Paula Niedenthal, professor of psychology, and Karen Smith, post-doctoral scholar, spoke with The Journal Times about how the pandemic affects our mental and emotional health, from missing out on person-to-person interaction to what long-term stress and loneliness can do to someone’s body.
Without regular face-to-face interactions, it becomes easier to feel stressed out. “The problem is really for people [who] have nobody else in their house … and can’t go out and have the social interactions they’re used to having,” Niedenthal said. “Those are the people who are really vulnerable right now.”
Niedenthal and Smith offered strategies to dealing with the pandemic’s emotional toll.
To counteract feelings of lack of control, Smith suggested making sure to take control of the things you can, whether that’s planning quality meals or making sure to take a daily walk for yourself or instituting a reliable routine.
Read the full article on The Journal Times website, here.