Spring of 2020 marked the beginning of my battle with psychosis that would last for three years and include two involuntary trips to the psych ward via a cop car, followed by months of inpatient treatment.
However, I wasn’t the only American afflicted with pandemic mental trauma. I was one of millions struggling with the repercussions of isolation.
According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, depression increased threefold in the U.S. during the first year of the pandemic. To cope with the isolation and depression brought on by COVID-19, many turned to alcohol to anesthetize.
As pandemic stay-at-home orders took effect, Nielsen, a global player in audience measurement, data and analytics, reported a 54% increase in national alcohol sales for the week ending March 21, 2020.
While the negative ramifications of isolation on physical and mental health aren’t a new discovery, the solitary conditions of COVID-19 re-emphasized the importance of connection.
In November 2023, the World Health Organization launched a commission to foster social connection, identifying social isolation as one of the most significant social determinants of health, with data supporting that social isolation is a bigger risk factor for premature death than smoking, diabetes or obesity.
According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “High rates of social isolation and loneliness around the world have serious consequences for health and well-being. People without enough strong social connections are at higher risk of stroke, anxiety, dementia, depression, suicide and more.”
In addition to higher rates of anxiety and depression, lack of connection also has been linked to addiction.
Johann Hari, author of “Chasing the Scream,” theorizes that the opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, but connection. To support his theory, Hari points to the Rat Park experiment.
Between 1978 and 1991, Canadian psychologist Bruce K. Alexander conducted a series of studies into drug addiction with his colleagues at Simon Fraser University. At the time, animals were put in small solitary cages with morphine dispensaries and studied on their self-administration habits. Bruce Alexander hypothesized that environmental conditions played a role in the self-administration of drugs among animals, and to test his theory, he built Rat Park.
Rat Park was a housing colony 200 times bigger than the standard cage. Rats participating in the drug studies were given a large cage with access to food, sex, toys and most importantly, access to other rats/playmates. Under these conditions, Alexander found that rats refused the “drug cocktails,” unlike their solo-caged counterparts. The conclusion supported the theory that environmental stressors such as isolation and lack of connection propel addiction.
How important is connection?
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, love and belonging are essential for survival after basic physiological needs. Connection isn’t just a social nicety, but a necessity that influences our physical and mental health.
While research indicates that extreme isolation is a bigger risk factor for premature death than smoking, diabetes and obesity, it also suggests that strong social connections can help guard against depression, boost mood, reduce anxiety, improve self-esteem and even mitigate addiction.
Building connections
While fostering connections can be challenging, the CDC offers tips on improving social connectedness:
• Make time in your routine to contact others who care about you.
• Reach out to different people to create a broad network of support.
• Join a group with shared interests to develop a sense of belonging.
• Reach out for help, even when it’s hard to ask for it.
• Provide support to others in need of help.
• Take care of your health so you can connect socially and have fun.
• Don’t let screen time distract you from connecting with people in person.
• Find ways to share the things you’re already doing, such as exercising or cooking with others.
• Find ways to be responsive and grateful to others.
• Spend more quality time with family and friends.
• Spend time with others in nature.
• Volunteer with a group or organization.
• Get involved in your community.
• Get to know your neighbors.
Get connected
Becoming socially connected can be difficult. Barriers to connectedness include poor health, monetary issues and living alone. However, just a few small acts of connection can help in the building process of meaningful relationships.
Developing supportive and meaningful relationships can ultimately increase physical and mental well-being, mitigate depression, anxiety, and addiction, and may even increase longevity.
Ivy Reitz is a freelance writer from Dubuque.
