Number of tests and positive cases, vaccination rates, hospitalizations, deaths. These are the four major crisis indicators that are sent to us every day and that leave us to swallow empty. This is especially true for the latest reports on the dramatic situation in hospitals due to imminent triages and the overloading of staff.
According to the latest studies, three quarters of the population feel stressed by such reports, and some develop pronounced fears. Fear and only cautiously celebrate was therefore the motto for many over the festive season. The majority still takes the measures recommended by the Federal Council seriously: wash hands, wear a mask, keep your distance, ventilate regularly, reduce contact. That is why it sounds like déjà-vu when the task force uses what is perhaps the most terrible word of the pandemic for the umpteenth time in view of the omicron wall: “personal responsibility”. It is now up to us humans to stop the spread of Omikron too quickly. The majority of the population has been acting independently for a long time. More and more families are taking this appeal so seriously that they take their children out of school and teach at home because of the mask requirement. This is problematic because the motives are not pedagogical, but ideological, ie, critical of measures. Obviously, the repeated appeal for personal responsibility can also have unintended consequences that give food for thought with a view to the social and emotional development of the children.
Covid is more than just a medical problem
The Federal Council and the cantons want the best for our country. But they mainly treat the corona crisis as a medical and logistical problem. The tunnel vision of virological parameters and model calculations ignores the problem dynamics of society as a whole, namely that the pandemic is also a major socio-emotional crisis.
It affects children who are taken out of school. But also young people who are severely restricted to set tasks,
which are important for their development. This includes moving away from the parental home, finding a position among their peers or experimenting with one’s own gender role. For almost two years this has only been possible to a limited extent – a very long time for her. But the social-emotional crisis also affects the elderly, families and singles, the sick and the healthy, the poor and the rich.
Homeschooling for the daughters: Mother takes children out of school because they are required to wear a mask(01:42)
Hidden grievances come to light
The fight against Covid-19 brings with it accompanying damage that, like a contrast medium, brings to light the normally hidden aspects of the social. For more than a year, experts have been reporting the massive increase in mental disorders and illnesses in all age groups, not just among young people. Although this was a big issue before the pandemic, the corona measures have significantly increased such burdens.
One of the main reasons is the forced retreat into private space, which is also a particular challenge for those children who are suddenly being taught at home. Students and professionals are also affected due to online lectures, home office and video conferences beyond face-to-face encounters. And just as difficult is the organization of leisure time because of the restrictive access conditions to sports and leisure opportunities or the increased concentration on the core family, often in confined spaces and with too much physical proximity.
The emotional and social crisis is taboo
Social and emotional loneliness has become the new second virus that is barely talked about, despite attacking the psyche of many people. It competes with Omikron because it also mutates, spreads quickly and affects all generations. Although the previous measures are more than justifiable in an international comparison, they also promote social isolation, isolation and loneliness. We are increasingly living in bubbles. This is especially true for children who are no longer allowed to go to school for fear of their parents being infected and who are excluded from the social class. Of course, I am aware that the reference to the importance of social isolation is a double-edged sword, because the problem has often been abused by opponents of corona to demand quick easing of measures. But that’s not the point.
Twice as many people feel lonely
Loneliness is a collective experience in our society that has become almost touchless – Diana Kinnert writes about this in her new book. The social sciences even speak of an epidemic because the feeling of loneliness since Corona has been twice as high as in previous years and has become an almost global phenomenon. In this country, 49 percent are particularly afraid of the restricted freedoms, and 38 percent are afraid of social isolation and loneliness. Different population groups are affected to the same extent, children and young people, women and men, and people with high or low levels of education. Loneliness and isolation create stressful situations, which can also make people sick, impair immunity and resistance and put a strain on the health system.
We don’t know when the pandemic will end
Switzerland went into lockdown on March 13, 2020, and the pandemic will soon be two years old. Today we know that there is no certainty how to handle it. Corona has rather taught us what is perhaps the most important lesson: There is no such thing as pushing the right button to turn off the pandemic. It is therefore time – whichever strategies the federal government and cantons choose in the future – to supplement the virological tunnel vision with an alternative perspective that focuses on the socio-emotional side effects of the pandemic.
This perspective is called resilience, it is the immune system of the soul. In science, the term describes the ability to cushion what our society is about to face with resistance. Becoming resilient is also a developmental task that is withheld from children when parents no longer let them go to school simply because of the mask requirement.
Of course, politics can refer to the great importance of self-therapy for the individual to build up his or her inner strength and, for this purpose, try to take responsibility again. But that’s not what I mean explicitly. Loneliness, isolation and social isolation have become politically highly relevant issues due to the pandemic. That is why we need measures at the federal level that focus on developing mental health literacy. Federal councilors can take the first step in this direction if they increasingly see themselves as provincial fathers who give citizens hope for the future and thus strengthen their belief in their own resilience.
Margrit Stamm (71) is a professor emeritus for educational sciences at the University of Freiburg.