Background: In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, most countries implemented physical distancing measures. Many mental health experts warned that through increasing social isolation and anxiety, these measures could negatively affect psychosocial wellbeing. However, socially aligning with others by adhering to these measures may also be beneficial for wellbeing.Methods: We examined these two contrasting hypotheses using cross-national survey data (N= 6675) collected fortnightly from participants in 115 countries over 3 months at the beginning of the pandemic. In addition to providing demographic data, participants completed a standardised wellbeing scale, and reported how much they, and others in their social circle and country, were adhering to the distancing measures.Results: We found that being a woman, having lower educational attainment, living alone and being vulnerable to Covid-19 were risk factors for poorer wellbeing. Being young (18-25) was also associated with lower wellbeing, but longitudinal analyses showed that young participants’ wellbeing improved over 3 months. In contrast to widespread views that physical distancing measures negatively affect wellbeing, results showed that following these guidelines was positively associated with wellbeing, even for people in demographic risk groups or those highly vulnerable to Covid-19.Conclusions: These findings provide an important counterpart to the idea that pandemic containment measures such as physical distancing negatively impacted wellbeing unequivocally. Despite the overall burden of the pandemic on psychosocial wellbeing, social alignment with others can still contribute to positive wellbeing. The pandemic has manifested our propensity to adapt to challenges, particularly highlighting how social alignment can forge resilience.