Pandemic and isolation, causing a norm with a lot of different emotions and responses. — Also some have traumas, PTSD, and depression, and commit suicides.

We need to look at all the variables in the story of Covid19, lockdowns, isolations, and types of people and responses. What causes these responses, what is normal, what can we do to help everyone? How do we connect best? Also, how do we prevent suicide and PTSD?

Jiska Hachmer
Covid-19 collection
16 min readJan 10, 2021

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During Covid19 there is physical isolation, not social isolation.

Connecting during the pandemic can be very important. We can compare this isolation with other types of isolations, and try to find similarities, so we can find solutions for problems that might occur during these isolations (Joordens, 2021).

Well-being is being authentic and autonomous (Santos, N.D.). People live within themselves, guessing what is real in the outside world because of the senses of the human being in between their brain and the outside world. Also, we never have a God point of view, we are simply human, depending on our senses, and biased by our senses. We only experience what we can experience, with our features, and senses. This creates only a human point of view, with the possibilities human have, we see the world. It is a miracle we experience each other, as we are “locked up”, inside of ourselves. Trusting if we experience the outside world, that is the outside world, but we are never sure. Nothing really tells us the truth, we never know anything absolutely for sure, we guess (Purves, N.D.).

All is now normal, any reaction of anger, anxiety, unrealistic feelings and ideas, being withdrawn, feeling scared, staying calm, being focused at work, continuing business, only depression and feeling traumatized are normal now, in these circumstances, but we do have an extra eye on, to not have the people with trauma fall into having PTSD, and to not have suicide by the people with depression. But overall the pandemic, lockdown, and having the Covid19 spread around, is causing all kinds of reactions that can be considered normal. People will simply respond differently in times like these. We do need to focus on social distancing, following all hygiene rules to stop the spread of Covid19, but focus on connecting more and doing things together, in safe ways.

Where the business life will mix with the personal life, and people could create more connection by doing safe things together, being creative and innovative, and finding things to do together, have a shared view and seek connection, despite the social distancing, and being isolated.

Abnormal behavior does not mean one has DSM or is really abnormal. The people finding the person abnormal could be the abnormal ones. Also, the circumstances, cultural differences can make one look abnormal, although they are actually normal (APA, 2020, Emerging leading Academy; Hachmer, 2020).

The answer for connecting during Covid19 seems to be connection, inclusion, empowerment, innovation, and creativity.

“This year’s Academy focuses on Leadership During Challenging Times: Disruption, Transition, and Innovation. The Academy will address the characteristics, qualities, and processes associated with novel challenges that demand change and invite innovation in response to the uncertainties we confront as leaders during critical times.” (APA, 2020, Emerging leading Academy, p.2).

The answer for isolation seems to be innovative, being creative, accepting people, include people, give them empowerment, let them decide, and let business and personal life mix, and focus on connecting, having shared views, and connect in safe ways, during this time.

We learn while we go through Covid19 and the pandemic. We should build psychological safety. The situation will be disrupting, and cause uncertainty, but we can have innovations, and share visions, understanding, be clear and adapt (Shullman, 2020). We can have empathy, and be good at our Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).

People, in general, can respond differently, because of Covid19, with anxiety, fears, or even become unrealistic (Coons, 2020), but also leaders can respond differently, for example, defensive, disrupting, or exploring (Shullman, 2020).

Not everyone will be depressed, a lot of people will have different feelings, some even work a lot more right now. Collaborations can help during this time, focusing on connections and shared values and views. We can empower people, care about the people, listen to them, know how they feel, and how their energy levels are. Ask them what we can help them with, truly. Accept people are going through a lot, responding differently. Make known where they can reach you, and simply be there for them.

How we connect, also, how we can mix our business life and personal life during this time, and share the same values and views with people, will help us connect and get through. We will need to be creative, and innovative in connecting with others.

We will need to choose safe ways of connecting and doing things, like watching movies, read books together, have dinners together using face time, or other online tools. Go on a hike, while face-timing, taking each other along in each other’s life, perhaps a bit like YouTubers, and other social media users, sharing with communities, and other people what they do.

In the business setting, we will do more personal things with others, than normal and this helps to create more bonding, and connecting. Also, people go through a lot and some need more people to connect to, to get through this situation, so the business setting, and people at work, also collabs will be having more mixed situations, sharing things people can do together, so we can be there for each other. Also, it helps to have off days, so we do not think of the news, covid19, elections, and other situations. People need to take time off and do something else, which can lead to doing other things together, keeping each other company.

Covid19, in general, is a time of collectively grieving, so we can expect everyone is grieving at this moment, because of the covid19 pandemic

We will need to take a look at especially the ones with depressions, and trauma. All other emotions are simply normal right now, but depression can become suicide, and trauma can become PTSD (Coons, 2020).

A person rather has one good friend, than many friends, especially when being a teen.

Kids and adults focus more on being likable, which has more success in life, than having status. Teens that were popular, have a different motive on why the group finds them popular, because of status, but later on, in life, these popular teens, are worst off compared to all others not so popular as a teen. It is better to have just 1 friend, especially as a teen, than to have many friends, to end up better later on in life (Prinstein, N.D.).

Covid19 and human rights

Violations cause stress, and problems, which should not happen. Also, working on human rights connects people, and creates shared values and views.

Human rights duties, helping everyone get their human rights, right to join, but not to force people, nor interfere influence. We must accept everyone is competent by law, also children and babies. Human rights are the same rights as children’s rights. Everyone is born with human rights. We must interpret children and babies correctly, and help them get their dreams to come true, also help them get their human rights. (Ruggiero, et al., N.D.).

Different situations, differences, to look at, to solve problems

There are different things we should look at during this time, and at different feelings, one could feel, there are different situations, solutions, and all need their own personal and unique ways of handling in this situation, but overall we need to be creative, innovative and accept feelings one can have and connect and have a shared view.

We can think of discrimination, cultural differences, the war situation, covid19 as a threat, also causing deaths, different types of people, some want to be withdrawn, others need more connection, different feelings one can have, and how to connect and share our views, also what we should be sharing with each other to connect on a deeper level. Also, money problems, processing grief together, how people adapt to new situations, being physically isolated, being confronted with crimes, chaos, and “inmates”.

The isolation is different because it is in a war situation

The Covid19 should not have been spread, so this isolation is now happening, while many died already by these crimes done, it is a war situation, because of the 1000+ deaths planned (Centeno, N.D.), and not following the already existing SARS protocols, since 2003:

https://www.cdc.gov/sars/quarantine/exec-2004-04-03.html

https://www.cdc.gov/sars/quarantine/fs-isolation.html

https://www.cdc.gov/sars/quarantine/qa-isolation.html

People change in wars

Because the governments set the bar, and workers at work try to live up to those “new” and wrong standards. A group pressure through the jobs and the workers changes the norm and makes normal people even kill other people (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2017).

The isolation and depressions because of isolations are different because of cultural differences

Depression is the most common reason for suicide, but that does not always have to be a true reason for suicide.

“So here are the diagnostic criteria for depression from the so-called Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. What we have to start differentiating depression the mood from depression the clinical disorder. But we start with the moods. So one of these three abnormal moods has to be present for a diagnosis to be present. There has to be abnormal depressed mood, and it has to last for two weeks, nearly every day, or, and one what might call abnormal depressed mood sometimes called dysphoria. But there’s also this feeling of loss of interest or pleasure in things that you usually take pleasure in. They just don’t give any pleasure and this is called anhedonia. And, again, this has to be present for two weeks, nearly every day. For a young person, 18 or younger, irritable mood is one of the criteria but not for adults.” (Eaton, et al., N.D., Lecture 1A: What is Depression?).

People committing suicide can have different reasons related to their culture, this does not have to a depression. For example, blacks born in the USA commit more suicide, than black people that arrive today in USA, for the first time, the suicide rate does increase the longer one stays within the USA. Latinos are mainly committing suicide by losing jobs, abuse, or discrimination, and do not feel hopeless or worthless, while Asians would commit suicide when they feel shame they put on their family. Older Asians could commit suicide when they have financial problems. Older white men see suicide as a power to quit life when they are disabled and old. (Clay, 2018).

Discrimination can lead to suicide (Hope, 2016). So, during Covid19, that could be an extra reason besides the lockdown itself and these cultural differences.

Also, among the outcomes in deaths caused by Covid19 itself, there are differences

“Black and Indigenous Americans continue to suffer the highest rates of loss — with both groups now experiencing a COVID-19 death toll exceeding 1 in 750 nationally.” (APM Research lab staff, 2021, p. 5).

The key findings of the APM Research lab, (2021) are:

  • 1 in 595 Indigenous Americans has died (or 168.4 deaths per 100,000)
  • 1 in 735 Black Americans has died (or 136.5 deaths per 100,000)
  • 1 in 895 Pacific Islander Americans has died (or 112.0 deaths per 100,000)
  • 1 in 1,000 Latino Americans has died (or 99.7 deaths per 100,000)
  • 1 in 1,030 White Americans has died (or 97.2 deaths per 100,000)
  • 1 in 1,670 Asian Americans has died (or 59.9 deaths per 100,000)

(APM Research lab staff, 2021).

Suicide reasons are not correctly understood by the people around the ones that attempt suicide.

We need to work on true and more deep connections, and having shared views, including accepting the real reasons one can mention. Thus, including, accepting all feelings.

So, we need to look at the context, where do the people live, what is the cultural difference, what is

Also, how people connect on the deeper levels, with SEL and empathy. Do they truly connect and solve the situations the victims deal with?

In the research done by Asare-Doku, et al., (2019) we can see mainly the reasons for suicide are spouses and disagreements, or abuses done by other family members, sometimes it is about money, rarely about spiritual feelings, and just once a person felt isolated.

People also receive the situation different than victims truly feel, even when one names it in the research as “similar reasons”, there are still differences, mostly.

The abuse was not named as abused, by people around the victims. What exactly did not work out, between men and women is not explained well. The other women are left out of the conversations, while that is the reason the relationship did not work out, and why the person committed suicide. Also, if they knew there were issues, they do not name the type of issues. They knew there were “issues” but did not solve, nor explain what they knew. A deeper connection, on the topic, is not made between the victim and the family around.

When abuse was about the same answer between the one committing suicide and the family around the person, they lack the understanding or expressing of the understanding how bad that must feel for such person, it lacks empathy and understanding. It does not show they can connect with the victim, and truly hear them on that deep level. The real pain is a lot deeper for the one committing suicide, and that is not answered on the same deep level, with acceptance, understanding and reaching out a hand to that person, so they remain “isolated”, alone with the problem.

We do not read in the comments, if the family around is forcing themselves onto these people, nor any other issues, which could be there, and not said, as they have to deal with these people.

In one case money was stolen, and one wanted to commit suicide because of that, the stolen money was explained as about the same, by the victim and the family around the victim.

There are also families that could not at all find the same answers or denied the answers given, they seem to want it to be different than it is, they listen not well to the victim, nor have the deep connection to know what the true situation is, they do have opinions, about it.

Most families lacked shared views, and true connections, which is very important during isolation and times like these.

Kids and depressions. Young people and depressions.

“Low ECN coherence generally reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression during the pandemic than did those teens whose ECNs had been shown to activate more coherently”.(Hadhazy, 2020, p. 15).

These ECN are cognitive functions(Psychology Today, N.D.), which need to be done in the best settings, not the worst learning settings, which are school buildings (DeRue, et al, N.D.; Concordia University, 2012; Hachmer, 2020, cracked the code of education). School buildings are the worst places to learn these things, with the least results. So, being at home will help these kids a lot better to train these cognitive functions.

So, the conclusion could be, kids at home can now be taught a lot more precisely the things they need for their brain, which will also keep them more healthy. Parents could focus on these types of lessons. To help against depression and anxiety.

We might need to take a look again at Bandura, as the situation may come across that way, as we have bad examples in the government, and in a lot of jobs, showing how to kill people( The Curious Classroom, 2013).

Let's look at different types of isolation and the different outcomes

  • Like moved to a new place, not (yet) fitting in
  • Isolated because of not fitting in a group
  • Being in jails, physically and socially isolated
  • Being in jails, physically and socially isolated and forced to live with the inmates, which can kill each other, and damage each other
  • Being in a ward, physically and socially isolated, and forced to live with the inmates, which can kill each other, and damage each other
  • Being in schools in buildings (voluntary), with peers, where crime develops (Ruggiero, et al, N.D.).
  • Being forced in schools in buildings, with school systems, with peers, where crime develops.
  • Being at work, with crimes at work. With people with certain motives attracted to the jobs, some jobs attract more dark triad, and or typical types of crimes.
  • Being in a government, and wrong systems, causing crime at work, and out of hand.
  • Being in a government causing the spread of Covid19 and wrong systems, causing crime at work, and out of hand.

All these situations give differences. The cultural differences, discriminations, and faults and crimes by the governments and workers in jobs can make a difference. Covid19 itself is only isolating us physically, we can be innovative and creative. We could have an extra eye on these situations, other than normally at home in Lockdown, working at home with creativity, and innovations to connect. They might experience more issues, as they could be facing also more discriminations, and cultural differences related to being also socially isolated or being more near criminals, all the time.

Inmates can kill

See this example:

(CBC News, 2017)

So, it might simply matter who we are with during lockdowns. For the damages, killings, but also the suicides.

Focusing on Human rights, creating more individual worlds, with more innovations and creativity, might help solve the problems.

Especially in war times, like Covid19, where normal people can become killers too.

Better prisons, doing human rights in Norway.

Human rights help people to get all their rights, but we also need to change the prisons to better prisons. We need to in any way, but also during Covid19, we need an extra eye on the difference that people in jails are being physically isolated and socially isolated, not only physically. This is a bit different than how others experience Covid19.

Changing the buildings could create a less physically isolated feel, and could create more social connections with better creative and innovative ideas of connections, which also leads to not just being with inmates and peers, which can cause more crimes (Ruggiero, et al, N.D.), but also better handling of Covid19, and being more correct according to the human rights (Vox, 2019), and perhaps a better psychological development and learning to connect better, before one gets outside in the world again.

This can also become an example, for pandemics. We can learn how to be creative and innovate when we cannot be with other people when people are isolated from other people.

See this idea:

Conclusion

  • Not only Covid19 itself can be a cause of death.
  • Also, the governments that set the bar, and are criminal cause normal people to kill.
  • Also, cultural differences can cause suicide.
  • Besides the rare few that would kill themselves because of isolation.

Other people are a lot of the time the reason for suicide, so Covid19 itself is not the issue when it is about lockdowns, and isolation, only for some.

Lockdowns can be a relief from other people, or when having them as “inmates”, as a problem.

How we connect, how we can mix our business life and personal life, and share the same values, and views, will help us through. We will need to be creative, and innovative in connecting with others.

We will need to choose safe ways of connecting and doing things, like watching movies, read books together, have dinners together using face time, or other online tools. Go on a hike, while face-timing, taking each other along in each other's life, perhaps a bit like YouTubers, and other social media users, sharing with communities, and other people what they do.

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