The daily grind

Doomsurfer

It is funny how quickly wars and disasters contribute to the general lexicon. I learned this new word today, doomsurfing. It came out of an article hidden behind the New York Times paywall for many of you.

During these Covid times dentists are seeing an epidemic of cracked teeth.

...when I reopened my practice in early June, the fractures started coming in: at least one a day, every single day that I’ve been in the office. On average, I’m seeing three to four; the bad days are six-plus fractures.
What’s going on?
One obvious answer is stress. From Covid-induced nightmares to “doomsurfing” to “coronaphobia,” it’s no secret that pandemic-related anxiety is affecting our collective mental health. That stress, in turn, leads to clenching and grinding, which can damage the teeth.

According to Merriam Webster, Doomsurfing is a new term for that feeling when you can’t stop scrolling down Twitter, or reading news that you know will make you sad, anxious, or angry. It is a close cousin to doomscrolling.

The dentist also said we are sitting around too much in bad positions, it is causing TMJ and we aren't getting enough sleep worrying all the time.

...most of us aren’t getting the restorative sleep we need. Since the onset of the pandemic, I’ve listened to patient after patient describe sudden restlessness and insomnia. These are hallmarks of an overactive or dominant sympathetic nervous system, which drives the body’s “fight or flight” response. Think of a gladiator preparing for battle: balling his fists, clenching his jaw. Because of the stress of coronavirus, the body stays in a battle-ready state of arousal, instead of resting and recharging. All that tension goes straight to the teeth.

Let's all try to chill people. It's only a movie and I've seen the script, you win in the end.