Why is socializing so draining right now?

The pandemic has changed the way we experience social situations. A particularly interesting and inconvenient social impact of the pandemic is that a lot of extroverts are reporting feeling more drained by social interaction than ever before. What gives? Is the pandemic turning extroverts into introverts?

Not exactly. We can attribute a lot of this phenomenon to an unexpected culprit: masks.

While masking up was a lifesaving thing that was absolutely worth whatever social cost they’ve imparted to us, they are likely to be a huge contributing factor to why in-person socializing can feel so draining these days, even for folks who would normally otherwise feel energized by socializing. So while we should absolutely keep masking up (masks are saving lives, after all), there may be some reason to think about the social cost of wearing masks and how to address them without giving up our masks. Here are a few reasons why.

The covid social phenomenon nobody's talking about

Lots of articles are covering how socially awkward we’ve gotten ever since a lot of us have started socially isolating. But I’ve noticed a second, stranger social phenomenon lately that nobody seems to be talking about.

The pandemic has led us to become more critical of how we interact with others.

I hear it all the time these days— folks tell me that they should have done or said things differently in even the most mundane social interactions. A lot of people are having more invasive thoughts, more frequently, regarding how they could have or should have behaved differently. And a lot of folks are making negative assumptions about how they’re perceived by others.

Why is this happening? And why is it happening now?

Here are some psychological phenomena that might help us understand what’s going on.

Ashley KirsnerFebruary 2, 2022covid, social anxiety, ptsd, covid social anxiety, covid anxiedty, covid anxiety, pandemic anxiety, self-criticism, self-compassion, socializing during covid, socializing during the pandemic

How to reduce workplace loneliness

Loneliness in general is rampant; studies conducted before the pandemic suggest that three out of five Americans are lonely, and a dearth of meaningful workplace relationships are a huge contributor to that. I’d imagine that given the spike of social isolation during the pandemic, those numbers are even worse now.

And in terms of the impact of loneliness on the workplace specifically, according to recent research, only 20% of employees “strongly agree” that they have a best friend at work. But if that percentage could budge to just 60%, companies would yield 12% higher profit, end up with 36% fewer safety incidents, and gain 7% more engaged customers.

So, if you’re in a position to influence the culture of your workplace, what can you do to create a culture of social connection at work?

Ashley KirsnerApril 1, 2021pandemic, covid, covid19, covid-19, loneliness, lonely, lonely at work, lonely at the office, office loneliness, office, work, work loneliness, working from home, alone, connection, team-building, team-building events, team building that isn't cheesy, team building events that aren't cheesy, Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blog, blog, blog post, blogpost, work boundary, work boundaries, work-life balance, work life balance, research, psychology research, psychology studies, loneliness stats, work loneliness stats, loneliness at work stats, online team-building, online team building, online team building events, online team-building events, online team-building event, online team building event, workplace loneliness, reduce workplace loneliness, how to reduce loneliness, how to reduce workplace loneliness, how to fix loneliness, belonging, best team-building event, best team-building events, best team building event, best team building eventsComment

It’s not just you: Why you feel weird lately

If you’ve started feeling odd as we come up upon the one-year-anniversary since a lot of us started quarantining, it’s not just you. You might just be experiencing just one or a few of these things, but some things you may notice are:

Sleep problems
Strange or unpleasant dreams
Irritability
A feeling of restlessness
Feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, and/or anxiety without a clear cause
Flare ups of chronic health issues

Does any of that sound like what your last few days or weeks have been like? If so, then you might be having a trauma anniversary.

Ashley KirsnerMarch 4, 2021Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blog, STST, STST blog, why you feel weird lately, why you feel weird, why do I feel weird, why I feel weird, pandemic, covid, covid-19, covid-19 feels, i feel bad, why do i feel bad, why do I feel bad, trauma, trauma response, trauma responses, trigger, triggers, triggering, trauma anniversary, trauma anniversary reacton, trauma anniversary reaction, anniversary reaction, anniversary reactions, anniversary, covid anniversary, covid-19 anniversary, pandemic anniversary, sleep problems, trouble sleeping, sleeping problems, insomnia, strange dreams, bad dreams, nightmares, irritable, irritability, i'm irritable, why am I irritable, why do i have bad dreams, why do I have nightmares, why am I having nightmares, why am I restless, restless, restlessness, sadness, sad, anger, angry, guilt, guilty, anxiety, anxious, why am I anxious, why am I so anxious, why am I sad, why am I so sad, why am I angry, why am I so angry, why do I feel guilty, why do I feel sad, why do I feel angry, why do I feel anxious, why do I feel nervous, nervous, nervousness, chronic health flare up, flare up, chronic health, chronic health problems, quarantine, quarantine anniversary, quarantining, why do I feel bad all the time, why do I feel angry all the time, why do I feel sad all the time, why do I feel mad all the time, why do I hate everyone, I hate everyone, I hate everything, why do I hate everything Comment

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