I told a bird to shut up today. My husband’s reaction was, “May I assume that you are fed up with being isolated?” I had to laugh because he was right. The poor bird was singing a lovely song but I was feeling crabby and out of sorts.
How about you? Is all this confinement getting to you? Are you feeling short-tempered, depressed, anxious or forgetful? Don’t think it’s just you. It turns out that these are “natural” reactions to being confined alone or in a small group.
Recently, I had to go out for a doctor’s appointment and to do a few errands. In the short time I was out: a lady complimented my shirt, fellow shoppers smiled at me from under their masks, the checker cracked jokes and made me laugh and the cart sanitizer smiled and said “God bless you”. My mood went from sour to sweet.
I had missed these brief encounters from normal, daily life. I think we underestimate the power of human contact until we don’t have it anymore.
I have to admit that I am an introvert by nature. I recharge by being alone. And yet, I’m really suffering from all this stuck-at-home time. I need my people. I need hugs and lunches out and coffee chats.
Perhaps, you too are feeling this way, so I did a little research on the importance of human interaction.
The majority of articles that popped up were studies done on solitary confinement, or the “lack of human interaction”. They say that the worst kind of torture is solitary confinement. (By the way, their definition of solitary confinement was: rare glimpses of other people, brief encounters with guards and video conferences with friends and family members. Sound familiar?).
The practice of incarcerating prisoners in solitary confinement started in the 1800’s. They believed that doing so would help to rehabilitate convicts. But, further tests showed the opposite to be true. In fact, studies showed that solitary confinement was so egregious a punishment that in 2011 the UN condemned its use.
And, yet here we are living a version of it. Sure, many of us are in cell blocks with other imprisoned jailbirds, but some of them are really getting on our nerves!
Here are some nuggets I gleaned from the articles I read:
- Having limited human exposure can cause psychological effects in as little as 15 days.
- Human beings are social creatures. Without the benefit of other people to “bounce off of”, our mind decays quite quickly.
- Isolation and loss of control breeds anger, anxiety and hopelessness.
- Cognitive disturbances are another effect (short attention spans, poor concentration and memory, etc.).
- Isolation can cause hypersensitivity to noises and smells.
- You can actually get physically sick from having only limited exposure to people.
- Perhaps, most troubling of all is the high rate of self-harm (cutting and suicide attempts) that result from being isolated.
I share what I learned with you, not to make you feel worse, but to validate any feelings you may be having. What you’re feeling is a normal response to this situation. You are not crazy, you are not weird. You’re reacting in a typical way to social isolation.
When this is over I’ll cherish the feel of hugs, I’ll appreciate restaurants serving me food I don’t have to make and I’ll savor face-to-face visits with loved ones. So, maybe this was all worth it? Nah! But, I will treasure the new appreciation I have for human interaction and a life of freedom.
Please note: this is in no way an editorial on the efficacy of the lockdown. Our beliefs in the pros and cons of social-distancing is way too divisive. We need more things that bring us together and unite us right now. We are in this together.
Read more of Ann’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
