Social Distancing and Isolation: Did we take it too far?

The Covid-19 pandemic has compelled mankind to resort to something that is not quite natural to the genetics of a social species- to practice social distancing. Staying away from each other and avoiding large gatherings and close contact with other human beings is a very important step towards preventing the spread of the highly contagious Coronavirus disease, however, it is certainly not very easy. Though important given the present pandemic, isolation comes with severe side-effects, and the ability to handle the dissociation and distress largely varies from person to person. One must remember that every individual lives with his own status of mental health and the ability to cope up after having been socially dissociated significantly drops in the cases wherein the individual is predisposed with anxiety, stress, substance abuse, or other health problems (Sikali, 2020).

Human beings are remarkable species and have the ability to endure the toughest situations, however, one thing that helps this species to overcome adversities is optimism. Optimism keeps up the psychological health of the individuals and makes them believe that they would survive. Optimism, however, comes with social support and one might need his family and friends to stand by him during testing times. The degeneration of social support eventually breaks down the level of optimism and people become prone to social exclusion, loneliness, stress, and even physiological disorders.

Humans, as social beings, are currently experiencing increased social rejection and growing individualism along with a loss of the sense of community which adversely affects the physical and mental harmony of an individual – after all, socializing is a fundamental human need. Fear of being infected by the virus has also brought along the fear of other people which is, psychologically, a great cause of concern. There is a possibility that this psychological impact of the fear of other people can be carried through time and might become the new normal, even after the end of the pandemic.

Humans are known to work in groups and survive in social clusters (Sikali, 2020). Verbal communication and social interactions are the only characteristic traits that significantly distinguish humans from other species. Our lives are largely affected by our social interactions and the bind that we share with other humans through such interactions. Analogous to all the fundamental needs of human beings, the need to socialize is associated with increased positivity leading to positive physical and mental health outcomes (Orben et al, 2020). Children and young adults are most affected by the side effects of social distancing as isolation adversely affects their ability to make quality social connections leading to a feeling of being deprived of social support and relationships. Long term consequences can even be more detrimental and might also affect the mental health as children and young adults are hypersensitive to social stimuli as well as to the adverse effects of social exclusion (Orben et al., 2020).

In this purview, it is important to acknowledge that social exclusion has detrimental effects on the mental as well as physical well-being of the social communities. Socialization is a basic human need and measures must be taken to bridge the gap wherever possible. Online interaction is one of the methods that people might use to mitigate the ill effects of isolation, however, it might not replace the feeling and outcomes of physical interaction. Social distancing must be enforced, however, only to a required extent. The social extent of the human relationship must be preserved and strengthened to protect those who are most vulnerable to the effects of social exclusion (Galea et al., 2020).

References

Galea, S., Merchant, R. M., & Lurie, N. (2020). The mental health consequences of COVID-19 and physical distancing: The need for prevention and early intervention. JAMA internal medicine, 180(6), 817-818.

Orben, A., Tomova, L., & Blakemore, S. J. (2020). The effects of social deprivation on adolescent development and mental health. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

Sikali, K. (2020). The dangers of social distancing: How COVID‐19 can reshape our social experience. Journal of Community Psychology.