she knew she had recovered when she finally walked down the stairs at her home and saw her father eating breakfast. After her isolation, rejoining her family for a meal was a powerful memory.

But the germs that kill us during times of plague often spread precisely because of who we are. And so for centuries, our response in a time of plague has been to rediscover the necessity of surrendering these aspects of our nature for a while.

When thoughts of death become more salient, it’s quite natural to grow closer to loved ones in order to form cognitive or physical buffers against the fear of death.

misattribution of arousal