\n