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Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

blogs.scientificamerican.com

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Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#31

Post by [deleted] »

briefcomment wrote: post #27
ericol wrote: post #13

More or less for my entire life I've had the idea that my social needs were not on par with the rest of the people, and this quarantine seems to have proven just that. Bear in mind I do enjoy social life; when I was living in Spain in my 30s (and single) I had a very active social life, and had a moderate (~30) amount of friends split in 2 groups with which I continuously interacted. When I left Spain for my place of…

Can you really call living with your family isolation? There are people out there who live with no one, aren't near family, and can't see friends because of the lockdowns.

[deleted]

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#32

Post by Trasmatta »

briefcomment wrote: post #27
ericol wrote: post #13

More or less for my entire life I've had the idea that my social needs were not on par with the rest of the people, and this quarantine seems to have proven just that. Bear in mind I do enjoy social life; when I was living in Spain in my 30s (and single) I had a very active social life, and had a moderate (~30) amount of friends split in 2 groups with which I continuously interacted. When I left Spain for my place of…

Can you really call living with your family isolation? There are people out there who live with no one, aren't near family, and can't see friends because of the lockdowns.

Yep, this me. I haven't been able to see friends or family since March 15th. So I haven't even touched another human in that long. It's been really bad for my mental health. I have a hard time empathising with people who say they've been super lonely but still live with family.

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#33

Post by dwaltrip »

whatshisface wrote: post #29
chrisseaton wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 'non-essential' guidance is also being relaxed in all locations I've seen reporting on. Most are encouraging distanced socialising and return to work.

The non-essential guidance has little bearing on whether or not someone should engage in non-essential visits, as policymakers do not schedule the virus.

The virus alone also doesn’t schedule human behavior. I’m not sure exactly what you are implying.

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#34

Post by obiefernandez »

tehlike wrote: post #26
ericol wrote: post #13

More or less for my entire life I've had the idea that my social needs were not on par with the rest of the people, and this quarantine seems to have proven just that. Bear in mind I do enjoy social life; when I was living in Spain in my 30s (and single) I had a very active social life, and had a moderate (~30) amount of friends split in 2 groups with which I continuously interacted. When I left Spain for my place of…

That explains fair amount of us, I think. I'm on the same camp. It makes it a bit challenging as my wife is extremely social, so finding balance is a bit tough for both of us :)

I have the same issue. My wife is going absolutely stir-crazy and dreaming of all the adventures, while I'm absolutely happy to be productive at home with relatively few distractions.

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#35

Post by nprz »

chrisseaton wrote: post #12
rb808 wrote: post #10

Honestly its scary the talk of another year like this. I have a family and even with them around living all day in my apt is starting to drive me crazy. I'd hate to be living by myself. Its a lot like solitary confinement. My Brother had the bug, had a mild cough for a few days and lost his taste. I'm very jealous.

> Honestly its scary the talk of another year like this. I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting you will not be able to leave your house for another year. I think everywhere has concrete plans to re-open everything short of mass gatherings pretty soon. That's the cautious countries and the less cautious countries alike.

Currently around ~5% of the US has contracted COVID. 60-70% of the population needs to become infected in order to gain herd immunity. Meaning we're about 7% of the way to herd immunity. We still have a long way to go.

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#36

Post by cortesoft »

rb808 wrote: post #10

Honestly its scary the talk of another year like this. I have a family and even with them around living all day in my apt is starting to drive me crazy. I'd hate to be living by myself. Its a lot like solitary confinement. My Brother had the bug, had a mild cough for a few days and lost his taste. I'm very jealous.

It's funny because I am having the opposite issue... stuck at home with my wife and two young kids, and what I want is MORE alone time. I need daycare!

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#37

Post by cortesoft »

ericol wrote: post #13

More or less for my entire life I've had the idea that my social needs were not on par with the rest of the people, and this quarantine seems to have proven just that. Bear in mind I do enjoy social life; when I was living in Spain in my 30s (and single) I had a very active social life, and had a moderate (~30) amount of friends split in 2 groups with which I continuously interacted. When I left Spain for my place of…

Yes, this has certainly solidified my understanding of myself as an introvert... I am stuck home with my wife and two young kids, and I mostly want more alone time... I don't miss seeing other people.

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#38

Post by chrisseaton »

nprz wrote: post #35
chrisseaton wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Honestly its scary the talk of another year like this. I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting you will not be able to leave your house for another year. I think everywhere has concrete plans to re-open everything short of mass gatherings pretty soon. That's the cautious countries and the less cautious countries alike.

Currently around ~5% of the US has contracted COVID. 60-70% of the population needs to become infected in order to gain herd immunity. Meaning we're about 7% of the way to herd immunity. We still have a long way to go.

I don't think anyone's saying they're aiming at herd immunity any more, are they? The European and North American countries opening up, which is all of them, are just saying they have the situation generally under control enough to relax restrictions.

Re: Forced social isolation causes neural craving similar to hunger

#39

Post by [deleted] »

cortesoft wrote: post #36
rb808 wrote: post #10

Honestly its scary the talk of another year like this. I have a family and even with them around living all day in my apt is starting to drive me crazy. I'd hate to be living by myself. Its a lot like solitary confinement. My Brother had the bug, had a mild cough for a few days and lost his taste. I'm very jealous.

It's funny because I am having the opposite issue... stuck at home with my wife and two young kids, and what I want is MORE alone time. I need daycare!

[deleted]
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