By Ben Rodgers
Editor
GREEN BAY – Since Gov. Tony Evers’ original Safer at Home order has gone into place, people’s lives have changed and that change affects everyone differently.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, people are meeting online, wearing masks to the grocery store and adapting to a changing world that deprives humans of the most basic need.
“We are wired to be social creatures. If we weren’t wired that way, our society never would have flourished, human beings in general would never have flourished,” said Pam Clough, a clinical social worker at Bellin Health. “It’s a neurological thing as well that we actually crave that human connection. This happens very early on in our human development, how babies like to look at faces and make eye contact, and this happens throughout our entire lives. When we don’t get that contact, we can shut off and get very, very depressed and there are studies that have shown this.”
Those who are fed up with substitutes for human connection, like online meetings, aren’t alone.
“I believe after the first four or five weeks, things started to become harder,” Clough said. “At the beginning of all of this, it was novel to start doing the group chats and reaching out electrically. But now it’s really becoming more a strain not to have that personal contact with your friends and family.”
As well as depression, lack of human contact can lead to anxiety, anger and substance-abuse issues.
Worrying about the economy doesn’t help the situation either, she said.
“We’re just inundated by it today,” Clough said. “Every time you turn on the news it’s coronavirus this, coronavirus that. It’s best not to saturate yourself. It’s important to know what’s going on. It’s important to know the facts, but immersing yourself in the negativity can definitely lead to feeling frustrated, feeling depressed and feeling angry. It’s very important to limit those things.”
Instead she said people should focus on keeping their brains active with positive activities like playing board games, doing puzzles, reading, watching movies or TV, or making a difference.
Clough said she has noticed more kindness rocks on walks and heard about families putting bags of popcorn on neighbors’ porches.
She has started meeting with a friend in her driveway, one person in the car, the other on the porch.
“Those things matter,” Clough said. “Trying to find those little ways we can be helpful to other people can really help us feel better about ourselves and give us a sense of that connection.”
She also said going outside and getting exercise is beneficial.
“That vitamin D is very important for our mood,” Clough said. “It’s important even when it’s cold to get out there and move. Physical movement has been shown to increase the levels of serotonin in our brains and serotonin is the chemical that helps us from getting depressed and anxious. Any type of movement or change in your environment is going to be positive for your mental health.”
With the Monday, May 11, order from Gov. Tony Evers reopening small retail businesses, and the extended Safer at Home order now lifted, Clough said it’s a delicate situation, as more people exposed will have consequences.
“It is dangerous to think about, and that’s something we’ve all got to keep in mind,” she said. “This is something that’s out there, it’s nobody’s fault – that’s another human thing, we want to find someone to blame – but honestly, its nature. Human lives are at stake here. It’s not like Big Brother is telling us to stay home for no reason. People are dying, and we have to keep that in mind.”