In case you didn’t know, we just passed the sixth-month mark of living in this pandemic. That means six months of practicing physical distancing, acquainting yourself with Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and being apart from some of the people you love. Whether it’s from screen fatigue or pandemic fatigue, you may feel like it’s hard to stay connected. This, combined with the impending “second wave” now more than ever it’s important to find ways to stay connected.
While the days of Zoom parties may feel overdone, and exhausting, here are some other ways to feel connected in a digital world.
- Take care of yourself. Before you can attend to others, you need to be able to attend to your own needs. Self-care looks different for everyone, and you need to be able to honour what your body, and mind need.
- Share videos with your loved ones. Short video clips that you find can be a nice way to stay connected with someone. I’m finding that I enjoy giggling with others by sharing funny TikTok videos or cute animal videos.
- Move together. Find a movement video (yoga, pilates, HIIT) and a friend, and workout together (but apart). Sweating alongside someone can feel motivating and can also improve your mood.
- Book clubs. While most if not all book clubs have moved online, books are a nice screen-less and contained way to connect with one another. Reading a book and coming together to talk about what you loved, or what you hated is also another way to talk about something else aside from the pandemic.
- Walk and Talks. This is my absolute favourite thing to do and the one I’ve done the most throughout the pandemic (and before the pandemic). While it’s still nice outside, get outside, grab your headphones and catch up with a friend and a family member. Being in nature can be therapeutic, and sharing that with a loved one (even if you’re apart from them), can be nice.
As the season shifts, it’s important to find other ways to stay connected. Let us know how you stay connected in a digital world by commenting below.
Written by Alana Kaplan, Project Manager for the I Am Resilient Project.