Member-only story
Why Are We So Impulsive During This Pandemic?
There’s a reason you’re contemplating bangs.
I’ve been seeing tweets predicting a sudden spike in quarantine-induced haircuts and dye jobs. The kind of drastic ones usually reserved for the post-breakup period. I personally have been seriously considering adopting pets, getting tattoos, and planning a proposal.
Maybe it’s that it feels like the end of the world. We’re ready to call up old flames and confess our love, drop money on the things we’ve always dreamed of having, quit our barely existent jobs, and move across the country.
But what’s the actual explanation behind all of these impulsive decisions?
I talked to psychologists to find out what’s going on.
According to Viktor Sander, a counselor at SocialPro specializing in human behavior, this kind of behavior might actually be helping us out:
“There’s an evolutionary benefit to being more impulsive in times of crisis. History has rewarded individuals who were able to make quick decisions in pressing situations. When things return to normal, we can go back to a slower decision making process.”
Megan Colleen Johnson, a Life & Confidence Coach has noticed a primary cause for this impulsive behavior in her clients:
“Due to social distancing and a sudden lack of security, people are being forced to deal with their inner voices. These inner voices include intense waves of emotions (fear, anxiety, frustration), noticing patterns they dislike about their lives currently, and a resurfacing of old coping mechanisms, all of which often result in impulsive action.
Because our body's primary goal is survival, these fast and impulsive actions are an easy way to quiet the inner dialogue and to feel some sense of control instead of feeling into the emotions and patterns that are actually being brought into the light. This is not necessarily a bad thing; in our personal life, this can actually be very supportive as we take immediate action to play, lean into our creativity, and cultivate freedom in the confines of our social distancing. It’s a process of fully allowing our emotions, noticing what we feel ready to lean into, and where we can take action in beneficial ways…
