Connection by Marissa Keep

This time of year can feel dreary and uninspiring. It’s cold out, the sun is hidden behind clouds for days on end, and we can feel the pull to withdraw and keep to ourselves. It can be hard to get out and about when it’s cold and dark outside. This can be a good opportunity to engage in activities at home that nourish us, like crafts, games, cooking, or other hobbies that bring us joy.

On the flip side, sometimes we can experience too much solitude and start to miss feeling more connected to others.  If this resonates with you, here are a few ideas for how to reach out and energize yourself by reconnecting with other people. Joining a book club could be a good way to engage with others about a common topic. You might try looking for one that meets either in-person or online, depending on what works best for your schedule.

Another idea is to reach out to a friend or acquaintance who you haven’t seen in a while and ask if they’d like to catch up. This could be over the phone or grabbing a coffee or lunch together in person. Perhaps you have been struggling with feeling isolated and need a more gradual approach to connecting with others. You might consider committing to hanging out at a coffee shop or library for an hour or two a week. Utilizing this gradual change, one can find that being around other people even in this indirect way can potentially boost our feeling of connection and engagement with others. This feeling of connection can help increase our self-esteem, which in turn helps us take more steps to connect with others, creating a loop of connection and more positive feelings of relatedness.

Feeling alone and isolated is hard to bear, especially when the weather outside is gloomy. If you’d like, try out one of these suggestions to boost your sense of connection to others and your community. Starting with one small step toward greater connectedness is the key.