This week marks another step in the Government’s roadmap to a full reopening after COVID! The new guidelines include: Outdoor gatherings of up to 30 people and 2 households or 6 people inside. This is great news! We can now gather with friends or family inside again, and have larger gatherings at the beach or park. Indoor entertainment may also open up again! This includes the cinema, hotels, exercise classes and much more. Weddings, wakes and funerals may now expand their guestlist to 30 people. All of this information is available here if you would like to read more.
As scary as it might be to integrate yourself into a group of 30 people again, it is very important to do so. Social interaction is proven to lighten your mood, improve mental health, create a sense of belonging, along with lowers risk of dementia. Humans are social animals and don’t do so well in isolation. Communication with other humans can release Dopamine, a “feel-good” chemical in our brain, and social interactions also help us through tough experiences both mentally and physically. If 30 people is too much right now for you to be comfortable with, even hanging out with just 4 or 5 people can still give you the same benefits of social interaction. Start small and slowly build your way back up to 30 so you are comfortable in large groups again.
Professional sport is also returning, which means we can finally watch some sports on the telly at a pub again! Did you know that watching sports can also improve mental health? It can restore a sense of normalcy, provide healthy distraction from regular life, and it’s another way to connect with people and build a sense of community. If that isn’t a great excuse to watch a football game or two, I don’t know what is!
As always, stay defiant!
#TeamDefiant