tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/effects-of-social-distancing-85761/articlesEffects of social distancing – The Conversation2021-06-28T12:40:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1620752021-06-28T12:40:12Z2021-06-28T12:40:12ZThe neuroscience behind why your brain may need time to adjust to ‘un-social distancing’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408408/original/file-20210625-24-9uvzcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=65%2C95%2C3401%2C2437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Maybe you're not quite feeling ready to get back out there.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-covers-face-with-sweater-royalty-free-image/1289733087">Grace Cary/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With COVID-19 <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailytrendscases">vaccines working</a> and restrictions lifting across the country, it’s finally time for those now vaccinated who’ve been hunkered down at home to ditch the sweatpants and reemerge from their Netflix caves. But your brain may not be so eager to dive back into your former social life.</p>
<p>Social distancing measures proved essential for slowing COVID-19’s spread worldwide – <a href="https://www.globalpolicy.science/covid19">preventing upward of an estimated 500 million cases</a>. But, while necessary, 15 months away from each other has taken a toll on people’s mental health.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america">national survey</a> last fall, 36% of adults in the U.S. – including 61% of young adults – reported feeling “serious loneliness” during the pandemic. Statistics like these suggest people would be itching to hit the social scene.</p>
<p>But if the idea of making small talk at a crowded happy hour sounds terrifying to you, you’re not alone. <a href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2021/sia-pandemic-report.pdf">Nearly half of Americans reported feeling uneasy</a> about returning to in-person interaction regardless of vaccination status.</p>
<p>So how can people be so lonely yet so nervous about refilling their social calendars?</p>
<p>Well, the brain is remarkably adaptable. And while we can’t know exactly what our brains have gone through over the last year, neuroscientists <a href="https://fbri.vtc.vt.edu/research/labs/pan.html">like me</a> have some insight into how social isolation and resocialization affect the brain.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="view from behind of woman sitting on bed and looking out window" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408409/original/file-20210625-18-1w3keoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Too much time alone can make your social thermostat feel on the fritz.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/lone-woman-sitting-on-the-bed-looking-out-of-the-royalty-free-image/1223940270">Massimiliano Finzi/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Social homeostasis – the need to socialize</h2>
<p>Humans have an evolutionarily hardwired need to socialize – though it may not feel like it when deciding between a dinner invite and rewatching “Schitt’s Creek.”</p>
<p>From insects to primates, maintaining social networks is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.05.110174.001545">critical for survival</a> in the animal kingdom. Social groups provide mating prospects, cooperative hunting and protection from predators. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14016">social homeostasis</a> – the right balance of social connections – must be met. Small social networks can’t deliver those benefits, while large ones increase competition for resources and mates. Because of this, human brains developed specialized circuitry to gauge our relationships and make the correct adjustments – much like a social thermostat.</p>
<p>Social homeostasis involves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.028">many brain regions</a>, and at the center is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.018">mesocorticolimbic circuit</a> – or “reward system.” That same circuit motivates you to eat chocolate when you crave something sweet or swipe on Tinder when you crave … well, you get it.</p>
<p>And like those motivations, a recent study found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-00742-z">reducing social interaction causes social cravings</a> – producing brain activity patterns similar to food deprivation.</p>
<p>So if people hunger for social connection like they hunger for food, what happens to the brain when you starve socially?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="billboard with public health message 'Stay home, stay safe.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408411/original/file-20210625-25-1421uoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Pandemic health precautions meant many people have spent a lot more time than usual at home – possibly alone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mounds-view-minnesota-billboard-sign-telling-people-to-stay-news-photo/1222959851">Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Your brain on social isolation</h2>
<p>Scientists can’t shove people into isolation and look inside their brains. Instead, researchers rely on lab animals to learn more about social brain wiring. Luckily, because social bonds are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.05.110174.001545">essential in the animal kingdom</a>, these same brain circuits are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14016">found across species</a>.</p>
<p>One prominent effect of social isolation is – you guessed it – increased anxiety and stress.</p>
<p>Many studies find that removing animals from their cage buddies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.05.011">increases anxiety-like behaviors and cortisol</a>, the primary stress hormone. Human studies also support this, as people with <a href="http://website60s.com/upload/files/archives-of-gerontology-and-geriatrics-vol-82-6.pdf">small social circles have higher cortisol levels</a> and other anxiety-related symptoms similar to socially deprived lab animals.</p>
<p>Evolutionarily this effect makes sense – animals that lose group protection must become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2005.11.007">hypervigilant</a> to fend for themselves. And it doesn’t just occur in the wild. One study found that self-described “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2015.1070136">lonely” people are more vigilant of social threats</a> like rejection or exclusion.</p>
<p>Another important region for social homeostasis is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.028">hippocampus</a> – the brain’s learning and memory center. Successful social circles require you to learn social behaviors – such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28699275/">selflessness and cooperation</a> – and recognize friends from foes. But your brain stores tremendous amounts of information and must <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.05.039">remove unimportant connections</a>. So, like most of your high school Spanish – if you don’t use it, you lose it.</p>
<p>Several animal studies show that even temporary adulthood isolation impairs both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36871-6">social memory</a> – like recognizing a familiar face – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2019.03.011">working memory</a> – like recalling a recipe while cooking.</p>
<p>And isolated humans may be just as forgetful. Antarctic expeditioners had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc1904905">shrunken hippocampi</a> after just 14 months of social isolation. Similarly, adults with small social circles are more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-180501">develop memory loss and cognitive decline</a> later in life.</p>
<p>So, human beings might not be roaming the wild anymore, but social homeostasis is still critical to survival. Luckily, as adaptable as the brain is to isolation, the same may be true with resocialization.</p>
<h2>Your brain on social reconnection</h2>
<p>Though only a few studies have explored the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2018.05.086">reversibility of the anxiety and stress associated with isolation</a>, they suggest that resocialization repairs these effects.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="several marmosets lying together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408412/original/file-20210625-23-ni8osh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Like humans, marmosets take comfort in companionship.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/baby-marmoset-is-viewed-at-an-exotic-animal-and-wildlife-news-photo/959712880">George Rose/Getty Images News</a></span>
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<p>One study, for example, found that formerly isolated marmosets <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.06.014">first had higher stress and cortisol levels when resocialized</a> but then quickly recovered. Adorably, the once-isolated animals even spent more time grooming their new buddies.</p>
<p>Social memory and cognitive function also seem to be highly adaptable.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2018.09.033">Mouse</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2015.07.002">rat</a> studies report that while animals cannot recognize a familiar friend immediately after short-term isolation, they quickly regain their memory after resocializing.</p>
<p>And there may be hope for people emerging from socially distanced lockdown as well. A recent Scottish study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic found that residents had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3821">some cognitive decline during the harshest lockdown weeks</a> but quickly recovered once restrictions eased.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, studies like these are still sparse. And while animal research is informative, it likely represents extreme scenarios since people weren’t in total isolation over the last year. Unlike mice stuck in cages, many in the U.S. had virtual game nights and Zoom birthday parties (lucky us).</p>
<p>So power through the nervous elevator chats and pesky brain fog, because “un-social distancing” should reset your social homeostasis very soon.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kareem Clark does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ready to party post-pandemic, but at the same time feeling shy? Here’s how social isolation affects the brain – and what research suggests about the effects of resocialization.Kareem Clark, Postdoctoral Associate in Neuroscience, Virginia TechLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1597892021-05-19T12:25:45Z2021-05-19T12:25:45ZPregnancy during COVID-19 lockdown: How the pandemic has affected new mothers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401389/original/file-20210518-23-1qc1bjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=714%2C511%2C2281%2C1482&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Isolation and other pandemic stresses can harm pregnant women's mental health, with effects on their babies too.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kelsey-powell-five-months-pregnant-sits-for-a-portrait-at-a-news-photo/1223719121">Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the millions of women who celebrated their first Mother’s Day in May 2021, their transition into motherhood occurred in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>Preparing for childbirth can be joyful and exciting, but COVID-19 restrictions disrupted many women’s prenatal care and forced some mothers to <a href="https://www.todaysparent.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/giving-birth-during-coronavirus/">deliver their infants</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/04/30/i-gave-birth-by-myself-during-covid-pandemic-i-wasnt-alone/">without partner or family support</a>. Others faced <a href="https://www.insider.com/postpartum-depression-rates-high-in-covid-moms-separated-from-newborns-2021-4">separation from their newborns immediately after birth</a>.</p>
<p>Expectant parents also missed out on many celebrations and rituals that commemorate the transition into parenthood: baby showers, bris and christening ceremonies, neighbors dropping by with a meal, or <a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/coronavirus/grandparents-in-the-pandemic-a-lost-year-but-now-some-hope/2750005/">grandparents traveling to meet the newest family member</a>. </p>
<p>Over the past seven years, <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/nestlab">our lab</a> has studied new parents, following couples from pregnancy across the first year postpartum. COVID-19 lockdowns last spring stopped our in-person data collection when our campus closed. But even as it stopped our usual research in its tracks, the pandemic created an opportunity to investigate a unique form of prenatal stress in real time.</p>
<h2>Effects of prenatal stress can last throughout life</h2>
<p>A tragic natural experiment helped spark study in the field researchers call “fetal origins of adult disease,” which explores links between pregnancy stress and later health.</p>
<p>At the tail end of World War II, the Nazi army cut off food supplies to the Netherlands, plunging the country into famine during the winter of 1944-1945. Babies in utero during what became known as the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_famine_of_1944%E2%80%9345">Dutch Hunger Winter</a>” showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1012911107">lifelong differences in cardiometabolic health</a>. Because this was a clearly demarcated period of starvation, it even allowed researchers to investigate trimester-specific effects, finding that babies exposed to famine early in pregnancy showed outcomes different from those exposed late in pregnancy.</p>
<p>Scientists have linked other <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/03/how-natural-disasters-impact-pregnant-mothers/584173/">large-scale societal crises</a> – like the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2011/sep/09/pregnant-911-survivors-transmitted-trauma">Sept. 11 attacks</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-009-0486-x">Hurricane Katrina</a> and the <a href="https://www.wired.com/2010/03/big-earthquakes-cause-premature-births/">2005 earthquake in Chile</a> – with long-term health consequences for mother and child. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic shares many similarities with these events, including widespread loss of life. But it’s also unique. Communities often unite to grieve and rebuild after natural disasters. The need to maintain social distance during the pandemic kept many people isolated from one another – especially many pregnant women, a high-risk population that may have elected to stick with stricter social distancing measures.</p>
<p>What happens when an expectant mother’s in-person social network shrinks or disappears overnight? </p>
<h2>Social connection, mental health and COVID-19</h2>
<p>Scientists know <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2007.CDC10">social support buffers the risk for mental health problems</a> in mothers. So our lab wondered how the sudden isolation of lockdowns – coupled with the economic and health worries of the pandemic – might affect pregnant women.</p>
<p>We sought to answer this question by recruiting 760 expectant parents (641 pregnant women and 79 fathers or partners) between early April and July of 2020 to participate in our <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/labs/usc-ccf/morris-research-brief">Coronavirus, Health, Isolation and Resilience in Pregnancy (CHIRP) study</a>. The week of April 7, 2020 – coincidentally, the same week we launched our study – <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/map-us-still-staying-home-coronavirus/">represented the peak of “sheltering in place” behavior in the U.S.</a>, with Americans spending 93% of their time at home. We converted our usual in-lab battery of questionnaires into an online format and posted on social media and online parenting and pregnancy groups. Our preliminary findings are currently undergoing peer review at an academic journal.</p>
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<p>Only about 5% of the pregnant women who responded to our survey had a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 as of spring 2020, and a similar number – 4.7% – had experienced the death of someone close to them due to the pandemic.</p>
<p>However, 97% reported that their community had issued a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order. Moreover, 61% of women reported that the pandemic had had “very” or “somewhat” negative impacts on their social relationships. A majority of women estimated that at the time of the survey they had much less contact than before the start of the pandemic with neighbors and community members, co-workers, close friends and family members. On the other hand, 42% reported much more time spent with their partner than before the pandemic. </p>
<p>These changes in social contact appeared to take a mental health toll: almost two-thirds of respondents said they had experienced at least some loneliness over the previous week. A similar number felt more lonely than usual because of the pandemic. Moreover, about three-fourths of our sample reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had an overall negative effect on their mental health.</p>
<p>To investigate further, we asked our respondents the questions on the Beck Depression Inventory, a tool that mental health care providers use to assess symptoms of depression. We were surprised to see that the average score for pregnant women in our sample was higher than the threshold that clinicians typically use as an indicator for depression.</p>
<p>Half of the women in the sample reported clinically significant symptoms of depression. Similarly, more than half – 62% – said they were experiencing clinically significant anxiety symptoms. These proportions are more than twice as high as what we’ve seen in our pre-pandemic sample.</p>
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<p>Our findings are not unique: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.126">Several other studies</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2020.00001">of pregnant and postpartum women</a> have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00578-y">reported heightened distress during the pandemic</a>. For example, <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/3vsxc/">a not-yet-peer-reviewed study of pregnant women in the San Francisco Bay Area</a> also found 51% of their sample scored above the clinical cutoff for depression, compared with 25% of a demographically matched pre-pandemic sample. </p>
<h2>COVID-19 stress could have long-term effects</h2>
<p>Given evidence that maternal stress during pregnancy can affect fetal development and shape long-term mother and infant health, our preliminary results are cause for concern. We are currently collecting birth charts from our sample to measure gestational outcomes, like birth weight and preterm birth, that have been linked with prenatal stress.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether the stress of the pandemic’s first wave will have enduring mental health effects. Some new mothers experienced <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19s-silver-lining-creating-a-caregiver-friendly-work-culture-145096">silver linings of the pandemic</a>, like greater ability to work from home after birth and sustain a breastfeeding relationship. At the same time, the pandemic took a greater toll on communities already affected by <a href="https://theconversation.com/racism-at-the-county-level-associated-with-increased-covid-19-cases-and-deaths-150077">structural racism</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/doctors-cant-treat-covid-19-effectively-without-recognizing-the-social-justice-aspects-of-health-138787">poverty</a>. Our research might find different trajectories of mental health, with pandemic lockdowns exacerbating some risk factors while perhaps exerting protective effects on other families. </p>
<p>In the meantime, our first batch of results suggests that these pandemic infants and their parents are a special population to follow into the future. Currently pregnant women may face an easier transition into parenthood now that delivery-room restrictions have eased and social routines are returning to normal. But <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/pandemic-enters-year-2-mental-health-burden-becomes-clearer">uncertainty, fear and grief from the many losses of the pandemic</a> may linger even as the world reopens.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Compelling evidence suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.20865">counseling interventions such as talk therapy can</a> not only relieve but also prevent mood disorders in the period immediately before and after birth. Situations in which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423618000348">primary care and mental health care are integrated</a> and expectant mothers can access psychotherapy through their OB-GYN practices can help treatments reach mothers most in need. The pandemic eased many barriers to telehealth, as health care providers shifted to online visits; this format may also show promise reaching families who are still reluctant to make in-person visits. </p>
<p>We are continuing to follow our participants at three, six and 12 months after their baby’s birth to see how their mental health changes over time, with plans to extend the follow-up past the first year. Although infants born in 2020 may not remember the pandemic firsthand, its effects may shape their early lives in ways that we are just beginning to measure.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159789/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darby Saxbe receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council and the University of Southern California's Zumberge Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alyssa Morris receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council and the University of Southern California's Zumberge Fund.</span></em></p>Pregnant women’s experiences can affect their babies’ health, even into adulthood. Researchers know societywide stresses can lead to these long-term consequences – and the pandemic likely fits the bill.Darby Saxbe, Associate Professor of Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesAlyssa Morris, Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1443872021-01-11T13:18:43Z2021-01-11T13:18:43ZCOVID-19 response shows how an informal rule of law plays a supporting role in society<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377411/original/file-20210106-23-1dkp32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3575%2C2197&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Waiting their turn, while masked and keeping a distance.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/long-line-of-shoppers-waiting-to-get-into-grocery-store-news-photo/1220163832?adppopup=true">Lindsey Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Through much of the last year, COVID-19 has propelled many people to accept and follow new patterns of behavior. These include wearing a mask in public, attempting to socially distance and restricting groups to smaller numbers.</p>
<p>Developed in what critics say was an <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/03/11/coronavirus-local-leadersfederal-direction-1266348">absence of strong national leadership</a>, these behaviors have been policed, by and large, by people themselves – <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/16/covid-19-face-mask-mandates-go-unenforced-police-under-pressure/5714736002/">fines and other punishments are seldom enforced</a> <a href="https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/few-in-mass-face-fines-for-ignoring-mask-order/2240761/">at an official level</a>. Instead, nonobservance is greeted by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-someone-who-doesnt-wear-a-mask-and-actually-change-their-mind-143995">disapproval and occasional anger</a> of others.</p>
<p>While we wait for vaccines to provide more lasting protection, these decentralized social norms have <a href="https://doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.20.0244">helped our collective safety</a>. But an interesting question arises: How important are informal rules in keeping us safe, and why do people alter their behavior to follow norms when they don’t expect disobedience to be punished by authorities?</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.umass.edu/jne/member/david-mednicoff">a social scientist and lawyer</a>, I believe the answer lies in an understudied aspect of law and society: the informal rule of law. By informal rule of law, I mean behavioral norms that evolve through the actions of people or institutions and don’t have legal force. Such norms may be written down, but they aren’t usually enforced by governments.</p>
<h2>Common codes</h2>
<p>As the response to the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates, most people seek to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.3.641">adhere to common codes of behavior</a> that they see as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200220-could-we-live-in-a-world-without-rules">fair and generally in everyone’s best interest</a>. This includes how we wait in lines or many aspects of how we speak with each other. These norms don’t generally depend on the threat of state law enforcement to be pervasive or meaningful.</p>
<p>Since the pandemic hit the U.S. last March, in my area of western Massachusetts, individuals and businesses have put into place patterns of expected social behavior markedly different from what was present earlier. </p>
<p>Because of this, most people I see wear face masks, stay at least six feet away from others and wait in orderly lines to enter and move through stores and other public places. This chimes with national surveys that show that, as 2020 passed, an <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/27/more-americans-say-they-are-regularly-wearing-masks-in-stores-and-other-businesses/">increasing number of Americans</a> adhered to patterns of behavior such as mask-wearing in stores.</p>
<p>The key is that such rules emerged somewhat organically through civil society. There has been limited action at a federal level, and while state mandates have been issued – <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/17/us/coronavirus-midwest-northern-governors/index.html">in some cases reluctantly</a> – often it was left largely to people themselves to govern their own response, especially in the early stages. An analysis by the European think tank Bruegel found that in many instances <a href="https://www.bruegel.org/2020/04/social-distancing-did-individuals-act-before-governments/">social distancing occurred before government intervention</a>. “In the absence of government action, if individuals are informed about risk, they seem to choose to engage in social distancing,” researchers concluded.</p>
<p>Granted, the informality of such rules has led to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53477121">public disagreements, even arguments</a>, and local authorities have stepped in to underscore social distancing rules. But often, this happened only after the rules themselves emerged.</p>
<p>In short, the pandemic demonstrated the evolution of an informal rule of law that initially was promulgated, contested and enforced mostly independently of American governments, courts and police. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.inet.econ.cam.ac.uk/working-paper-pdfs/wp2008.pdf">speed at which the informal rule of law</a> was accepted by many with respect to COVID-19 should remind us that human societies are capable of self-regulation to a fairly effective extent. My local area, and many others, pushed back the pandemic during the first wave mostly by the rapid spread of rules of behavior that required self-sacrifice but served the public interest. As <a href="http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/people/faculty/fmot2">Cambridge economic epidemiologist Flavio Toxvaerd</a> recently noted in a <a href="https://www.inet.econ.cam.ac.uk/working-paper-pdfs/wp2008.pdf">study on the impact of behavior on disease</a>: “Spontaneous, uncoordinated social distancing…acts to flatten the curve of the epidemic by reducing peak prevalence.”</p>
<p>Being part of the informal rule of law can be uplifting. Indeed, the feeling of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-doing-good-can-do-you-good-59106">satisfaction that people I know have voiced in making a difference</a> in preserving lives by adhering to social distancing norms is at least a small piece of agency against the terrible traumas and death toll the pandemic has wrought.</p>
<h2>Supporting role</h2>
<p>Yet the informal rule of law has its limits. These are also clear in a wide-reaching crisis like COVID-19. First, enforcing informal rules is challenging, as many know from the discomfort we experience in trying to get others to wear masks. Important political thinkers have <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-political/#LockPuni">argued for centuries</a> that one big reason that people need government is to adjudicate critical rules effectively and unbiasedly, and punish important violations. The informal rule of law during the pandemic has helped reduce the spread of cases. But research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818">mandates could be more effective</a>. And institutions of enforcement still seem needed when people truly diverge on informal legal behavior, as we have seen in some areas with large COVID-19 outbreaks in the U.S.</p>
<p>More significantly, a major crisis like the pandemic is too widespread and complex to be regulated fully through local and consensual informal rule of law. Many aspects of fighting the pandemic far exceed what can be achieved by ordinary people or communities. It requires data on cases, research on the disease and how to combat it, the distribution of critical supplies and the accumulation of expert knowledge.</p>
<p>Because key aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic depend on such larger-scale action and expertise, the role of the informal rule of law works best alongside formal actions of leaders and institutions.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the supporting role of the informal rule of law merits attention. With so many large challenges facing the U.S. and the world today, it is easy for people to feel powerless and passive. Yet, as a collection of small societies and often generous individuals, people in the part of Massachusetts where I live, and in many diverse places, have managed to put together new ways of interacting and behaving that may not be particularly gratifying. They have still saved countless lives.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Mednicoff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A social scientist argues that in the absence of strong government action, people took it upon themselves to work out conduct to stem the spread of virus.David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, and Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1482942020-10-23T12:27:38Z2020-10-23T12:27:38ZSick of COVID-19? Here’s why you might have pandemic fatigue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365044/original/file-20201022-15-1mkl5c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=346%2C198%2C2152%2C1416&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's tempting to take a break from pandemic precautions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/director-of-heart-vascular-interventional-labs-peter-news-photo/1209507716">Erin Clark for The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the pandemic drags on, following COVID-19 prevention guidelines can feel like more and more of a challenge.</p>
<p>This kind of fatigue is not unique to pandemic precautions like sticking with social distancing, masking up and keeping your hands washed. With all kinds of health-related behavior changes – including increasing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00343.x">physical activity</a>, <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2015/03/diets-do-not-work-the-thin-evidence-that-losing-weight-makes-you-healthier.html">eating healthy</a> and decreasing <a href="https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/health-information/quitting-smoking-closer-every-attempt#:%7E:text=According%20to%20a%202015%20survey,quitting%20for%206%2D12%20months.">tobacco use</a> – at least half of people relapse within six months.</p>
<p>Think back to the start of April. Much of the United States was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html">under stay-at-home orders</a>. New York City was experiencing close to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/new-york-coronavirus-cases.html">a thousand COVID-19 deaths a day</a>, and new cases of this previously unknown disease were popping up all over the country.</p>
<p>Coronavirus fears had people either ordering necessities for delivery or rushing through stores as fast as possible, avoiding everyone. When they got home, shoppers wiped down their groceries, vigorously washed hands, maybe even took a shower and changed into clean clothes. People got used to staying home.</p>
<p><iframe id="gEj7D" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/gEj7D/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Today, there’s still no cure or vaccine for the coronavirus, and infection numbers are on the rise. Almost a quarter of a million Americans have died from COVID-19 and the risk of infection remains. Now is the time to strengthen your resolve and re-devote yourself to prevention measures.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/308126/roundup-gallup-covid-coverage.aspx">fewer in the U.S. are reporting the fear</a> that triggered all those germ-avoiding actions in the spring. Why? </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=87v4Nk4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As a public health researcher</a> who investigates health behaviors, I know there are several psychological reasons for why fatigue sets in. Luckily the research also suggests some tactics to help you stay safe as well as protect your mental health and well-being.</p>
<h2>How bad is it really?</h2>
<p>One explanation for falling off the prevention bandwagon comes down to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198109338915">two important predictors</a> of health behaviors.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>One is perceived susceptibility – how likely do you think you are to get a disease? </p></li>
<li><p>The second is perceived severity – if you do get it, how bad do you think it will it be?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>There have been millions of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. But all those people still add up to less than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html">3% of the country’s total population</a>. Depending where you live, you may know only a few people who have come down with COVID-19, even though the nationwide numbers are high. This can reduce perceived susceptibility.</p>
<p>As doctors learned more <a href="https://www.nwpb.org/2020/10/20/studies-point-to-big-drop-in-covid-19-death-rates-as-hospitals-get-better-at-helping-people-survive/">about the coronavirus and treatment methods improved</a>, the death rate in the U.S. has also dropped. In May, 6% of diagnosed cases proved fatal, while less than <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/mortality-risk-covid?country=%7EUSA">3% are today</a>. This improvement can reduce perceived severity. </p>
<p>People look at trends like these and let themselves be lulled into believing they’re less susceptible to COVID-19 or that the disease’s severity isn’t that bad. After all, one might reason, it’s been eight months and I haven’t gotten sick.</p>
<h2>Everybody else is doing it</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.uky.edu/%7Eeushe2/BanduraPubs/Bandura1991OBHDP.pdf">Social norms</a> are unwritten rules about how you’re supposed to behave in society. While social norms can be communicated in many ways, one of the main paths is through observational learning. How do others like you behave in similar situations? Seeing that provides you with a road map for your own behavior.</p>
<p>When state governments decide to open bars, restaurants, gyms and movie theaters, you might read it as a signal that these places are now “safe” to visit. Likewise, when you see people socializing without masks and skipping the physical distancing, it looks “normal” and could make you more likely to forgo them yourself. It’s similar to how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2004.05.021">peer groups strongly affect both alcohol</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.10.005">food consumption</a>.</p>
<h2>Yearning to connect</h2>
<p>Distancing efforts have increased <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000845">feelings of social isolation and loneliness</a> for many people, especially among older adults and people who live alone.</p>
<p>Human beings are naturally social animals. So <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/pbm.2003.0063">social isolation</a> can be particularly unpleasant. And it can lead to a variety of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.035">poor health outcomes</a> including hypertension and poorer sleep. People were able to stop gathering with friends in the spring and avoid get-togethers. But it can be really hard to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.13.1.39">stick long-term</a> with a behavior that can feel like it’s all downside and no upside. </p>
<p>The trick is to balance physical distancing with social connectedness. Researchers know that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-240X(200004)23:2%3C126::AID-NUR5%3E3.0.CO;2-2">reminiscing or having nostalgia</a> about drinking or smoking is one of the major risk factors for relapse.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="friends drinking and laughing at an outdoor bar" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365084/original/file-20201022-23-1cnpvyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Remember the pleasures of the before times, but don’t let the memories trigger risky choices now.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/laughing-friends-sharing-drinks-and-food-at-outdoor-royalty-free-image/1063846450">Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the pandemic setting, this is like thinking about the way the world was before COVID-19. A drink after work with a group of friends, a game of pickup basketball or a live concert are all things that people miss in today’s world – and it’s hard not to dwell on the things you’re not getting to do. But while thinking about them can bring back fond memories, it can also encourage you to engage in risky behaviors. </p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=experts">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p>
<h2>Staying safe and sane</h2>
<p>Case counts are rising. The weather is getting colder in many areas, making outdoor dining and socializing less feasible. People need to double down on a level of precaution that can be sustained for months to come, keeping safe while not adding to their social isolation.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html">Some recommendations must be strictly followed</a>. Hand-washing <a href="https://www.bradleycorp.com/handwashing">increased dramatically</a> after the start of the pandemic. Hopefully, this will remain high, since it is a basic way to ward off many infectious diseases and one you can sustain without any negative effects on mental health.</p>
<p>Masks are also important. A study from August showed that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/27/more-americans-say-they-are-regularly-wearing-masks-in-stores-and-other-businesses/">85% of Americans</a> wore masks most of the time in stores. This needs to stay high to help limit the number of new cases.</p>
<p>That leaves physical distancing, which is probably the most difficult. Public health experts often advocate a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/13.1.53">harm reduction approach</a> for behaviors where abstinence is not feasible – it’s a way to minimize but not eliminate risk. Crowds and large gatherings still need to be avoided. If Zoom and other video chats have grown stale, hosting your own small get-togethers is a possibility. Be aware, though, that while there are <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-19-getting-together-safely.pdf">ways to minimize the dangers</a>, socializing in a group comes with risks. Remember, your get-together is only as safe as your riskiest friend.</p>
<p>Pandemic fatigue is real, and it’s draining to stay on high alert month after month after month. Understanding it better might help you strengthen your resolve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay Maddock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s draining and depressing to stay on high alert month after month after month. Understanding pandemic fatigue better might help you strengthen your resolve.Jay Maddock, Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1362062020-04-29T14:57:34Z2020-04-29T14:57:34ZWhy FaceTime can’t replace face-to-face time during social distancing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328798/original/file-20200417-152607-kby0ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5455%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's hard to read or decipher body language and microexpressions through a smartphone screen.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we continue to engage in rigid social distancing, more people than ever before are relying on digital technologies for both work and personal communication. While platforms like Zoom have become a staple of remote working and learning, many of us are replacing in-person socializing with <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/21/21185750/how-to-group-chat-watch-movies-games-netflix-discord-zoom-coronavirus-internet">FaceTime, Netflix Party, Google Hangouts and Discord</a>. </p>
<p>Concerns over privacy and information protection have already been raised by Zoom users. There have been <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston/news/press-releases/fbi-warns-of-teleconferencing-and-online-classroom-hijacking-during-covid-19-pandemic">reports of hacked meetings</a> and <a href="https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/zoom-hacked-accounts-dark-web-free-penny-report-2211698">thousands of Zoom accounts were sold on the Dark Web</a>. However, even with privacy concerns addressed, digital communication continues to fall short. </p>
<p>As researchers interested in digital health and newly emerging technologies, we are concerned with how these new technologies can improve and alter relationships with ourselves and those around us.</p>
<h2>On-screen eye contact</h2>
<p>Psychology research shows that in group settings, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-power-of-eye-contact-2015-5">eye contact divulges a wealth of information</a>. As a listener, maintaining direct eye contact with a speaker signifies interest and attention. On the other hand, as a speaker, noticing a lack of eye contact signals that we have lost the interest of our listeners. Eye contact is a hard-wired social cue that provides confirmation that <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-truth-about-exercise-addiction/201609/what-eye-contact-can-do-you">listeners are paying attention to us as we speak</a>. </p>
<p>However, this cue can often be missing in digital communication. While you can see the faces of your colleagues onscreen, they are looking at your face on their screen, and not into the camera. Direct eye contact is impossible via current digital hardware. Sometimes, the faces you’re speaking to aren’t visible at all and there is no guarantee that they are looking at you or even listening to what you’re saying. Even features that bring the speaker to centre screen suffer the same pitfalls of being unable to facilitate direct eye contact.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Being able to engage in eye contact and clearly view microexpressions contribute to accurately interpreting and communicating messages in conversation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Digital body language</h2>
<p>Body language and gestures such as crossing arms, shuffling feet or fidgeting provide cues as to whether we are engaged in conversation, ready to leave or being sympathetic, <a href="https://fremont.edu/how-to-read-body-language-revealing-the-secrets-behind-common-nonverbal-cues/">among others</a>. This form of non-verbal communication is a valuable contribution to both professional and personal communication. It can be used to highlight and strengthen points, <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-communication/nonverbal-communication.htm">compliment what you are already saying or convey additional information</a>. </p>
<p>One of the reasons why non-verbal cues are seemingly missing in digital communication is that they have to exist in material space whereas digital communication is flat. It is impossible to reach out touch someone over FaceTime or to lean in or out of a conversation. While digital communication platforms can get our message across, the message lacks the various complex hues of what communication can be. </p>
<h2>Facial microexpressions</h2>
<p>Microexpressions are <a href="https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/05/facial-expressions">facial expressions that often occur without our knowing</a>. While they often occur in response to what is being said they are unconscious rather than deliberate reactions, designed to match the tone of the conversation. While digitally communicating, microexpressions can be lost when our internet connection lags or our phone or laptop cameras aren’t the highest quality. </p>
<p>Since our brains pick up and process microexpressions faster than we can consciously understand them, we are provided with a seemingly consistent stream of information that can help us direct the flow of conversation. When that stream is broken, we are forced to consciously engage and process facial expressions, a task that previously was automatic. This can lead to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting">fatigue or misunderstandings</a>. Most common of these is the inability to interject in conversation at the right time. </p>
<p>Whereas before, microexpressions could signal when the speaker was finished, now we are forced to guess. Almost everyone can relate to a messy scenario where people talk over one another, unable to interject at the right time.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Managing online group conversations can be difficult when facial cues can’t be read in real-time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Virtual coffee dates</h2>
<p>While digital communication has proven to be integral during the time of social distancing, its shortcomings are more evident than ever. Human communication is complex and dynamic, and effective execution requires the harmonious integration of both verbal and non-verbal components. So while FaceTime may currently act as a timely substitute <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/life/culture/6-fun-ways-to-play-chat-and-hang-with-others-online-1.5519647">to coffee dates with our friends and family</a>, it is very unlikely that digital communication will come to replace its in-person predecessor.</p>
<p>While we can spend the same amount of time talking to our friends and family, the amount of information we are conveying is limited by the two-dimensional images on our laptop and phone screens. As cameras and microphones become more sensitive, our digital communication too can improve drastically. But it won’t be replacing a good, old-fashioned hug any time soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136206/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As social distancing continues, we’ve increasingly incorporated online and digital communications into our social life. But these technologies can’t compensate for body language or touch.Anna Sui, PhD Candidate, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western UniversityWuyou Sui, PhD Candidate, Exercise and Health Psychology Lab, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1363772020-04-24T12:42:29Z2020-04-24T12:42:29ZHow to listen to your loved ones with empathy when you yourself are feeling the strain of social distancing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329874/original/file-20200422-47841-1owx8v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7951%2C5285&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social distancing is challenging couples in an unprecedented way.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/frustrated-sad-girlfriend-sit-on-bed-think-of-royalty-free-image/1144827480?adppopup=true">Witthaya Prasongsin/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has revealed a great many things about our world, including the vulnerabilities inherent in our economic, <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-is-hitting-black-and-poor-communities-the-hardest-underscoring-fault-lines-in-access-and-care-for-those-on-margins-135615">health care</a> and educational institutions. The pandemic and the resulting orders to shelter in place have also uncovered vulnerabilities in our relationships with others. </p>
<p>Many of us are not just dealing with our own feelings of anxiety, anger and sadness; we are dealing with the anxiety, anger and sadness expressed by the people with whom we live and other loved ones with whom we’ve maintained virtual connections. How do we respond with empathy when we are feeling a host of emotions ourselves? Is it even possible? </p>
<p>As a clinical psychologist, I have spent the last two decades studying how couples facing chronic stressors can be there for each other in the midst of their own personal suffering. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=X9sisDoAAAAJ&hl=en">My research</a> and that of my colleagues has shown that it is possible, and even beneficial to oneself, to others and to our relationships if we learn to practice empathy and other skills even when we’re not feeling at peace with the world. Considering that we will not be required to shelter in place forever, it makes sense to put in the effort now to preserve and promote healthy relationships that will last far beyond the time of COVID-19. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329877/original/file-20200422-47804-hdyqoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329877/original/file-20200422-47804-hdyqoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329877/original/file-20200422-47804-hdyqoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329877/original/file-20200422-47804-hdyqoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329877/original/file-20200422-47804-hdyqoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329877/original/file-20200422-47804-hdyqoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329877/original/file-20200422-47804-hdyqoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Empathy for your partner is especially critical during this crisis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-with-head-in-hands-woman-behind-royalty-free-image/BB8895-001?adppopup=true">Getty Images/Bob Thomas</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sharing emotions is good, but listening is also required</h2>
<p>Expressing our emotions to loved ones is a natural response to feeling stressed. In fact, we share our feelings with others for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073908097189">a number of reasons</a>: to bond with others, to be comforted or to seek advice. Sharing our feelings with others can help us <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0033839">get a handle on our emotions</a>. </p>
<p>But it’s not just the act of disclosing emotions that helps us feel better. Having a listening partner who is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/13486-002">emotionally responsive</a> and “gets it” is key. </p>
<p>It’s difficult to really be there for someone when we are feeling stressed out ourselves. In fact, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0090-5550.51.1.3">listening to our loved one’s suffering</a> can adversely affect our well-being. My colleagues and I have found that couples in which one or both partners experience chronic pain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000472">report feelings</a> of isolation, helplessness
and resentment in their relationships that affected their emotional and relationship well-being.</p>
<p>Even when both partners have chronic pain, they may experience it differently and have different coping strategies and emotions surrounding an uncertain future with a chronic illness. Yet, couples found that building what we psychologists call <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29497271">relational flexibility</a> skills supported their quality of life and their relationships.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329878/original/file-20200422-47799-1xscvy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329878/original/file-20200422-47799-1xscvy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329878/original/file-20200422-47799-1xscvy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329878/original/file-20200422-47799-1xscvy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329878/original/file-20200422-47799-1xscvy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329878/original/file-20200422-47799-1xscvy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329878/original/file-20200422-47799-1xscvy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Listening is key.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-couple-having-serious-discussion-over-lunch-royalty-free-image/992001648?adppopup=true">Getty Images/10'000 Hours</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Practicing a new set of skills</h2>
<p>The ability to share feelings with a partner and listen to a partner’s feelings in a nonjudgmental manner that respects both partner’s values is something that we therapist calls relational flexibility. Our research has shown that there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000131">several ways to cultivate relational flexibility skills</a>.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Reconnect with your values: We can get caught up in the moment and forget what is really important. Therapies like <a href="https://contextualscience.org/act">acceptance and commitment therapy</a> and <a href="https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/">spiritual practices</a> can support realign our actions with our personal values so that external worries, time pressure or other factors do not drive our behavior. Imagining what we want people to say at our retirement, birthday or anniversary party or even at our funeral can bring your values into stark focus. </p></li>
<li><p>Be curious: Stop and consider how we would want our listening partner to react if we were sharing these same feelings. And consider why they may be feeling the way they do. What might they need right now? You might be surprised to learn that your partner may not always want you to problem-solve when they are upset. Often, they already know what to do but are seeking emotional support instead. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1990-97699-013">Match your response</a> to what they want. When in doubt, ask. </p></li>
<li><p>Validate: Emotional validation, a key part of therapies such as <a href="https://behavioraltech.org/about-us/our-impact/">dialectical behavior therapy</a>, is a powerful signal that you accept someone for who they are. We can express emotional validation by paying attention to them, acknowledging that what they feel is real, reflecting back what we have heard them say, expressing our sorrow or anger about what they’ve experienced, and asking questions about what you can do to support them. </p></li>
<li><p>Pay attention to the present moment: It can be hard to hear about a loved one’s suffering. Sometimes we disengage, become distracted, jump into problem-solving mode, or change the subject because it’s distressing to listen to a partner’s distress. With practice, you can monitor, become aware of, and accept your own feelings even as you calmly listen to another. We adapted <a href="https://soundcloud.com/annmarie-cano">meditations from mindfulness practitioners and researchers</a> including <a href="https://www.mindful.org/no-blueprint-just-love/">Jon Kabat-Zinn</a>, <a href="https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/">Thich Nhat Hanh</a> in our couples interventions and there are many more available on the web. </p></li>
<li><p>Spend time with your loved ones in valued activities: This is a staple of couple therapies such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5096782/">integrative behavioral couple therapy</a> and may seem like a common-sense solution. But spending quality time with loved ones is more difficult when our attention is split between working from home, homeschooling and caregiving, managing a variety of pandemic-related stressors, and leisure activities. Recall your values and make appointments in your calendars for mutually valued activities. The positive feelings that come from these activities will sustain you both.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Limits to listening</h2>
<p>To be sure, we have our limits when listening to another person’s pain. Even our most tolerant and loving partners may not be able to respond the way we hope. This might be because they need to decompress. In this case, it may be wise to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/jrc.2016.9">seek out others</a> who share your situation or circumstances for peer support. And if you are the listener, and you feel overwhelmed by another’s pain, it’s important to take care of yourself and let them know that you are not able to give them what they need. And if you or your loved one discloses that they are feeling so down that they are thinking of harming themselves, it’s time to seek <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">emergency support</a>.</p>
<p>For those of us sharing the good, the bad and the ugly with loved ones during this pandemic, let’s recognize that we have much to be grateful for our relationships, however socially distant we have to be right now. This time of great stress will eventually pass and we will be out and about again. Practice relational flexibility to ensure that you and your loved ones will enjoy that happy day together.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136377/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Annmarie Cano received funding for some of the work cited in this essay from the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. </span></em></p>When you’re stuck at home during social distancing, it’s only natural to feel on edge at times. So how do you listen to a loved one who’s on edge, too?Annmarie Caño, Professor of Psychology and Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Success, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.