By Norman Cloete 
Jul 10, 2021
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Johannesburg – The Covid-19 pandemic has not only brought death and illness but also isolation and loneliness.
We now live in a world in which face-to-face human interaction has been dramatically limited. We are staying at home and avoiding public spaces in order to avoid the coronavirus, but for many people this means they now have nobody to talk to about their fears and insecurities.
It is against this backdrop that South Africa will be hosting a conference later this year, where world experts in the field of human connection and social interaction will be gathering. The four-day event, will at its core, have a basic question it will try to answer – how can we still, despite lockdown, find a way of meaningfully interacting with one another?
The conference is based around the Science of Human Connection, which is all about how the natural and social sciences tell us who we are as human beings, what prevents individuals from relating to one another and how this interpersonal crisis of connection can lead to civic disengagement. There is also strong evidence that the loss of social connection and meaningful relationships can lead to serious mental health problems.
Conference organisers say the experts can speak on any aspect of human relationships – such as kids that can’t mingle with their peers at school, senior citizens who are cut off from their families because of lockdown limitations, building leadership strengths for tertiary students to equip them for the working world while still being locked up at home, to name but a few.
Psychotherapist and imago relationship therapist, Carol Dixon said loneliness is a major side effect of this socially engineered, non-pharmaceutical intervention to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially for people who are single and working from home.
“African people are not used to so much isolation. Loneliness in turn leads to many mental and emotional health issues such as anxiety and depression. Couples who are in long-distance relationships and have had to conduct their intimate relationships over Zoom. There is even a movement called ‘love is not tourism’ to tackle the travel needs of long-distance couples and their desperate need to be together,” she said.
Despite the many gadgets we have to communicate with each other, experts say we will see the impact of “Zoom fatigue” and screen-based relationships for many years to come and the impact will be profound.
“Social interaction is more than hearing voices and seeing others. It’s about physical touch, smells and the nuances of proto-conversations (non-verbals) which are all missed on screen. It’s amazing how much information the brain picks up about people’s intentions from observing the feet movements of others. And yes children need their grandparents, just as much as older people need to have contact with their kids and grandkids. Young children do not respond well to the screen. It has very little social meaning for them,” said Dixon.
Experts around the world said they cannot stress enough the importance of exercise, fresh air and healthy eating.
“Get out of bed and get dressed like you are actually going to work or school. Wear proper shoes and dress top and bottom as if you are going out. Listen to good music regularly, surround yourselves with fragrances and smells that you enjoy. Try to go out and engage in conversation within Covid-19 restrictions even if it is with people you don’t know. Reduce screen time as much as possible, read more books. Take up a hobby – craft work, gardening, dancing – whatever. Handwrite letters to all your friends – ask for written replies. Even if you send them as a photo,” she advised.
Imago Africa is a community of imago practitioners in Africa with a strong focus on supporting vulnerable communities by providing workshops, educational webinars and empowering young leadership and relational facilitators. Imago relationship therapy, developed in 1980, is an integrative methodology of relationship and couples therapy that focuses on transforming conflict into healing and growth through relational connection.
You can find more information about the event here.
The Saturday Star