Introverts Need Human Contact During Social Distancing, Too
March 30, 2020
For the most part, I love being in the comfort of my own home. I have friends and love talking to other people, but to decompress and recharge, it’s got to be in my own home.
With the recent decree of social distancing put into place, I’ve realized how much I do like to go out and be around other people. Not necessarily crowds of people but even chatting it up with the cashier at the grocery store.
I took one of my kids with me on our weekly grocery run this week and he made a comment about how I talked to everyone we came in contact with in the stores.
- There was old friend in line behind us waiting to get inside of Costco.
- The lady directing traffic, keeping people six feet apart in the check out lines.
- Every single cashier that had my attention for five minutes.
- Our butcher, who I probably stayed ten minutes longer than I needed to, because we were chatting it up.
The more we stay at home, I recognized how having daily chats with my family wasn’t doing the trick. I needed the chit chat of people out and about. Any kind of connection made me feel like a part of our community.
- Waving to strangers passing by our house in their cars.
- Talking with neighbors I wouldn’t have usually noticed.
- Smiling at every person and saying hi to people on our daily walks.
- Running into another old friend and chatting for a bit on a hike.
Since, we are advised to not hug, shake hands or give high fives to people, the contactless approach can be difficult on everyone. Even though, we need to keep our distance from people, hugging your immediately family can help. I’ve been giving my kids more and more hugs on a daily basis. It’s a great way to feel connected to them during this pandemic. I’ve noticed too, they want more hugs from us as well.
They are craving that human interaction they normally get at school and with their friends. If we can’t hug our friends, hug a family member or pet or even yourself.
More and more reasons are popping up to remind me to be grateful for all we have now more than ever.
Where are you getting daily human contact from?