Did the Pandemic Make Us Less Sociable?

January 25, 2022

During the pandemic, we had to face a lot of restrictions, a lockdown, and follow social distancing rules. This affected our psychological and mental wellbeing greatly; we are definitely not the same people we were before Covid-19. So much has changed.

This article argues that the pandemic made us anti-social and will try to provide tips on the best way to return to our everyday life:

Signs

Watch out for some of these anti-social signs:

You’re uncomfortable meeting new people: The pandemic made us feel awkward about meeting and interacting with new people; mostly due to the extended isolation periods we’ve experienced during the lockdown.
You forgot how to communicate with others: Socializing is a crucial skill that not many people have. So, if you feel like your communication skills have gotten even poorer, it’s definitely because of the pandemic.
You’re experiencing panic attacks before meeting your friends: You’re having anxiety or panic attacks before hanging out with friends, that’s probably the effect of the social distancing on you.
You’re looking forward to staying home: Although the lockdown ended, we still enjoy staying at home with the family, especially at night.
Zoom isn’t that bad: At the beginning of the pandemic, we felt uncomfortable meeting friends and colleagues on Zoom, but now, we think it’s not that bad and even prefer it to in person meetings.

Why?

According to the Greater Good Magazine, a magazine associated with the University of California, Berkeley, the pandemic brought us stress, loneliness and depression, which made us want to avoid interacting with other people.

Also, the pandemic made us feel unworthy of having relationships and worried about judgmental views. Depression made us feel like we’re out of energy and motive and affected our self-esteem.

According to psychotherapist Lindsey Antin, people who experience depression don’t have much to bring to the table in conversations. So after a long time of isolation during the lockdown, people might feel they don’t know what to talk about that would be attractive to others.

How to deal with it?

So if you’re feeling anti-social after the pandemic, here are some tips that might help you:

Be prepared before meeting anyone: If you feel anxiety before meeting new people or friends, give your mind and body the chance to be ready by making scenarios of the conversation.
Start with a few small conversations: It’s often said that if you face a big problem, you have to dissect it into a few smaller ones and start solving them with baby steps.
Talk with trusted people: This is one of the most recommended tips to help you overcome your social anxiety. It’s the time to depend on a trusted friend more than ever.
Go outside: Nature can help you relax and get over depression, anxiety and stress. So, if you have the chance to be outdoors, by all means go for it.
Ask for help: If all these tips didn’t help you overcome social anxiety, you have to seek the professional help of a therapist.