Overcoming Loneliness During the Festive Season

A significant impact of ongoing lockdowns throughout 2020 & 2021 was an increase in loneliness caused by physical isolation from other human beings. Of course, for those living alone this impact was far more severe than for those living with large extended families, and the various combinations in between.Despite the hype, global and interstate travel remains restricted and expensive, and not everyone is vaccinated or wants to be, and so many people remain unable to be close to their loved ones.Within Christian traditions the Christ-mass has become synonymous with family coming together for the "holy-days". This is reflected in the calendars and public holidays of the countries in "the West" founded on Christian principles. But, of course, these countries are now far from homogenous, and far from "Christian" and so, for many of us, "the festive season" actually represents a time of not belonging, of being far from home and tradition - a stranger in a strange land.This webinar will look at different forms of loneliness, who is impacted by it, how "the festive season can exacerbate this loneliness and what we can all do about it.