WHY IS SOCIAL ISOLATION SO HARD?

Dr. Shari Beecher, PhD.

Now that we’ve been able to get out and interact with others again, it’s important to reflect on our time in isolation and why it’s so difficult to think about doing it again.

All of us were stuck in the house and unable to do the things we love. The restaurants we love to eat at and the shops we usually shop at were closed. It seems like all of us at one point were going crazy trying to figure out what we were supposed to do with our time.

As quarantine came to an end, we couldn’t wait to see our family and friends and go tour favorite places. As humans, we are wired to be socially connected.

Let’s face it, if we were supposed to be the only person in the world, we would be. We live in a world with others. Lots of others and our connection with others is what makes the world go around.

All of us have different jobs and unique talents that make us who we are. Maybe you are good at painting and someone else is good at woodworking. Voilà, you now can work together on a project to complete the new sign for the church.

Now, let us look at how we are made. Think about a newborn baby. The baby is born with no knowledge. Babies growth and learning is 100% shaped with interaction with his/her environment. On a neurological level, the gray matter in a baby’s brain is shaped and matured due to interaction with others. Healthy babies should have a large amount of social and environmental interaction to ensure healthy brain growth.

In the 1990s, researchers studied babies and children in Romanian orphanages. Most of the babies and children were alone in cribs. Findings showed that the majority of the children had stunted growth, mental and emotional problems, and disabilities with language.

According to MRI images, the children’s brains were smaller than normal and had less gray and white matter in their brains. Basically, their brains had stunted development. The lack of interaction with others and their environment as an infant and child completely stunted their brain growth and the results were devastating.

As adults, we use social interaction to avoid threats and pain. With the uncertainty we have in our world, we communicate with others. In quarantine, and even not in quarantine, through phone, text, and email conversations, we try to understand our landscape and how we can minimize our distress from the changes. If our neighbor tells us they went to Atwood’s and no one was social distancing or wearing masks. We use that information to make logical decisions to avoid threats and harm.

For the last month or so, people have been breaking out! They crave social interaction because humans are designed to be social with others. Just think if you didn’t get out and interact. You would have no idea what your favorite flavor of ice cream is or if you like to dance. Social interaction gives us an idea of who we are, what we like to do, and our personality.

It is important to stay safe and healthy and sometimes that means we have to fight our natural desire for social interaction and quarantine from others.