Let’s Aim for Physical Rather Than Social Distancing

Amid all the calls in nearly every country for social distancing, the most powerful tool we have to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, one important fact gets lost: We are fundamentally social beings, and social distancing can carry a heavy psychological price tag. This is particularly true for people who live on their own, but we can all struggle with the emotional impact of isolation and its first cousin, loneliness.

Although there’s been no time to study the effects of social distancing related specifically to the novel coronavirus, we know a great deal about the impact of  on mental and physical health. It’s often experienced as highly stressful,. Isolation, particularly when it causes loneliness, the risk of anxiety and depression. has the equivalent adverse impact on physical health to smoking 15 , and is linked to an increased risk of a wide variety of health problems. In a  highly relevant to our current situation, students who reported higher levels of loneliness responded less powerfully to flu vaccinations.