It has been nearly a year into the pandemic and we often reflect on how quarantine has affected our interpersonal relationships. Has it improved our platonic and romantic relationships, worsened them, or retained dynamic?
But, hey—Why not Option D: All of the above?
The pandemic has been a masterclass of self-reflection and evolving one’s methods of communication, whether being forced to stay distanced, or forced into consistent proximity. Both are new challenges we face, as most of us aren’t given nearly the same freedoms we’re prone to for residing in our introverted, nor extroverted natures.
We have to exist in discomforts; discomforts of isolation and putting in more effort to communicate with those afar, discomforts in the lack of accessibilities to normal social functionalities (bars, parties, concerts, events), and discomforts of being in company on a near-constant basis. With these facets in mind, it is truly not a wonder that most people would actually find that the pandemic has been more harmful towards relationship then helpful.
I understand. Is it a terrible thing to come to terms with being forced to see incompatibilities or regressions when put to the test now, rather than down the road or in an alternate crisis? Or to clean a slate to make room for those who do improve one’s life? Perhaps not. The devolution of relationships that are forced into close proximity sheds light on many dynamics that perhaps were previously missed or seen-yet-deflected, due to our usual escapism. We see how our relationships fare when a party faces unemployment, isolation, depression, etc. which no relationship was impervious to, beyond the pandemic, in the first place. Also, we see a test of compatibility in cohabitation. Those who have not made it through these eye-opening experiences may have been best to see these incompatibilities and come to terms that they were not in an ideal situation. This is regarding friendships, families, and romantic partnerships.
On the flip side of the quarantine coin, when forced into distance, we grasp how far others will put effort into maintaining relationships. Those that have digressed may be an experiencing quite an awakening that a relationship may not be as close if effort is a sheer obligatory requirement that cannot quite be met.
Of course, many kinships will decline if communication and compatibility cannot assuage the strife, which brings me to why the pandemic has absolutely improved relationships, as well. The challenges we have and continue to face while in quarantine prove unshakable, closer bonds when parties are able to communicate, compromise, commit to efforts, and to respect boundaries. This has happened, as I see families strike up new activities together, couples announcing engagements and pregnancies, and friends sharing moments. COVID-19 may have rocked quite-a-many relationships, but it has reinforced innumerous others in a wonderful, substantial way.
But, then we do have those who have had their interpersonal relationship maintain, whether because they’ve already been through vulnerabilities, reinforced healthy methods of maintaining, previously…or because this is where the introverted homebodies truly shine. Regardless of whether there is an absolute, overarching answer to how relationships are faring during a taxing time, what this should continue to teach us, as we continue to re-align our social dynamics, is that we are all navigating within these new parameters, so we must do what we can to love others, be sensitive, be thoughtful, and to most importantly – love ourselves.
PHOTO TAKEN from Wellesley College