At the start of the pandemic, we did not know what to expect. Horrifying images of mass graves in China, middle aged people in Italy being turned away from overfilled hospitals and portable morgues on the streets of NYC led to a lock-down (at least on the East and West coasts) and paranoia which has led to some sad lingering effects.
Isolation.
We evolved as social beings, relying on each other to survive. As connected as we may feel through social media, this has made us less-connected. There is a direct correlation between social media screen time and depression. There are studies that show that physical and social isolation lead to diminished activity in parts of the brain. In one case study of someone who was in long term isolation in prison (it turns out he was wrongly imprisoned to begin with), when he was released, he had extreme difficulty recognizing faces of familiar people. His difficulties improved but how his brain changed is an example of neuroplasticity. The brain can change in a negative direction and then change back in a positive one once stimulated properly. At ANY age. Even into our 90’s.
We see the same with food. If you consume a lot of sugar, an apple may taste sweet, but if you eat the same apple after a month of eliminating added sugars, the apple tastes much sweeter. The same neural adaptation occurs with salt and fat.
One of the behaviors promoted by the healthcare community, in addition to wearing a mask, washing your hands and not touching your face was “social distancing”. Early on in this pandemic, I heard and adopted the philosophy of “physical distancing” and not “social distancing”. We NEED to be social. Our friends and family need us and we need them. Be together, just apart.
It’s important to ask for help if you need it, and we ALL need help, whether we think so or not.
Although video conferencing is certainly better than nothing, it’s actually not much better than a simple phone call. Studies show that parts of your brain light up to significantly greater degrees when you are in the physical presence of someone than on a video or phone call. A simple touch goes a really long way also. Be together, hug and touch, just do it sensibly. Physical contact leads to release of oxytocin, the “love hormone”, also known as the “cuddle hormone”. If someone has medical issues, maybe be a little more reserved but a hug, out in the open air, masked, facing away from each other is perfectly fine, will result in improved mood and may be the difference between an OK day and an amazing day. And we certainly need more amazing days since there are many more tough days ahead.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the early fall weather.
Stay safe and be well.
AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻♂️🌎😷