Coping with COVID-19: Avoiding isolation

Woman on video chat with heart hands

Social distancing doesn’t necessarily have to equal social isolation.

Clearly, this has become a time for caution considering our interactions with others. We may question when is the right time to go to the grocery or reconsider where to get gasoline. This is essence of social distancing.

But in many ways, this is exactly the time to have social interactions with our family, friends and co-workers in a variety of non-face-to-face interactions. Reach out to others on Facebook to see how they’re doing. Send texts to family members. Have telephone conversations with peers you haven’t had time to speak with in weeks or even months.

You could even go back to what seems to be an ancient communication: writing a letter and sending it via the postal service. Who doesn’t enjoy getting something other than bills and political flyers in their mailbox?

Remember: While you’re socially distant, you’re not and should not be socially isolated.

And now… from The Ohio State University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health’s Stress Trauma And Resilience (STAR) Program, here is your moment of zen:

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