Lack of human contact causing MH crisis?

[Flipslop]

I’ve been doing alot of reading (and have some formal training) in MH matters, particularly around trauma and burnout recovery. A key thing that keeps coming up is the fundamental need for human contact to keep mentally well, especially when recovering from trauma.
whats everyone’s thoughts on this? I think I’ve really seen the detrimental affect on my own mental health since working from home over the last 5 years
am I being reasonable to think WFH and just generally a more distant society is stacking up for MH crisis?

Everyone is different. I find being around people is very stressful. I’m much calmer and better able to cope on my own.

Yes, you’re right, I did think of that before I wrote the post but forgot to mention it, guess it works best for some. However I do worry about my introvert friends who, I feel are getting ‘out of practice’ interacting with people.
im a sociable person so can see it would affect me more than someone who doesn’t enjoy face to face interaction

I don't think it's helping. People are increasingly isolated these days, from choice or circumstances. Working from home, messaging rather than actually having a conversation with someone on the phone or face to face. Being glued to a phone all the time when out, so missing opportunities for casual conversations at the bus stop or on the bus or train. Having shopping delivered, so no chat in the supermarket queue or with the cashier.

I agree!

Absolutely this.

My main thoughts are MH is multi faceted but the main points are

Lack of community

Isolation and loneliness

Bad diets (lack of nutrition) even a decent diet lack nutrition due to over farming etc

Lack of free time

Job insecurity

Children having no free play either at home or school. I mean play without any adult supervision out in the woods etc.

Too much interruption with phones. Never off duty to be bored

Add to that shit govt high costs of living

This one rung a bell.

Having shopping delivered, so no chat in the supermarket queue or with the cashier.

The more isolated I am, the more I feel going to a supermarket is out of my abilities, and home delivery is the safest option.

The more isolated I am, the more I feel going to a supermarket is out of my abilities, and home delivery is the safest option.

Have you got a convenience store/corner shop nearby? Even if you still have your main shopping delivered, just popping in there once or twice a week for a couple of things is social contact. If they are nice friendly people you can have a bit of a chat each time.

Going to a crowded office to be surrounded by people on Teams calls would do nothing for my recovery from trauma, thanks.

I very happily work from home. I have plenty of human contact though hobbies, friends etc. I also have plenty of virtual contact with colleagues and have good strong relationships with them.

Being in the office has only ever been detrimental for my mental health. Offices aren’t designed in a nurturing or trauma informed way, especially big open plan ones.

YABVU.

What a weird post. We chat with the people who deliver our supermarket shopping far more than there’s time for in the store.

I always chat to my delivery driver much more than to a cashier. I think because I have to concentrate on packing more at the supermarket.

This is a strange one

I am horribly isolated

But I was ill with depression and anxiety for a long time, and that was when I had loads of friends and was probably overworked in career terms. I very much see it as a medical condition.

I do worry that I'm slipping into a very dark place again- but the unhappiness that is caused by isolation, for me is very different. It's lack of quality social interaction, with quality being the keyword.

I worked at home a lot for a long time pre-Covid and it suited me fine and still does. Work colleagues don't necessarily provide quality social interaction.

I spent a very long time examining my own role in loss of friendships much of which is documented here!. I don't know what I did wrong. I mean, I managed to have some of these friends for 20 years or more. But I think there's a prevailing culture of people disappearing into their families and we can't know how badly damaged people are as a result of lockdown.

I was very much damaged by lockdown, and that's when my friends vanished.but I can't figure out a way to repair it and I actually think there's been a delayed reaction with some people.

I'm aware that the more isolated I become, the more weird I become and the less I am able to interact with people. And it's a spiral.

But I do still have "normal" social interactions except at times like Christmas and Easter.

I suppose I don't have a basis for comparison - so maybe I don't value casual social interaction as much as I should do...but extreme loneliness makes it hard to see anything clearly.

I do think the fabrics of community and society have pretty much fallen apart post Covid. But as someone who has long valued homeworking, I don't think that anybody should be forced back to a workplace unless it's necessary for that role.

I hope that made sense!

also, my unhappiness now is not the same as clinical depression and anxiety. Though I suppose in the end, the effects on your brain chemicals can be the same. That seems to be what the studies imply.

I agree with first poster, it really depends. Some people have mentioned groceries for example - well I get my Shopping delivered from Ocado/sainsburys/Tesco and I find the delivery people overall quite friendly even if it’s just a very brief encounter.

Conversely my nearest supermarket is Tesco and I don’t find most of the checkout ladies there friendly although I have had some realy helpful and pleasant younger boys stacking shelves when I’ve asked where something is. I used to pop in if I ran out of something but now I’d rather not.

I mostly WFH, as part of a large organisation and the last two times I went into my office I didn’t find people there too friendly. When I WFH I just speak to the people I work on projects with directly. The local office is more full of strangers if that makes sense?

I used to commute to work every day and between train delays, overcrowding and unhappy commuters I found it stressful and overwhelming.

My neighbour WFH too and I do occasionally pop out to lunch with her. overall my mental health has improved post 2020/while WFH.

ETA:
however I can see the flipside of this. I do miss the camaraderie of some of the offices I worked in when I was in my late 20s
and early 30s. Years later I’m good friends with some of those former coworkers.

Also I had one friend who would insist on constant texts and voice notes but never wanted to have a proper phone call let alone meet up in person despite not living that far from me. Eventually I had to pull away from the friendship as I found it draining.

I'm an introvert but I agree OP. The human brain is actually meant to socialise and they've proven that it begins to shut down and go into a depressive loop when isolated. That's for everyone - even introverts, but obviously introverts need less socialising. They still need to socialise though.

There's also a strong link with socialising and Ill physical health - people who socialise less live significantly shorter lives than those who socialise and have more friends. The science on all this is fascinating

Imo socialising is crucial for most & often underestimated.

Not going to be great as people age when it becomes even more important

I worked at home a lot for a long time pre-Covid and it suited me fine and still does. Work colleagues don't necessarily provide quality social interaction.

I was just about to say something similar - that there’s a difference between quality and quantity. I don’t feel the quality of interaction I’d get in my current workplace or on crowded frequently delayed trains would benefit me more than WFH.

What I do feel is that since I’m mostly WFH I need to be more intentional about looking for quality social interactions.

And for me that is spending time with friends old and new. Whether it’s brunch or theatre with a close friend or attending a workshop or retreat somewhere I may meet new people and learn new things. Last October I went on a retreat abroad and made a whole bunch of friends and new connections as well as spending time with some friends I already had in that country. It was very wholesome and rejuvenating and one of them is coming to visit later this summer.

Totally agree. Working with people kept my social anxiety from tipping into full phobia. Working from home has been terrible for my mental health.

There's a reason why exile is a punishment, not just amongst humans but the animal kingdom.

YANBU, I worry about it in political terms as well. There seem to be so many angry people online, and I wonder whether it’s partly because we’re all lonelier, and it’s leading to polarisation and a rise in support for fascist parties and leaders (though obviously fascism existed long before the internet).

I am someone who has had bullying grievances upheld twice by HR in two different workplaces in my early to mid 30s, and received compensation. I’m only just recovering from that now and it’s partly thanks to WFH. So working in some offices was definitely not good for my anxiety.

So my final word on this is - we are all different and people should endeavour to find a mode of living that benefits their mental health.

I think the issue is you’re getting people stuck at home that would be better off not being inside alone so much, and OTOH people having to go out and interact in busy environments daily who would be better off spending more time at home.

I think you need to split people in to two types.

Those who have a diagnosis that would have always been there and is nothing to do with isolation. Such as people who endure childhood or adult trauma. They are one group.

The other group are people who are isolated through WFH and lack of interaction and their issues arise from loneliness. Overall people that do not already have an existing MH issue or anxiety do better with social contact.

Very much different types of issues, though many cross overs.

I think wfh does increase social anxiety. Pre Covid although I was a bit of an introvert, I happily got on with my colleagues and went out sociallly with them occasionally for lunch etc. but now I find I actually get anxious at having to socialise during our twice a year collaboration days, and i just find that I really dont want to socialise with anyone outside my family unit these days.

A big problem currently is the failure of primary care. I tried to call my surgery for an appointment. The only way to get a routine or urgent appointment is to call at 8 am. I was 34th in the call queue. When I got through all the appointments had gone. If you’re lucky enough to get an appointment, it’s a telephone call. I find a telephone call is very impersonal and as far as the clinician is concerned, many aspects for a diagnosis aren’t available.

Everyone is different.

My MH has improved dramatically with 5 years of WFH and has plummeted since last week when I was informed by the service I'm contracted to I'd be expected to be in the office 2 days a week from May.

It won't happen as my employer is supporting me and I'm covered by the equality act but the stress, anxiety and feeling discriminated against are unbelievable.

All because a new manager who is an extrovert thinks it'll be good for everybody and will solve all the problems of a frankly dismal official inspection which had nothing to do with me or my work.

I've battled all my life with anxiety disorders, misophonia and other MH issues. I am an extreme introvert also.

The most exhausting battle and the most discriminatory one is the idea that people have that if I force myself to socialise more, be in enclosed spaces with a team of others more, do more of whatever they think I should be doing, it'll magically get easier, I'll start to love it and voilà won't have MH problems anymore.

Now, I agree that avoidance isn't a great coping strategy for anxiety but I spent 30 years forcing myself to do things to make other people feel more comfortable, destroying my mental health in the process.

I don't want it. Leave me alone and I'm happy and able to function.

@Zoldevort do you mean for mental health problems specifically or in general?

I think the fact that daily lifethings that used to be straightforwardhave become harder is a factor.

Even getting conversation out of my so-called best friend is like getting blood out of a stone these days. I appreciate that many people are living far more stressful lives than I am but given how hard things were in the past, I'm not sure it's the biggest factor.

But generally, I think everything in our culture leads to problematic interactions. I think that's a global problem and it probably links to technology more than anything else.