When COVID -19 hit, almost all corporate and social places that gave our lives pattern and rhythm came to a halt. Where we used to talk about a Third Place, we are now mostly confined to One Place. The fluid wave of viral infection ultimately required all of us to physically distance, work from home and minimize the circles we were used to traveling in.
THE WORLD CAME TO A STOP By Carolyn Rickard-Brideau The lack of human contact along with pervasive uncertainty about almost every aspect of daily life has more than tripled the rates of anxiety and depression in the US, resulting in a huge challenge to the mental health within the entire US, not just in workplaces. Within a week of the video showing George Floyd’s death, anxiety and depression among African-Americans shot from 36% to 41%, an increase higher than any other ethnic group and representing an additional 1.4 million people. The suspected rate of drug overdoses has increased exponentially, from 18% in March to 29% in April to 42% in May based on information from hospitals. The mental health challenges we’re dealing with have reached epidemic levels, mirroring the coronavirus itself.
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Beyond Workplace II
LONELINESS AND SOCIAL ISOLATION Human connection lies at the heart of human wellbeing. From the moment we’re born to the time we die, one way we measure of successful life is through social connection. We even have a specific neuron in our brain – the mirror neuron – which allows humans to build empathy and feelings of community and shared experience. The human brain is very sensitive to being lonely. One day of feeling lonely has the approximate neural signature of fasting for a day; the lack of social interaction can create an urgency similar to hunger. There is a big difference between physical isolation and perceived isolation. Short-term loneliness can be useful and necessary in part to highlight the importance of social support and belonging. But longer term, unanswered loneliness can
