By now we have all worked out Zoom and the various forms of calling friends to have a chat. But we are now 8 weeks into Lockdown and even those of us who like to be at home are beginning to miss the company of friends and even the most annoying relative. It's hard to feel properly connected to someone through a screen and I certainly miss the bear hug of one friend or the compassionate arm squeeze of another. I hear you, it's rubbish!

With the end date constantly slipping back it can become easy to feel fed up with attempts to stay in touch and without even realising to withdraw. Please don't. We are tribal creatures. We need each other.

So at the start of Mental Health Awareness week today's tip is keep connecting, and do not give up on those calls. As people are inventing new ways of reaching out -  I liked the story of two neighbours using a fence panel swung horizontally as a 2 bar and discovering how much they liked each other! - now more than ever go beyond those immediate contacts. We all have dozens of contacts in our phones most of which we have long stopped calling because for some reason nowadays a call seems intrusive. Well now is the perfect time to check in on someone. They will appreciate a call and maybe we will leave this crisis with our friends feeling more cherish and our own support group feeling stronger.

If you have exhausted all your phone contacts, then try the following:
•    Find your local group looking for volunteers to help with the current crisis:  https://covidmutualaid.org/local-groups/
•    Ask your local charities if they need help or support
•    Check your social media for groups that might interest you. Remember to find things that make you feel good and make you laugh.
•    Whilst we are on social media, clear yours up so that your feed shows you stuff that you want to see not an acquaintances top 10 soul destroyingly beautiful holiday snap with her looking stunning in the all. That's nice for her/him but really adds nothing to your life so 'hide' it and move on.
•    Talk to people in your local shops and ask them how they are. Just because.
•    Smile and wave. The Madagascar penguins said it best and whilst they were being sneaky, I mean this in the kind open way that we have all been busy to do before.