By Zach Clement
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat to our physical and mental health. There are many things to worry about, from dwindling stock portfolios to the possibility that a loved one may die due to the disease. The virus itself, as well as related shortages in food and medical supplies, can pose threats to our physical health. One of our primary ways of mitigating the effects of COVID-19 is by limiting large gatherings and interactions with others to slow the spread of the virus. However, if we aren’t careful, these measures can make it difficult to maintain our social relationships, which are a crucial element of a healthy lifestyle.
Social relationships are essential to a life of flourishing. As we describe in one of our modules, supportive relationships are one of the key predictors of a happy life. In addition to providing benefits to our mood, these relationships can protect people against viral infections and encourage healthy dietary and sleep behaviors. A lack of healthy relationships increases the risk of cardiovascular problems, sleep problems, and depression. Because these relationships are so important to our well-being, it’s important for us to adapt so that we can maintain them while we take measures to mitigate COVID-19.
1. Use technology to your advantage
Technology can be one of your greatest tools for staying connected when gathering in close physical proximity is unwise or impossible. However, different means of communication transmit different information—a text message can only convey words, but a video call can convey a plethora of verbal and nonverbal cues through tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. To foster connection, technology should be used in a way that maximizes the amount and the quality of communication that can happen. This helps you to feel understood and connected to the person you’re talking to. When you’re using technology to maintain social relationships, try to use technology that maximizes the quality of your communication, such as a phone call or video call.
2. Focus your attention
Just as it’s important to give your full attention to the person you’re talking to when you’re meeting in person, it’s essential to focus on the person you’re talking to when you’re communicating virtually. Because the other person may not be able to see exactly what you’re doing, it can be tempting to try to get other things done while talking to other people via technology. However, even if they can’t see that you’re trying to multitask while talking to them, this can seriously hamper efforts to understand and feel understood.
3. Maintain social routines
COVID-19 has led to mass closures of schools, restaurants, gyms, and other locations in which we tend to gather. If our normal social gatherings generally happen in those public spaces, these closures mean that those gatherings can’t happen like they used to, leaving a hole in our social lives if we don’t work to replace them. It’s important to recognize that getting together to do something with friends isn’t just about the thing you’re doing, but it’s also about the connection you feel before, during, and after the activity. If you have a regularly scheduled activity with friends, you might try keeping the activity going virtually or having a group phone call to maintain that connection.
4. Be aware of your needs
It can be easy to think that your needs for social connection aren’t “real,” and that you should be fine with having limited social contact with others. However, as we described above, social relationships are a legitimate physical and mental need. It isn’t a sign of weakness to acknowledge that you need to maintain the relationships you had before COVID-19. In addition to acknowledging these needs to yourself, it may be helpful to acknowledge them to your friends. They’re probably feeling the same thing as you, and sharing your feelings can help you feel connected with them, as well as help you to make plans together to maintain your social needs despite current issues.
Measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 are hard on all of us, and they pose a significant threat to our social relationships. However, if we can learn to maintain social relationships despite those measures, we can better cope with everyday threats to relationships. Disruptions to relationships aren’t uncommon in normal life; they can happen when someone has to move for school or for work, or when conflicting schedules don’t allow normal social interaction. Learning to adapt will make us more resilient in the face of these challenges, and will make us better individuals, friends, and family members.