By Ashley Olsen
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist”
What better time to talk about the sociology of well-being then during unprecedented times where our global society has been affected by a pandemic. We saw on a mass scale this microscopic intruder undermine so many dimensions of our social, economic, physical, occupational, and emotional safety. The pandemic highlighted existing racial and ethnic inequalities, financial scarcity, and the vulnerability of marginalized groups in our communities. We were isolated, for some people they couldn’t see their families for months, and many either lost their jobs or had to work in the frontlines of it all. Essential workers were exploited in the name of profit and businesses started closing permanently due to financial impacts. It really seemed like the existing divide in many dimensions of our society widened as big business thrived while family businesses crumbled. In Kawachi’s article they mention that in 2-3 years when Covid runs its course that it wouldn’t be surprising if the most unequal societies are the most afflicted by the devastation (Kawachi, 2020). Even now it’s not very hidden who was most disproportionately affected by Covid-19. Mothers who had to exit the workforce to care for their young children. Low income communities that were hit hard by loss and lack adequate health care. Schools closed and learning became isolated and impersonal, potentially affecting childhood development. This kind of social turmoil can make finding well-being and achieving mindfulness challenging.
These various dimensions of life affected by Covid impact our well-being and the well-being of those around us. Not only did we experience a collective trauma with the onset of the pandemic but with the social injustice issues and extreme climate events that we watched play out through our screens. Personally, the (fleeting) security I once felt in this world is gone now and I know I’m not the only one who trusts the world a little less now. Not only did this past year strip away a lot of security for people but it introduced so many more anxieties. In June 2020, 40% of adults reported increased mental health issues. 13% of adults reported having started or increased their use of substances (CDC, June 2020). New barriers were created that prevented people from getting mental health help, social support, or even access to the gym to sweat the stress away. Social outings were restricted and socializing in general became something to be shamed in the name of public health. It’s no wonder there has been a significant increase in mental health issues and new fears across people of all age ranges
Well-being has been widely viewed as an individual problem when there are many biopsychosocial lenses to view it through. So how do we shift the paradigm of well-being from command and control to collaboration and nurturance? It’s disheartening to see increasing numbers of people struggling from depression, anxiety, and substance abuse but it’s hard to find well-being in tumultuous times under repressive economic systems. Not only did we experience a collective trauma with the onset of the pandemic but social justice issues came to a head, and extreme climate events threatened many people’s health. Personally the (fleeting) security I once felt in this world is gone now and I know I’m not the only one. Not only did this past year strip away a lot of security for people but it introduced even more anxieties. Fixing these issues seems daunting under a capitalist regime. The system of capitalism in itself is alienating and exploitative. It doesn’t feel like the people in power are truly working for the greater good of our livelihoods and health. We look around and still see our communities suffering when there is a very visible homelessness crisis. How can politicians who are detached from the social and financial struggles of your average citizen make enlightened decisions that will benefit us? How do we, as a polarized society, find a sense of comradery in order to build stronger communities and to ultimately improve our society’s well-being? How do we solve the issues that we talked about during this class?
Throughout these past four weeks we discussed sociological elements of life that are all interconnected and require cohesion to remedy. Every article touched on something that the pandemic impacted from economic insecurity to wildfire concerns and solutions. We talked about housing insecurity as well as the displacement of immigrants. Some hypothetical scenarios presented, such as abolishing landlords to improve housing security, seem like idealistic wishes but what if that was a realistic possibility. The very foundation of well-being is built in the home. “Home is a secure base around which identities are constructed” (Dupuis and Thorns 1998) and although ideas like abolishing landlords seem that of “Radical Imaginary” we need solutions to increase the availability of security for people. I believe if we shift our focus away from individualism and material wealth towards solidarity and collaboration we can view problems from a more connected social sphere. Improving well-being is not efficiently done by increasing material wealth, it’s improved by having a sense of security not only physically but emotionally, financially, and socially as well. Feeling connected is beneficial for well-being. Well-being can be improved by breaking free from capitalist barriers to have more time for physical health, our relationships, our purpose. Living a hedonistic, viceful life promoted by capitalism repels against achieving wellness.
We can’t fix all of these problems in one day but we can think of solutions. So I end this essay with a task for you. Think of one thing you can do to help your community. This could be donating to a food bank, donating unused clothes or belongings, donating to wildfire victims, finding a free library drop box or food box, or being creative and finding something unique to do. Find some time to give to your local community. Sociology in itself is about the functioning of our society and I hope that by doing something for your community you feel like you can make a ripple in the stream of impactful change. Sometimes it can feel like we’re on our own with implementing a lot of these changes but I believe that we can create the most change on a local level. Take care of the garden around your own feet, take care of those around you, and take care of yourself more importantly.
Citations
CDC. June, 2020.
Czeisler MÉ , Lane RI, Petrosky E, et al. Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020 MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1049–1057. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1external icon
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998.
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