Covid-19 and Connecting to Others- Part 1

What are some strategies for maintaining connections with others during this pandemic? 

This pandemic has been incredibly hard on most people (though not everyone, despite what the media would lead us to believe). As a therapist, one of the most common struggles I am seeing people go through is staying away from friends and family. The way I see Covid-19 distancing is like a spectrum. Meaning, some people have been staying in their houses and having very little contact with people, while others have been living their lives as usual. This difference in reactions is coming from many different places, and not everyone can see all the different thought processes. This has lead to people isolating from some, but not all, which has impacted friendships and relationships. This is especially difficult for people who have trouble with assertive communication. I know the question is asking about strategies to maintain connections. I think that a big part of this is understanding why you might be unable to maintain connections with many of the people you are used to having those connections with. I am going to break this down by categories (despite this being a spectrum), and then give tips at the end of each category for how those types of people can connect to one another. Check out my part 2 for more “types.”

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