Maria Loreto
In partnership with The Fresh Toast
Stressed? Depressed? Tired? Sometimes our friendships take a back seat to our emotions. Here’s how to deal.
We’re all social creatures but maintaining and forging relationships takes time and effort. This is made even more challenging when you’re feeling depressed, like you can’t make the space for the important people in your life.
Feeling sad and out of sorts can make everything social more difficult, from going to parties, to hanging out with friends, to answering a few text messages. While there’s no way to know what tips work for everyone, here are a few helpful suggestions that can help you stay a little bit more sane and like you’re caring for those you love in the best way you can. Here are 5 ways to maintain relationships when you don’t feel like it.
Have a script for your alone time
Alone time is great, helping you recharge from social situations and allowing you to enjoy your own company, doing stuff you enjoy doing. Still, if you’re feeling depressed and off, it helps to give some structure to your alone time, scheduling in activities you enjoy and stuff that makes you feel energized and uplifted.
Having the COVID-19 experience under our belts, we’ve all learned how to spend more time alone but also, how easy it is to forget how to socialize.
Pay attention to your interests
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While it’s difficult to remain invested in your hobbies and interests when you’re feeling sad, it’s important to break the cycle whenever you can. Schedule in activities you enjoy and friend hangouts, keeping you accountable for following through. While they might seem tough to achieve at first, you’ll be grateful once you do them.
Communicate with others in a way that makes you feel comfortable
Being social doesn’t mean meeting with people face to face. While that is the best way of maintaining relationships, it also helps to communicate in other ways, whether that’s a phone call, Face Time or texting. If texting is too much sometimes, try something new, like writing an email to a friend.
Be honest
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If you’re finding it hard to respond to texts and get back to your friends and loved ones, the best thing you can do is to let them know. While an unanswered text can mean a thousand different things, a clear explanation clears everything up and will make you feel better, like there’s less pressure to deal with. You don’t need to get deeply into the details; a brief outline will do the trick.
Talk to a therapist
Lastly and most importantly, it’s very important to talk to a therapist if you feel like your problem is growing increasingly crippling. While therapy is expensive, modern technology has facilitated a few things, making it easier and much more affordable to schedule video or text therapy. The help and advice of an expert can make a significant difference in your life and can help you make the right decisions when it comes to managing your current situation.
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