We all have a loved one who says they feel less like going out since the pandemic. Another who feels less patient, more irritable, or who says they have difficulty making decisions.
Much has been made of the people the pandemic has convinced to leave the city for the countryside or redirect their careers. But other people just feel…changed.
Marc, who works in the field of visual arts, says he is less comfortable than before the pandemic in his social life. “I went to a friend’s party. There were 35 of us at the restaurant and I didn’t have much to say,” says the man who wishes to remain anonymous for professional reasons.
“I have a lot of trouble doing improvised and spontaneous things,” he adds. “Is it me who has trouble moving on? Do some people adapt better than others? I wonder… I haven’t returned to normal and I don’t know how… there’s an energy that isn’t there,” notes the young forty-something.
Could the pandemic have changed us? The answer is yes, according to a recent study in the journal PLOS ONE.
And it’s not surprising, says Roxane de la Sablonnière, professor in the psychology department at the University of Montreal. “The balance we had and which was already hard to achieve has been unbalanced and we have to return to a balance that will not be the one we had before,” she explains.
“Dramatic” changes
The study in question, cited recently by the New York Times and NPR, reveals that the pandemic may have changed certain traits of our personalities, especially among young adults. The researchers analyzed questionnaires filled out at different times by 7,000 participants (who have taken part in the project called the Understanding America Study since 2004), and they noted a decline in their extroversion, creativity, agreeableness and to have a conscientious mind.
Thus, people would be less sociable, more conventional in their choices, less confident and less organized. The effect might be temporary, but it is not negligible.
The study showed that these traits that help us in everyday life have still declined since the pandemic, especially among young people. We are not talking about a great decrease, but we are talking about traits that are usually stable over time.
Roxane de la Sablonnière, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal
During her career, the expert in social psychology has been very interested in what is called in her field “dramatic social changes”. Her research has taken her to Kurdistan, Russia, Mongolia…
For social change to be considered “dramatic”, she explains, there needs to be a break with the past, a disruption of social structures (as we have seen with closed hospitals and schools), and changes in our behaviors.
“From the start, I knew that this pandemic was going to be devastating with great repercussions if it lasted a long time,” she says. When everyone is affected by something, who can help us? »
At present, we are in a so-called return to normal, but the pandemic is still not over, even though we are currently seeing an increase in cases. Result: “a lot of uncertainty, questions and a certain threat to who we are,” says Roxane de la Sablonnière.
“People who say: ‘I’m more impatient and I wasn’t’, that illustrates this uncertainty. To be in that vagueness is difficult for humans. We always want answers to our questions and to know why we are doing this. »
Refocused priorities
Besides a lot of uncertainty, the pandemic has brought its share of disappointments. Many people have enjoyed the slower pace of lockdown periods and they reject the idea of resuming life as rushed as before. With good reason, explains Nafissa Ismail, professor at the School of Psychology and holder of the research chair in stress and mental health at the University of Ottawa.
The pandemic has changed the way we live and work, even to be around our friends and families, so it’s normal that it comes to change us. We adapted to what was imposed on us and there are things about the pandemic that we liked and that we want to keep.
Nafissa Ismail, professor at the School of Psychology and holder of the research chair in stress and mental health at the University of Ottawa
“We have seen that life is fragile,” adds Nafissa Ismail, which reframes our priorities.
Except for a bereavement or a birth, for example, rare are the major events “that really change the perspective of a life” as the pandemic may have done, she underlines, like Roxane de la Sablonnière. .
“And what we experienced was chronic stress,” she recalls. It takes time to recover.
A changed relationship to time
“People have thought a lot about the meaning of time in their lives,” continues Simon Grondin, professor at the School of Psychology at Laval University and author of the book Psychological time in question.
If people have found their benefit in certain aspects of confinement, Mr. Grondin reminds us that “the force of habit” should not be underestimated.
Mr. Grondin also points out that the relationship to time is cultural. “The social environment determines a certain way of living, imposes a certain rhythm on life,” he explains in his book.
“Earning a living is no easy feat,” continues the psychology professor on a more philosophical note. Wondering about the meaning of all this can be confusing. »
So what do we do ?
What to do if you feel confused by the subway-work-sleep? “When you are in a period of great reflection, you have to assess the situation step by step to prevent it from becoming another source of stress. You also have to take breaks and not always think about it,” says Nafissa Ismail.
For her part, Roxane de la Sablonnière wants to publicize Project InterCom, a community intervention initiative that she set up with the aim of promoting the well-being of the population and resilience among young people through interventions in the form of workshops or conferences. About 2,000 people have benefited from it since December 2020.
Among the workshops that offer ways to “find your bearings”, Roxane de la Sablonnière cites those on self-compassion and compassion. “It’s simply the idea of having a softer look at yourself and others,” she says.
Just to think that maybe it’s normal to be more impatient and less comfortable in social situations after all that the pandemic has put us through is a great relief and less guilt , she argues.
A vast research project underway in Quebec
What has the pandemic changed in your life? This is the big question of the vast study project on which dozens of Université Laval researchers affiliated with the four research centers of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale are working.
Nearly 3,200 people took part in the “My life and the pandemic” (MAVIPAN) study. They completed online questionnaires about the impacts of the pandemic on their personal, family and professional lives.
“The goal is to document the psychosocial impacts of the pandemic, both on individuals and on organizations and actors in the health network,” explains Marie Baron, coordinator of the development and management of analyzes for the research project.
About forty research projects
About forty research projects are in progress, ranging from parental stress to changes in the work climate, including romantic relationships and physical activity. “It’s quite extensive,” says the one who took the trouble to dissect certain results for the purposes of our report. However, she points out that the people surveyed all come from the greater Quebec City region, which is not necessarily representative of the province.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The people surveyed in the “My life and the pandemic” study all come from the greater Quebec City region.
Some questionnaires are scalable, she explains. Last May, an open-ended question was asked about the changes people have made to their lives and over 800 people answered the call, “which is a huge response.”
“It surprised us that a fifth of people said they hadn’t made a change,” reveals Marie Baron. Otherwise, the changes are very much related to well-being and health. To physical and mental health, but also to social health. »
“It goes a long way in the way of managing your daily life”, notes the coordinator of MAVIPAN.
People want to do more physical activity, but also meditation, and they want their daily life to reflect their values. “Spending more time with family, for example, reducing less positive social contacts and increasing those with people who bring us a lot. »
A significant propensity of people talks about decreasing their consumption, reducing purchases and travel. It goes with the idea of spending more quality time with your family or with yourself.
Marie Baron, coordinator of the development and management of analyzes of the research project “My life and the pandemic”
“It’s very active as a change, I find”, she underlines.
“What is striking is that the changes people tell us about are positive and not constraints. Honestly, I didn’t expect this […] »
“We have some comments from people who regret that certain changes that took place during the pandemic do not continue,” she adds nevertheless.
Mental Health
People who have external constraints, a loved one who needs to be taken care of, for example, are less able to align their daily lives with their needs and desires, she points out.
“When we look at mental health trajectories, it’s pretty stable, but we see huge inequalities between participants. Some participants are really worse off than others. Those with physical or mental health problems, those who are economically more disadvantaged and parents of young children,” adds Marie Baron.
The next stage of the study will focus on participants’ longer-term “coping strategies”. To see how parents will seek social support, for example, and talk to those who have changed their living environment.
A researcher wants to poll people on the “changes in internal perspective” and our “relationship to time”, underlines Marie Baron, who wishes to hold a conference to share all the results of MAVIPAN.