Corona virus isn’t going away. It’s a hard truth that we need to accept. There’s a reason why it’s called the new normal. It’s simply to prepare us for the years to come where public life is tentative to social interaction and what things we can do.
Speaking to a friend, Peter Dvorak, a counsellor who has found his work load increase massively as a Cognitive Behavior Therapist, has identified the need to maintain usual patterns of behavior, just adjusted to the new set of circumstances we have found ourselves in.
As a CBT counsellor, Peter understands the importance of human interaction as a means of coping through the maddening time of Covid. Also, the relevance of romance to help soothe the pains and frustrations of being isolated at home, either with company or without.
Peter described to me the nature of romance or flirting and what biological and chemical responses this makes for the human brain. Essentially, feeling connected to another person and having sexual attraction can activate the immune system in a much more efficient way since serotonin released through physical attraction is the perfect antibody to cortisol. As a stress hormone, it’s easy to imagine there’s a lot of this available right now. But inversely, the human body is looking for ways to counter this excess. Thus enters the need for romantic encounters. Thus enters the digital dawn of the Digi-date.
Social Distanced Dating
There’s little wonder this would become a thing. Social distanced dating has been in its genesis since dating apps provided the convenient side step of the awkward exchanges in bars between a would be couple.
Considering the social acceptance of swiping left or right to determine your attraction signals to another person, the safe space of sorting through profiles of people has now lent itself to the actual date now.
After explaining the importance of feeling attractive and attracted to someone on a physiological level, Peter encourages single men and women to meet new people as regularly as possible to alleviate the stresses of current climates but importantly, to bolster our immune systems with better chemistry that could help tackle the effects of this virus on our immune system. “Looking after our hearts will have a better outcome on our lungs “Peter describes.
As such, Peter offers some gentle advice on how to conduct a respectful and positive social distanced date on how to keep it going and to the final objective of meeting in person.
Dress Smart
Just because your first date is over a screen, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the effort. Dress to impress. This will serve you more confidence when you speak.
Share an activity
Since the internet offers a wide variety of experiences, consider what you both could do together. Watch party for a new film or play a game together. There are now even virtual board games people can play together.
Be safe.
Always be safe. Do not share overly sensitive information and commit to friendship activities at first to gain trust. Keep address and personal data to oneself and make the content of the conversation about each other’s Interests and recent experiences.
