During the pandemic, many researchers were, and still are, working far away from family and friends, with others are not able to return to work yet. Feelings of loneliness and isolation may affect you directly, your peers, or anyone you supervise/manage. The resources and stories below offer insights, support and ideas on dealing with isolation in continually challenging times.
Dr Alexandra Pitman is an Associate Professor at the UCL Division of Psychiatry and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust. Here she shares her insights from studying loneliness and social isolation, and how they connect to mental health.
Our FLIER leadership programme partners Cirrus have provided a number of free resources to download. Cirrus are bespoke leadership, talent and engagement specialists sharing their expertise.
'Nurturing your networks'. Networks are a crucial space in which individuals can share challenges, opportunities, explore themes and contribute to the wider community. This resource, created by Alexis Hutson, is offered as a starting place to think about your networking practice. Click on the image below to enlarge it.
From staying in the present moment, to making a plan, the video below shares expert tips on coping with loneliness during lockdown.
Academics Need to Talk is a global movement of the academic community to support each other through the pandemic. ANT want to facilitate face-to-face discussions via video conferencing platforms, to encourage meaningful discussions that have the potential for collaboration, for mentorship and to give people in isolation the opportunity to talk to like-minded people. All academics at ANY career stage are eligible to join Academics Needs to Talk.
Dragonfly Mental Health are a globally operating non-profit organisation, formed by academics for academics. They aim to bring together academics from all over the world to support each other and create lasting systemic change. Dragonfly Café facilitates academics of all disciplines to support each other in cultivating mental health in both live events and through an online platform. During COVID-19, they are hosting three live events each week called "COVID Cafés".
Campaign to End Lonelinesshave produced a blog on coping with loneliness and bereavement during the pandemic.
Are you or your child lonely? Action for Children want to help to make sure that parents have the support and confidence they need for their child and themselves. There is support available - parenting classes, children’s centre and home visiting schemes can help people to make small changes that enhance people’s sense of competence and parents’ satisfaction in parenting. If you'd like to find some support in your area, find your nearest Action for Children service.