Maintaining Social Connection in the Era of COVID-19

May 1, 2020

This week we’re doing something a little different, and sharing with you the latest Endurance Planet podcast, hosted by holistic health and endurance sports coach, Tawnee Prazak Gibson, MS, SCSC, CISSN. The episode features Julian Abel, MD, the Director of Compassionate Communities UK, who has been on the podcast before describing the social, financial, and health benefits that come with integrating social support into healthcare. I also participated in this podcast with Tawnee and Julian, and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.

On this podcast, the three of us discuss the importance of social connection during this era of physical distancing and uncertainty. Many of us have had our daily routine sufficiently shaken. With this can come feelings of isolation and loneliness, yet it can also yield insight into what truly makes us happy. Julian, Tawnee and I talk about maintaining relationships during this challenging time, as well as reintegrating with others as lockdown mandates are lifted. We also discuss cohousing and alloparenting, and what my family is doing to build a stronger community.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Julian Abel and Tawnee Gibson:

[00:00:20] Endurance Planet Podcast.

[00:00:31] Previous podcast with Julian Abel: Building Compassionate Communities to Improve Public Health.

[00:01:41] Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson at Braveheart Coaching.

[00:03:00] Book: The Brave Athlete: Calm the F--k Down and Rise to the Occasion.

[00:03:02] Endurance Planet Podcast: Simon Marshall, PhD, and Lesley Paterson: How To Be A Brave Athlete By Managing Your Brain.

[00:03:16] Uncertainty and loneliness related to COVID-19.

[00:07:24] Calming anxiety.

[00:11:59] Deficit model of happiness.

[00:13:03] Working from home.

[00:13:21] Cal Newport; Podcast: How to Live Well in a High Tech World; Book: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

[00:13:44] Stimulus control; Podcast with Ashley Mason: How to Use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.

[00:15:07] XTERRA podcast with Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson.

[00:15:22] Creating certainty in an uncertain world.

[00:15:31] Book: Willpower by Roy Baumeister; Atomic Habits by James Clear.

[00:16:02] External sources of happiness vs. focusing on what's important.

[00:17:22] Book: Propaganda, by Edward Bernays.

[00:21:22] Maintaining relationships during physical distancing.

[00:24:39] Brad Kearns podcasts on parenting: Surprising Parenting Tips, Part 1 (Inverse Power of Praise) and Surprising Parenting Tips, Part 2 (The Importance of Perseverance Through Struggle).

[00:25:26] Books: The Drama of the Gifted Child, by Alice Miller; Will I Ever Be Good Enough? By Dr. Karyl McBride.

[00:30:35] Cordon sanitaire: restriction of movement.

[00:34:54] Book: Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, by John T. Cacioppo.

[00:36:06] Podcasts with Stephanie Welch: Disruptive Anthropology: An Ancestral Health Perspective on Barefooting and Male Circumcision and The Need for Tribal Living in a Modern World.

[00:36:36] Article: The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake, by David Brooks.

[00:38:12] Podcast: The Human Milk-Oriented Microbiota: Babies and Beyond, with Megan Sanctuary.

[00:38:41] Podcast: Contemplating Cohousing: A Paradigm for Modern Day Tribal Living, with Julie Kelly.

[00:41:28] Solitude Deficiency.

[00:43:31] Book: Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding, by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy

 by Sarah Hrdy.

[00:50:43] Public Health Palliative Care International (PHPCI) COVID19 resources.

[00:52:44] Podcast: The Postmenopausal Longevity Paradox and the Evolutionary Advantage of Our Grandmothering Life History, with Kristen Hawkes.

[00:59:47] Book: Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking, by Matthew Syed.

[01:01:06] Reintegrating with others after lockdown.

[01:03:53] Article: The Coronation, by Charles Eisenstein.

[01:04:00] Book: The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It, by John Tierney and Roy Baumeister.

[01:05:09] Article: Abel, Julian, et al. "Circles of care: should community development redefine the practice of palliative care?." BMJ supportive & palliative care 3.4 (2013): 383-388.

[01:06:52] Harvard Study of Adult Development.

[01:08:50] Christopher Ryan; Book: Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress and podcast: Civilized to Death: Are We Really Making Progress?

[01:09:33] Book: Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero, by Christopher McDougall.