Feeling detached from your friends? Here's how to change that post-pandemic

Tips on re-evaluating and fine-tuning your friendships post-pandemic Clinical psychologist Anna Maria explains the difference between foreground and background friendships, and which relationships we are okay to let fade.

TORONTO — After more than 1.5 years of isolation, some people are starting to reconnect with friends they haven’t seen in a long time.

That pandemic pause may have put friendships under strain, but there are healthy ways to press reset, Montreal-based clinical psychologist Anna Maria Tosco told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday.

“A lot of us feel quite distant from our friends and a little bit detached,” said Tosco, a psychologist with the Montreal Center for Anxiety and Depression. “COVID has been so hard, but in truth it’s also provided us with a moment for reflection.

“If you’re ready for re-entry into the social world right now, if you’re good to go out and see friends, please do so,” she said. “Don’t feel guilty about minimal contact or lack of contact during COVID.”

And if you don’t want to see friends, that’s OK too, she said, just don’t ghost them. It’s better to decline invitations, or limit your time with those people.

Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox

Good friendships are based on reciprocity, conflict resolution and flexibility, she said.

“A lot of us like the status quo, but people change,” Tosco said. “People move, people change jobs, people get remarried. So we want someone who can walk beside us during these times and not hold us back, or feel angry, or bitter that things are changing.”

And if you have friends who really resonate with you, those are the ones you want to keep close, Tosco said.