"“They tend to be distraught about the loss of sense of smell. It’s such an important part of our every day and what makes us human,” Jafari said, adding that he’s treated a professional chef, a chocolatier and others whose livelihoods depend on their ability to determine smell and flavor. “The most common thing I hear is that it leads to social isolation and feeling disconnected from the world and society as they know it. And that can be really bothersome.” Jafari said many patients also describe a transition period “that can be distressing” as their sense returns in which they smell things that aren’t present — like burning rubber or smoke — or experience abnormally foul smells. People who are unable to smell or sense flavors can have higher rates of psychiatric illness, depression and anxiety, Jafari said. In an extreme case, Jafari said he treated a patient who became malnourished after losing the senses of smell and taste. Smell underlies the way we interact with each other and make our way in the world, dictating “your first impressions of other people, the people we choose for sexual encounters or for lifelong partners,” Patel said. Cues from scent could subconsciously influence people’s attraction to others based on their underlying genetics, studies suggest."