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Social Isolation Will Kill Us All
While the majority of the world has entered a state of emergency, there’s more than just a biological threat to the human race.
As social creatures, we thrive in environments where there are interactions with other people. We are born into social groups and live our entire lives learning how to communicate with family, friends, colleagues, and other members of society.
Being social is the dominant force that drives our thoughts, behavior, actions, and neural activity.
So, what happens to us when our day-to-day social activities are forced to abruptly stop due to quarantine and the potential threat of social isolation?
Research on Social Isolation
How we perceive social isolation can have a direct impact on our mental health. Obviously, personalities differ between people.
Some of us enjoy our time alone and can adapt to longer periods with minimal social contact. While others, who rely heavily on social interactions, may experience a rapid decline in health and happiness.
In a study that used a self-assessment to measure loneliness, people who were forced to move reported higher feelings of loneliness and lower mental health scores. Being forced to relocate is an “event that separates some individuals from their…
