During this time of worry, isolation and uncertainty, it’s important more than ever to be kind and supportive of one another.

As socialising becomes increasingly difficult (well non existent other than virtually), days feel like they are lasting forever! Here are a few tips on how you can show your love and support, help lift others spirits at this time.

Set yourself goals to keep socialising

Setting yourself daily goals to reach can remind us to reach out to our friends and family when they may be feeling their loneliness. This can help benefit both you and them!

Set up a time/day you will video call or just call your family. If you are still in accommodation away from the family home, organise a set time with your parents/ guardians when you will call and keep up to date, checking up on their mood and health whilst sharing yours. This can help ease their worries over you and keep you involved in family life.

Write down how many people you need to reach out to per day or week. This can help ensure your talking to friends and actually making contact with others! isolation and lock down can be a lonely time, and not reaching out can be incredibly unhealthy and you may not notice how much it may the lack of contact will affect you until its too late! This may be a great opportunity to rekindle old friendships or check on people you wouldn’t normally connect with.

Let social media help you!

This week Yasmin has shared some tips of staying connected in her vlog. Make a snap streak! let snapchat help keep track of your connections. This could involve just sharing your meals with your friends everyday, make your own food critique chat to make the best cereal around ;), send a funny face a day to lift moods, or work on your joke skills by sharing the daily jokes with the cheesiest punch lines you can! Doing this can help remind people how even though these are hard times, you can still have fun and there are people out there that are here for them and you.

Upload throw back pictures of days out with friends or things you love on Instagram or Facebook to remind your friends your thinking of them and to share your fun memories! Maybe even share some cute pics of your pets (who doesn’t love a good cat pic) and who’s spirits can’t be lifted with a timeline flooded with adorable animals!

Don’t live alone?

Whether you live with friends, family or a pain you call a housemate, people can struggle in different ways to stay entertained, cheery and motivated.

The smallest things can make a big difference to someone. Try making your housemates favorite drink in the morning and leave it for them to enjoy, have a movie night with the family! Start a series to watch with your friends. You can make even a movie night a whole event to look forward to! Making different snacks every times, experiment with different drinks, perhaps even watch shows like RuPaul’s drag race and join in in the judging! Make it as small or extravagant as you want, with costumes, themed nights or whatever you can think of!

Pamper/ hobby night! join forces to make the best face masks, best game compilations, challenge each other to paint/ draw or even use the time to embroider or sew your clothes to make a new fashionable wardrobe to show off. Share your hobbies and interests. If now isn’t the best time to learn and share new skills, you could be waiting for a moment that may not come. Become the next gamer, seamstress, baker, nail technician or anything you can think of!!

Remain hopeful!!

It may be easy at a time like this to forget everything your life has in store, but you need to remember this is not the end! make sure to organise some plans for when your back out and about again. Plan a holiday for the winter months and organise your next night out or day trip! This time will pass and you want to make sure your prepared for all the fun and adventures that await!

Remember to stay supportive and celebrate the little things. When people are down, it can be difficult to do the simplest of tasks, so remember to stay supportive and show pride for even the smallest achievements!

If you feel like your mental well-being is suffering, be sure to reach out to loves ones and services that can help. Try out the self care toolkit provided by the university through your brighspace under Me@BU and The Big White Wall which is an anonymous community to support mental health which Bournemouth university, as well as many others, are working with so every student has access.

As Caroline Flack recently posted on her Instagram account; “In a world where you can be anything, be kind”.