It can begin almost imperceptibly, with the turning of the leaves or the first heat of summer, an ambient anxiety with no clear cause. Other times the feeling comes on suddenly, when a news story about the disaster’s anniversary stirs memories of trauma. Some people have nightmares or flashbacks. After 9/11, PTSD rates crested at the one-year mark. Psychologists call this phenomenon the “anniversary reaction.

Updated at 2:30 p.m. ET on March 11, 2020.BRADDOCK, Pa.—John Fetterman didn’t grow up with anyone who had a biker-bar bouncer’s chin beard or who wore work shirts and shorts in February. He didn’t grow up committed to LGBTQ rights and legalizing marijuana and a living wage. The Pennsylvania lieutenant governor and Democratic candidate for the U.S.

The deadliest virus in history was variola. For thousands of years, it stalked humanity, causing smallpox, a horrific fate. An infected person’s skin would suddenly erupt in blisters, papules, and vesicles. These would sometimes cover the eyes, and could grow together until the skin fell off, or fill with blood, or turn gray as the person bled internally. In the 20th century alone, the disease killed some 300 million people. Many survivors were scarred or blinded.

During the winter months, the small classroom smelled of wood and heat. Three rows of desks faced the door, and before class began I would rearrange some of them into a circle. Different shades of forest green hugged the walls, the remnants of years of paint jobs done with varying levels of proficiency and care. On bright mornings, the sun sliced through two large windows and bathed the classroom in the day’s new light.