Ideas for Lockdown – Blog 2: Catching up with Friends

Catching up with friends is something that we all too often forget to do. As we go through life juggling different workloads we sometimes do forget to check in on our friends and see if they are doing alright. Today’s blog in the Ideas for Lockdown series is going to be about Catching up with Friends and how it can be a great thing for us to do in this lockdown!

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Today’s blog is the second blog in the Ideas for Lockdown series and is all about Catching up with Friends. As the lockdown that we are currently facing continues, people are looking for different things to do with their time. The lockdown and of course Corona Virus have caused a complete change in lifestyle for nearly everyone and people are struggling to cope at times, even if they can’t see it themselves.

As quite a lot of people have a lot more time on their hands now compared to what they used to have , I would recommend using some of that time to catch up with some of your friends. Catching up with your friends is something that I always recommend people to do at any time of the year but during this lockdown it is even more important.

The Corona Virus pandemic has caused a lot of people to become very stressed and worried about what the future holds in store. It is a common trait that a lot of people do not want to talk about the struggles they are facing in life and start to bottle things up. Bottling things up is not a smart move to make but it is something that people far too often resort too.

A lot of people feel like they can keep bottling things up forever when in reality it is just not the case. Ultimately they break and then are forced to face everything that they have bottled up by themselves. Checking up on your friends and seeing if they are alright can help lighten the load that they carry and can really help them out in life.

How you communicate with your friends is completely up to you. You can phone them, text them, facetime them, anything. The actual way that you contact them does not really matter it is the action of actually doing it. Doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen that person in a few months or even years, it is never too late to catch up with someone!

One thing that people often tell me when we talking about catching up with people is they say that they worry that they will not know what to say when they actually try and get in touch. A lot of people worry that they will not be able to hold the conversation but unless you try it, you’ll never see. I can’t say that you will always get someone who wants to have a conversation but surely there is no harm in trying?

Personally, I am a person who loves to chat and I talk to different people every day. I love keeping in touch with people, seeing how they are doing, what they are up to and their plans for the future. Granted there have been times where I have messaged an old friend and the response I get is just a simple yeah or fine but the majority of people you speak to will be more than happy to have a chat if they have time!

In regards of what to talk about, I cannot really help you that much there. The one thing that I will say is see where the conversation takes you. Obviously you start with asking each other how you are and stuff but then the conversation will go in the way that one of you decide it to go in. You can talk about jobs, family, life, absolutely anything!

You will find that when you start talking to people you will have so much to actually talk about when you initially thought that you would have nothing. I say to let the conversation flow, ask questions, listen to each other and just be genuine and you can’t really go wrong.

Catching up with people can be a great thing to do in life. You can talk about trips you went on together, mutual friends that you used to know, anything. It can help you relive some really great memories which you may have forgotten about!

If you want a challenge to start you off, I’ll give everyone one.Try and speak to at least two old friends that you haven’t spoken to for a while. See how they are doing and what they are up to in life! You might rekindle a great friendship that could last your whole life, who knows?! What I will say is that you do not know unless you actually try. People always say oh I wish I did that, when now we have more time on our hands, why not try and actually do it?!

That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! What do you all think? Are you going to catch up with some old friends? What are you doing with your extra time now? How are you coping whilst being stuck in lockdown? What other blogs will you like to see on the page? Let me know your answers to these questions and any other questions you may have in the comments below or on our Facebook page!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day,