February is historically a month for celebrating both the love between intimate partners and Black history. You may remember the times when this meant going to concerts, restaurants, event programs, and other public activities. Couples had their pick of many activities where they could enjoy spending time with no worry of pandemic guidelines, concerns for their health, or limited options due to businesses being closed or understaffed. Individuals excited to learn, honor and celebrate Black history month had their pick of festivals, programs and volunteer opportunities. Since 2020, our normal ways of experiencing love and celebration in public settings have been halted, limited or altered somehow. We have lived with the uncertainty of waiting for public activities to be restored, and we have found creative ways to adapt!

Love and celebration are integral to our lives and worthy of creative pursuit. Social connection cultivates a sense of relationship and belonging. This belonging includes close relationships with intimate partners, friends and family, and more distant relationships like co-workers, classmates or acquaintances. According to the Stanford Medicine Center for Compassion and Altruism, social connection lowers rates of anxiety and depression while increasing self-esteem and empathy. Adversely, low social connection can result in a decline in physical health and increased suicidality and antisocial behaviors.

Consider these creative and intentional ways to foster love, celebration, and social connection this month: 

For Couples:

1. Take a virtual cooking class
2. Create a scavenger hunt for your partner to find meaningful gifts within your home and yard
3. Attend a virtual wine tasting
4. Plan a virtual group couples night with Karaoke
5. Write original poems, songs or short stories and share them with your partner
6. Attend a virtual paint class

For Black History Celebration:

1. Virtually attend a black history event (If you are feeling social, comment in the chat if they have one)
2. Get a group of friends to support black-owned businesses and share your experience with that business
3. Find a good book written by a black author and develop a book club to discuss
4. Have a virtual party with black music and games created by black people
5. Share black history facts with your children, family, friends and social media

Find socially distanced or virtual volunteer opportunities in your community

Be inspired to combine or create your own activities. Remember that we are resilient people, and we continue to adapt to the ever-changing world around us. We benefit from the intentional connection with others, and we can be closely connected socially even when physically distanced.  

If you need help dealing with social connection issues or want to identify ways to adjust your specific circumstances to increase social connection for the New Year, give Methodist EAP a call at 901-683-5658 and set up your free and confidential session. All sessions are currently conducted via telehealth.

Tera Brownlee, LPC-MHSP

Counselor

Tera Brownlee is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a designation of Mental Health Services Provider. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and her Master’s degree in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Memphis. Tera has experience counseling children, teens, and adults in various inpatient and outpatient settings. She has a passion for walking alongside clients as they heal and helping them navigate life transitions. Tera is a native Memphian and enjoys reading, spending time with family, traveling, and attending live entertainment shows.