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‘Dazed and Confused!’ Context and Social Disconnect in the Time of Pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2021

Olivier Piguet*
Affiliation:
The University of Sydney, School of Psychology, Sydney, NSW, Australia The University of Sydney, Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Abstract

Humans are social animals. Our sense of identity and ‘self’ is defined in part by the roles we perform in the social groups to which we belong. This article discusses some of the variables that contribute to our sense of self, including language, place of origin, education and shared social norms. It also outlines some of the general mechanisms that underpin our various social networks. In its final part, this article reviews the impact of social isolation, such as that happened during the COVID pandemic, on these social mechanisms and the resulted disruption of psychological wellbeing in individuals diagnosed with dementia.

Type
Presidential Address
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment

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