How to See Friends and Not Alienate Yourself from People

Start slow

You’ve just spent a whole year only being able to see a small bubble of people and perfecting your Zoom background. It’s totally okay not to rush into a hundred gatherings at once. Give yourself a limit. Maybe one a week, or two, if you’re feeling up to it.

Watch out for burnout

We’re not used to it anymore. Whereas some of us could maybe imagine hitting two or three commitments in one night, that was when we’d been training ourselves over the course of our lives. Your brain is like a muscle and it needs to be worked out to gain strength. You wouldn’t take a year out from the gym and then go straight back to what you were bench pressing. That’s a guaranteed injury!

Should we even be pushing ourselves to socialize?

While staying up all night drinking isn’t great for your internal body clock (not to mention your liver), socializing is a great way to improve your cognitive functions. No, really. Meeting new people, having stimulating conversations and laughing improves not only your mood but also your brain health. So think about that next time your overzealous colleague asks if you’re coming to their barbecue.

Watch your drinks

If you do decide to go out and have fun, please drink responsibly. The pandemic has been the source of a large amount of alcohol abuse, mostly to deal with stress. Perhaps it’s that drinking at home alone feels more desperate than going to a bar with a good friend, but still, it’s okay to treat yourself to a soda and catch up with good friends.