Interesting Article

Sima1

I saw the following article in the Huffington Post and the topic was intersting to me.

Which one do you think is more dangrous on our overal mental/physical health "Covid-19" OR "Lack of human touch"?

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/hug-coronavirus_ca_5e91c9b8c5b6765e9561800e

Sheena123

It’s definitely sad to say that self isolation will raise suicides but I’ll say that the virus is more dangerous because not only could it kill you, it will spread and kill so many others as well.

UKGuy

If lack of human touch is dangerous, I must be quite a survivor since I've had very little for the past 15 years. So I'd say a virus that can kill you is more dangerous.

geoff1000

When a creature is faced with a new threat, it can adopt a "fight or flight" response, where long-term needs are put on hold for a short time.

A problem comes when those long-term needs are put on hold for too long. It needs a balance.

Humankind has responded to Covid-19 by putting its long-term needs on hold, which will surely cause long-term problems. There was a window of opportunity to save millions of lives, by lockdowns, and we took it. Some will argue the lockdowns were too severe, others that they were too late and not severe enough.

The numerical calculation of total harm is impossible ; and the demographic of those most affected by lockdowns, is different to the demographic of those most affected by Covid-19, so the "value" of different people may need to be taken into account. It is rather like the argument over the UK state pension age ; how much should those who are working, subsidise those who have retired ?

The defining characteristic of societies ( and humankind as the biggest society) is that it moderates our differences ; and does not say that in the face of a threat, those most at risk from that threat, must take all of the hit.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...

Sima1

Thank you Sheena123, UKGY, and geoff1000 for your feedback.
By all means, I am doing as much possible to do my responsibility in this situation

I agree that in terms of being deadly, Covid-19 is very dangrous, but I was talking about the overal tradeoff about average numbers (not such personal examples)

We know that a low percentage of people who get Covid-19 die, But do we know how many people who are deprieved of touch die because of it? (It would be interesting to do some research)

And it is not just about being alive vs. dead, it is at least as much about quality of life.

These are some ethical questions in my mind.

geoff1000

@Sima1
Many years ago, I tried skydiving. It was static-line, so I didn't have to remember to pull a ripcord ; but I did have to jump out of an aircraft that was half a mile off the ground, travelling faster than the freeway speed limit, and put my trust in what was, in practical terms, a very large reusable shopping bag.

After the ground training was a written test, including the question "What is the worst possible outcome ?
I answered quadriplegia, rather than death ; because for some people, that is worse. As you say, "living" isn't just "not dying".

The Covid-19 restrictions will last weeks, maybe months, but people know they will pass ; and can look forward to resuming some sort of physical contact when it is over.

However, the wider question might be how well people cope with the knowledge that they will have no more physical contact, ever. I imagine that is a very rare situation, even patients in a hospital have some sort of contact.

MrPaul

@Sima1
Thank you for sharing the article.

I think that lack of touch is not a direct cause of death, but rather a factor that increases the risk of death from all other factors, for most people. Research has indicated a strong positive correlation between social activity and longevity. I don’t think touch was part of the study, but the idea is similar.

However, there are many people who do not like to be touched, and lack of touch is not an issue for them, it is a preference. I personally cannot relate to that perspective.

The risk of death from COVID-19 is clearly present, and so I would say the trade off to adapt to temporary physical isolation is prudent. We must adapt to survive and we are capable of doing so.

geoff1000

@MrPaul

I think that for some people, touch is how they measure their social activity. Other people, as you say, don't.

Military personnel, as others separated from their families, highly value communication with them. Sometimes a long communication loop ( days, in the case of a physical letter ) can be a help, because one is not then always clamouring for the next "fix". A delay in the next letter, is because the recipient hasn't yet got yours.