Isolation Kills
Essay
Have you ever wondered, what would be the life of a human if they were all alone for his or her entire life span? Dead or alive? Happy or depressed?
Humans are born with emotions embedded in their adrenaline glands. This gland secretes emotion with which we tend to love, hate, be happy, or sad. Have you ever wondered what a person who was born without this gland or emotions? Will he/she be able to love, hate, be happy or sad? Or will he/she be able to form connections with friends or his or her loved ones? Now the important question arises will he/she be able to exist in such isolation? Moreover, can humans exist in complete isolation?
Humans love to celebrate their happy or sad moments with their loved ones. Even introverts like to celebrate with their small group. There are different phases in our life where we need people to express our emotions, but on the other hand, there are phases where we don’t have anyone though we need one.
During the Covid-19 lockdown people were forced to be locked in their homes due to extreme situations in the world. Many of us were staying with our parents but most of us were living alone, all isolated from our loved ones and isolated in a house or a room. According to a research paper published by BMC Psychiatry, Unexpected behavior changes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the increasing trend of suicidal attempts reported. Furthermore, the mental health impact of social distancing, COVID-19 quarantine, and financial crises due to loss of employment were associated risk factors with suicide and/or suicidal attempts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
So what happens during isolation? It turns out that our brains are wired to have social connections and when we don’t get it, our brain functions differently and we lose some part of our nerve connection (brain). Researchers have developed certain theories about this period. Many agree that this isolation period was common among older people. After covid 19 it was found the brain changes rapidly among young people. These changes lead to brain fog. During brain fog, the brain starts processing slowly. The power of thinking slows down and overthinking works rapidly. You might feel tired the whole day even though you are not even getting out of your bed.
Brain cognition is the ability to read someone’s emotional expression, remember and recognize someone’s face as familiar, being able to empathize with another person, and appreciate that they have their desires, goals, and intentions. We learn this skill very early but we need social interaction to maintain them. So, a part of isolation is that you lose these skills because you don’t practice them. When we look at the large picture of this change, it’s crucial. People who showed brain loss in their temporal lobes, frontal lobes, and hippocampus. The person who gets isolated starts to have small hippocampi, and they lose their brains. And the results are unwanted and life-threatening.
However, isolation is not always this crucial. Some people live in isolation for a longer period of their lives and they are fine with it. But what about people for whom this phase is crucial and how they phase out from this period?
Cognitive reserve is the mental buffer that lets your brain compensate and function even when you have reduced brain volume. One can take it up as a generator when the power goes off. It is not rocket science to understand how this cognitive reserve can be helpful. There are certain things in a day that help to increase this reserve such as education, engaging in a high level of social interaction, cognitively challenging jobs, and participating in activities that engage your brain such as learning a new language, playing a new instrument, or doing physical exercise. Physical exercise is the most helpful way as exercise stimulates nerve growth, and the growth of the nerve leads to new pathways and connections. This is a continuous process or a lifetime thing. You have to continuously engage your mind.
In a modern world where things are just one click away, it’s not that hard to increase your cognitive reserve. Additionally, it is not hard to ask for help. Some organizations are helping people to come out from their isolation period, you just need to ask for help. We as good friends, family members, or a partner must always keep in touch with our loved ones. We are hoping for someone who is in this kind of crucial stage. So look around and don’t lose your connection with your or not-so-loved ones.
Thank you for loving and reading!
Do share your ideas or suggestions in the comment box.
