Throughout the pandemic and resulting lockdowns, the vast majority of people were forced to stay at home, often alone, with minimal contact with the outside world. Many people found some solace in online and virtual connections, such as Skype or Zoom calls, emailing, and messaging on community boards. It wasn’t a cure for anxiety-inducing isolation, but it did help mitigate some of the effects.
However, access to broadband is not a given for all communities and rural areas of the country − many are still in need. In particular, people with disabilities often lack the funds to afford access or own a computer or mobile phone. For many in this community, the lockdown has been a long stretch, one that has perpetuated social isolation and loneliness; a toll on physical and mental health.
What is social isolation?
Social isolation is defined as the “lack of social contacts and having few people to interact with regularly," per the US Department of Health and Human Services. It’s different from loneliness —loneliness can be easily alleviated and is a temporary state, while social isolation is ongoing and often is difficult to remedy. For example, a person can be "[...] lonely in a crowd, but not socially isolated." Its the difference between perception (loneliness) and seclusion (isolation).
The root cause of social isolation is being cut off from social contacts and networks (the human kind, not the Facebook kind). A person can experience this abrupt or chronic absence of in-person communication and connection for many reasons, including loss of mobility, unemployment, health issues, or ongoing disasters such as hurricanes and pandemics. For many people, especially those who were active and outgoing before the isolating event, losing this ability and resources they had can be nearly catastrophic.
What are the impacts of social isolation?
Social isolation has an immediate and profound effect on a person’s mental and physical health. According to the American Psychological Association, the physical impact of being socially isolated is the equivalent of "[...]smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having an alcohol use disorder." This may seem extreme to people who have not experienced social isolation and its devastating effects, but the health risks associated with being cut off from communication and interaction are serious.
Regarding mental health, depression and anxiety disorders can be both a contributing cause of social isolation and a resulting factor. Being cut off from human contact can often exacerbate pre-existing mental health issues, like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, or activate latent issues that a person may have been unaware of. One of the best resources a person with mental illness has to help fight their symptoms is contact with friends and loved ones and being shown that they are cared about.
Without this, a person is more likely to result in raised levels of stress, sleep impediments, and unhealthy habits such as smoking, overeating, undersleeping, and not exercising, per the American Psychological Association.
How do physical health impacts relate to mental health?
Mental health and physical health have a very close, almost symbiotic relationship. A person with physical disabilities often has more mental health issues, such as depression. Mental health issues also contribute to physical health issues—anxiety, for example, can cause gastrointestinal distress, headaches, and fatigue.
When someone is dealing with these issues, being isolated and without the support of family and friends can worsen already all-encompassing health problems. Studies have shown that people without support, whether it’s an inability to travel due to limited public transport or funds, a pandemic, or other challenges, contribute to immune system dysfunction, accelerated cognitive decline, impaired executive function, and poor cardiovascular health.
Social isolation is often a symptom of mental illness itself. People with depression often self-isolate due to negative thoughts or self-image, mistaken beliefs that nobody likes them, fatigue, and a disinterest in activities that they used to enjoy. Removing themselves from social situations seems to solve their depression, but, in reality, not speaking to loved ones feeds into the negative thoughts of depression, worsening it.
People with physical disabilities and decreased or absent motor function struggle similarly. They may have few people they can rely on and a small support network, and guilt can set in due to their reliance on friends or family. They may try to limit their requests, which isolates them further and can send them into depression as well.
Whatever the cause of a person’s social isolation, it’s clear that mental and physical health suffers greatly the longer a person lacks contact and communication. Both mental and physical health work hand-in-hand; one does not deteriorate without the other following suit.
What are some solutions for combatting social isolation?
There have been many studies about the ways society can challenge and combat the effects of social isolation. Several new ideas have been put forth and explored, including video games and gaming, chat rooms, messaging and phone calls with loved ones, restarting a forgotten hobby, and online classes or events (libraries are a great place for this) are some of the top suggested possibilities that people can try to prevent or reduce their social isolation.
Reducing and/or eliminating social isolation takes work, both on the part of loved ones and on the part of people struggling. It is not an issue that goes away on its own and ignoring it is nearly guaranteed to make the problem worse.
Conclusion
Social isolation has always been something people with disabilities struggle with. Because of lockdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic, the phenomenon has been seriously worsened, with more and more people experiencing it.
It’s important to check in on loved ones and do all you can to fight any isolation they may have. Regular communication alone can do wonders — be sure to give encouragement, positivity, and love however you can.
AccessibilityPlus 2022
Accessibility.com is proud of our role in promoting accessibility and equal access while recognizing there is much work to be done. As we welcome a new year in 2022, we have opened registration for AccessibilityPlus 2022, which will feature monthly events dedicated to promoting actionable solutions in implementing accessibility initiatives. Registration is limited. For more information about the conference, speakers, and topics, please visit our AccessibilityPlus registration page.
Registration for our first annual event, Are You Next? Trends in Digital Accessibility Lawsuits, is now available at no cost for Accessibility.com viewers for a limited time.
Comments