As seen on WCBD – Count on 2, by Danielle Hensley

Since March, the world has seen tremendous loss in all arenas of life as a result of COVID-19. In an attempt to shine some light, News 2’s Danielle Hensley is highlighting a few positive impacts the pandemic has made here in the Lowcountry in a new series called Positives of the Pandemic.

Social, familial, and romantic relationships are a core part of our society. During quarantine, that aspect was largely stripped from day-to-day routines.

By nature humans are social animals, always looking for a way to connect with others.

Being at home with a lot of time and not a lot of human interaction, many found themselves being more intentional, making new relationships, and strengthening old ones.

“I’ve actually lost people I know and loved to COVID… so it’s been really difficult,” Jenna Johnson, Goose Creek resident, shared.

People like Jenna Johnson have experienced the effects of COVID-19 in every aspect of life and have needed relationships more than ever.

“It’s almost been therapeutic to have people reach out or me reach out and have conversation by phone or by facetime,” Johnson added.

Johnson says staying in touch with friends and family has been a lifeline.

“One thing that has helped me really survive is being intentional about staying connected to my friends and family,” commented Johnson.

Relationships now forged through the screen instead of in person.

As a whole, society has been resilient in finding new ways to cope with the new normal.

“We are actively seeking out communication in a way that we’ve never done before,” said Chip Taylor, Head of Psychology at The Citadel.

Gone are the days of difficult long-distance phone calls. “Now we can zoom with people and intentionally call friends and connect with folks across the country across the world,” Taylor noted.

Despite our best efforts to cope, Taylor says isolation can cause sadness and anxiety — which is what people worldwide have experienced for nearly eight months — and it has fundamentally changed our collective sense of ‘normal.’

“Even if people try to shake a hand or give a hug at this point it’s become odd… The hard part about this pandemic is there really is no end point on this,” Taylor mentioned.

While the absence of touch is still felt this new way of communicating is a light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel.

“To me the overarching theme of positivity is resiliency. What we do is when we’re dealing with a crisis we typically find a way to find some positivity,” Taylor emphasized.