No, I’m not thinking about the lingering physical malaise that is sometimes called “long COVID.” I’m thinking about the lingering social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual effects caused by two years of social distancing, isolation, mistrust, and fear. We all went along with it; what else could we do without further isolating ourselves?

Psychologist Jody Harrington says that as humans, we are “wired for connection,” but now we have a loneliness epidemic. More people are dying from emotional illness than from physical illness. “We are killing ourselves faster from things we can control than from physical illness.”

She cites data showing that straight, white males have the highest suicide rates in Canada. They are rarely asked how they are doing and have never been taught how to communicate. Conversely, minority groups have lower suicide rates because they form communities to help each other feel safe.

Our electronic devices, social media, and constant scrutiny of the news do not connect us to one another. Rather, every beep on our cell phone increases our cortisol level, altering our brain and nervous system, fragmenting our attention span and leavimg us more stressed.

Do we need a psychologist to tell us all this? Perhaps we do. It seems helpful to listen to someone who knows how to connect the dots and say out loud the things we feel deep within.

Things were not all wonderful before COVID, but something broke during the isolation of COVID and there is little evidence of spontaneous healing. Are we each waiting for someone else to make the first step? That’s not a solution, it’s part of the problem.

We can’t fix the world; blaming leaders, in government and elsewhere, just leads to bitterness and feelings of hopelessness. We can do better than that. What if each one of us, me first, then you, and you, and you, would resolve to make the first move, to ask how it’s going and sit down and listen to the answer, to be hospitable, to be compassionate, to be polite and considerate. Let’s give that a try.