During the prolonged collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, distorted perception of time (e.g., time slowing down, days becoming blurry, uncertainty about the future) has become widespread. Known as “temporal disintegration” in psychiatric literature, these distortions are associated with negative mental health consequences. However, the prevalence and predictors of temporal disintegration are poorly known. We examined perceptions of the passage of time and their associations with lifelong stress and trauma and pandemic-related secondary stress as COVID-19 spread across the United States.
Method:
A national probability-based sample (N = 5,661) from the NORC AmeriSpeak online panel , which had completed a mental and physical health survey before the pandemic, completed two online surveys during March 18 to April 18, 2020 and September 26 – October 16, 2020. Distorted perceptions of time and other experiences related to the pandemic were evaluated.
Results:
Present focus, confusion between days of the week and days of the week, and uncertainty about the future were common experiences reported by more than 65% of the sample 6 months after the pandemic. Half of the sample reported that time was speeding up or slowing down. Predictors of temporal disintegration include pre-pandemic mental health diagnoses, daily exposure to pandemic-related media and secondary stress (e.g., school closures, lockdown), financial stress, and lifetime exposure to stress and trauma.
Conclusion:
During the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, distortions in time perception were very common and were associated with pre-pandemic mental health, lifetime stress and trauma exposure, and exposure to media and stressors related to the pandemic. Given that temporary disintegration is a risk factor for mental health problems, these findings have potential implications for public mental health.
Clinical Impact Statement This study documents the prevalence and early predictors of perceived time distortions during a prolonged and unprecedented collective trauma: the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings document common distortions in time perception during collective trauma and describe how secondary trauma-related stress can exacerbate these distortions. Known as “temporal disintegration” in psychiatric literature, these distortions have been linked to mental health symptoms. To the extent they are associated with mental health disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety), they may be an important risk factor to target with early interventions to prevent the mental health sequelae of collective trauma. |
Comments
The passage of time has been altered for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, from difficulty keeping track of the days of the week to feeling like hours were speeding up or slowing down . In previous work, these distortions have been associated with persistent negative mental outcomes, such as depression and anxiety after trauma, making them an important risk factor to address with early interventions, according to a study by researchers at the University of California at Irvine.
The study, recently published online in the journal Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy , documents how widespread the experience, known as "temporary disintegration" in psychiatric literature, was in the first six months of the pandemic. The team also found that pandemic-related secondary stresses, such as daily media exposure related to COVID-19, school closures, lockdowns, and financial difficulties, were predictors of perceived time distortions.
"Continuity between past experiences, present life, and future hopes is critical to one’s well-being, and disruption of that synergy presents challenges for mental health," said corresponding author E. Alison Holman, professor of nursing at the ICU. “We were able to measure this in a nationally representative sample of Americans who were experiencing prolonged collective trauma, something that had never been done before. This study is the first to document the prevalence and early predictors of these time distortions. “There are relatively new therapies that can be used to help people regain a more balanced sense of time, but if we don’t know who needs those services, we can’t provide that support.”
Researchers assessed response outcomes regarding distorted perceptions of time and other pandemic-related experiences from a national probability-based sample of 5,661 participants from the National Online Opinion Research Center’s AmericaSpeak panel. The surveys were conducted from March 18 to April 18, 2020 and from September 26 to October 26 to January 26, 2020 with respondents who had completed a mental and physical health survey before the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Given that distortions in time perception are a risk factor for mental health problems, our findings have potential implications for public health. “We are now looking at temporal disintegration, loneliness and mental health outcomes over the 18 months following the pandemic,” Holman said. “This will help us gain insight into how these common experiences work together during the pandemic, so we can better understand how to help people struggling with these challenges.”
The UCI team included Nickolas M. Jones, a postdoctoral researcher in psychological sciences; Roxane Cohen Silver, distinguished professor of psychological sciences, medicine and health; and Dana Rose Garfin, adjunct associate professor of nursing and public health, now at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
