Social isolation has become a normal state of living for the world’s population in recent years. For many people, confinement has become a highly stressful situation, triggering their mental health issues, while for others became an opportunity to learn and grow. The recent article reviewed explores the impact of social isolation on a person, providing reliable data on the exact effect of such a notion on people and coping mechanisms to reduce its influence. This essay will summarize the story, adding relevant scientific evidence to ensure the credibility of the article.
Peterson, the author of the article, focused on the challenges the world faced with the pandemic’s restriction on social isolation, inviting Emilie Kossick, the manager of the Canadian Institute of Public Safety Research and Treatment, to talk about the notion from a doctoral perspective. The expert proceeded to state that social desolation has been a significant problem long before the lockdowns, providing examples such as the conditions of astronauts and older adults’ loneliness in care facilities, explaining that it did not receive much attention from researchers until COVID-19 (Peterson, 2021). For that reason, there are currently many available pieces of research that can help facilitate people endure the effects of communication limitations.
Among the physiological consequences of long-term isolation, Kossick indicates sleep pattern impairments and personality changes, in particular, the development of anxiety and depression. Indeed, multiple studies confirm the risks of mental health decrease, especially among children and adolescents who are constantly in need of socialization (Loades et al., 2020). The expert explains such impact to be caused by a decrease in brain activity in areas responsible for social skills and emotions. Therefore, social isolation negatively affects brain functions, causing multiple mental shifts.
Not only social functions are impacted by long-term confinement, but there is also a high possibility of developing chronic diseases as a result of low physical activity and the lack of socialization. Kossick offers the theory that the emergence of a higher likelihood of stroke, dementia, and heart diseases from isolation is attributed to human evolution as social creatures (Peterson, 2021). People continually interact with others, whether they want it or not, and instant depravity from such socialization radically affects mental and physical health.
Since the brain is not accustomed to functioning without interaction, people experience unpleasant consequences. Studies with certain participants confirmed that isolation evokes frustration, distresses the routine, and causes boredom (Brooks et al., 2020). Therefore, the author’s advice is to create a coping strategy to reduce the negative impact of isolation. She proposes to constantly plan one’s day, including hobbies and physical activities in daily life, as well as to keep in touch with friends and family (Peterson, 2021). Even though self-isolation is challenging for each person during the pandemic, as Kossick stated in the article, it is necessary to learn from such experience.
The article by Peterson is of utmost importance for all people who have experienced a decrease in their mental or physical health during the pandemic. It explains the most essential factors that influence a person’s state and why such a thing happens. Moreover, the author offers strategies that can facilitate coping with isolation and reduce its negative impact. Although the articles on the pandemic’s evolution can be frequently encountered, they rarely focus on the condition of healthy individuals. Mental and physical health must become a general priority during the lockdown, and to this end, Peterson’s article helps explain the symptoms people might experience and suggests the mechanisms to remain sane.
References
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence.The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. Web.
Loades, M. E., Chatburn, E., Higson-Sweeney, N., Reynolds, S., Shafran, R., Brigden, A., Linney, C., McManus, M. N., Borwick, C., & Crawley, E. (2020). Rapid systematic review: The impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19.Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(11). Web.
Peterson, J. (2021). Researchers with Sask. roots explore the impacts of long-term isolation. MSN. Web.