Some quick thoughts occurred as I noticed the days starting to get a bit shorter.
For the past eight years I’ve been a member of a local golf society. If you’re new to all this, a society is like a small club without a course; a group of golfers who get together every few weeks to play at different venues, usually in a competition format.
I was invited to join by a good friend’s father, and feel very lucky to now count several other members as close friends, too. From March until October, a number of weeks are brightened by the thought a meetup awaits on Sunday, but when the season ends…it can go a bit quiet.
We carry on ribbing one another over WhatsApp as the nights draw in, and some of the members who are retirees will get together on weekdays over the colder months. However, for those of us still working and maybe raising families, we might not see our ‘golf friends’ in person until spring rolls around again, and as we all know: sometimes out of sight can mean out of mind.
This experience is not unique to golf societies. The reliably grim UK winter enforces a break on numerous social pastimes, and if you throw Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) into the mix, it’s easy to see how lots of us can spend the most challenging part of the year adrift of the people we rely on to support our mental health.
The solutions I hit on when chewing this over aren’t original, but I thought I’d share them here anyway.
- Are you thinking of a friend who you haven’t spoken to in a while? Maybe you’re waiting for them to reach out first instead of you for a change. Don’t let your ego guide you down the path of isolation. Reach out to them. Perhaps they’re anxious about reaching out after so long. Maybe they don’t know how to start the conversation. Regardless, we all need a shoulder to lean or an ear to bend. If you feel awkward at the prospect or unsure how to handle a conversation that might veer into complicated feelings, Wondermind has some beautifully written advice.
- If you’re the one feeling isolated, reach out and contact someone. Put the shoe on the other foot. Would you like the idea of someone you know sitting in isolation, struggling alone? Of course not: you’d want them to get in touch.
Our online community, The Range, was created to serve as a form of bridge here, a society we all belong to and whose members can reach one another quickly if they need the little lift companionship can bring. We hope it serves you in this way, should you need it to.
