How to Connect With Loved Ones, Even When You’re Apart
With people staying home more often these days it’s normal to feel out of touch and isolated. But, it’s important to stay connected with friends and family and keep up with those relationships. To help create stronger bonds with loved ones, here are a few ways to help keep you connected while you’re physically apart.
- Schedule Time. Call or text a friend or family member to schedule a date and time to talk. Video chat is a great way to feel like you’re actually together. If you’re new to video chat, Skype and Google Hangouts are both free and easy to use.
- Make It Count. Studies show that people get closer when they talk about the things that matter. Don’t just chat, really connect about your joys, dreams, and worries. A great way to do this is to use questions to get to know a friend even better than before. Try asking about their favorite memories, what they are most grateful for, a funny or embarrassing story – or something else that allows the two of you to dig deeper into what makes you unique.
- Provide Support. It’s natural to want to offer a solution when someone comes to you with a problem. However, sometimes what people really want is just a listening ear. Try not to give people advice they didn’t ask for. Instead, focus on showing them you care about how they feel.
- Have Fun. Relationships not only rely on the emotional moments but having fun together is a great way to stay close, too. Whatever you’re into, there’s a way to do it online with other people! You can watch shows together, game together, or draw and write together. No matter what you do, the idea is the same. Put in the effort to keep up with your loved ones. Just because we’re physically apart in person doesn’t mean we have to be apart in our hearts.
About The Centene Center for Health Transformation
The Centene Center for Health Transformation™ is a community-corporate-academic healthcare partnership that advances life-centric health research to improve lives so that communities can thrive. For more information regarding the Centene Center for Health Transformation, visit https://www.centenecenter.wustl.edu.