Stay connected with friends

While restrictions are slowly being lifted, we are still spending a lot of time at home. That can mean feeling both crowded and lonely. It can also be a serious challenge if it’s not a safe space for everyone.

Some of us have also lost casual jobs that gave us important independence.

Although it’s a relief to be able to start seeing our friends again, many of us can only hang out in restricted numbers and we still can’t get too close to each other. So, it could still be a while before we can return to activities that usually break up the boredom, like hanging out with heaps of friends at parties, playing sport with mates and going on proper dates.

If you are trying to stay connected online until restrictions end, you may want to mix things up with one of these activities:

• Organise a virtual catchup. Seems like a no-brainer but this is the most important. Schedule time each week where you and your friends can all come together and video chat to catch up on what everyone’s been up to.
• Start a fitness or dance challenge with friends. Never thought you’d be up for learning a choreographed dance. Think again! Challenge your mates to learn the same dance or test another physical skill like doing push ups — against the clock in a group chat.
• Get creative and learn something new. Social distancing has definitely not been easy but it’s important to try turn it into a positive. Will you ever get this much time to yourself again? Maybe not. So, take the time to deep dive into something that really interests you and that you might not be able to learn at school. Hey, that’s what YouTube videos are actually for! Ever wanted to learn how make music? Cook? Maybe it’s learning another language. Whatever it is, now is the time.