Isolation is hazardous to your health. The term ‘social distancing’ doesn’t help

Social support is also essential in the days, weeks and months after a disaster has occurred, said Alison Holman, a health psychologist at UC Irvine. Her research has found that people who received social support in the two months after the Sept. 11 attacks were able to focus on the future and exhibited less stressed on the one-year anniversary of the event than those who did not. “Staying connected is a way to stay grounded,” she said. “It keeps you from being pulled into a state of sheer anxiety.”