Dr. Miriam Kirmayer, clinical psychologist and friendship expert, provides answers for how the pandemic may affect friendships.

Moving to a new place is never easy, and it’s even lonelier when no one can come within six feet of you. Experts like Dr. Miriam Kirmayer share how you can cope.

It can be especially hard to reach out to people with coronavirus in the background. Connection expert Dr. Miriam Kirmayer gives suggestions on how to clear those social hurdles.

“Sometimes, these actions are not coming from a place of rebellion but from loneliness, desperation, or necessity,” explains Dr. Miriam Kirmayer.

If you’re feeling a mixture of anxiety, dread and excitement about life inching back to normal, you’re not alone, says Ottawa-based clinical psychologist and friendship expert Dr. Miriam Kirmayer.

Experts like Dr. Miriam Kirmayer explain how lockdown has pulled us apart, pushed us together in odd ways, and forced us to socialise on screen.

Relationship experts like Dr. Miriam Kirmayer explain how the high stakes of this moment of history have created rifts that may not be so easily mended.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused many people to reflect on their lives — including relationships, said Dr. Miriam Kirmayer, a clinical psychologist and friendship expert.

Dr. Miriam Kirmayer says there are indeed different types of friends. Furthermore, these archetypes hold the power to teach us about who we are and what we seek in others.

“It’s easy to assume that setting boundaries will come at the expense of our relationships, when often it is the very thing that allows us to continue to show up as a present, supportive friend,” Dr. Miriam Kirmayer says.

The demands of everyday life are among the reasons that it’s hard to make new friends. But experts like Dr. Miriam Kirmayer say that traveling can stoke new connections.

You are allowed to say no, even to the wedding itself. Experts like Dr. Miriam Kirmayer provide tips to help you approach the situation with consideration, grace, and a plan.

Dr. Miriam Kirmayer, a therapist and friendship expert in Montreal, says some of her clients in their 20s have had luck on friend apps.

Relationships with colleagues have always played a role in workplace satisfaction, but experts like Dr. Miriam Kirmayer say it’s possible these office relationships are more critical today than they once were.

Dr. Miriam Kirmayer can attest to the power of real-life friendships in making someone feel socially connected. Real-life friendships allow people to “feel seen and appreciated and chosen for who you actually are,” she says.

"Befriending somebody who’s younger and helping them walk through a life stage or experience that you have already gone through can foster closeness and that can feel really good," says Dr. Miriam Kirmayer.

Researchers and experts like Dr. Miriam Kirmayer are saying the 20s, typically a time of important first experiences, are prime years for meeting your closest lifelong confidantes.

At the end of the day, if you often feel uncomfortable and unsupported around them, that’s a big sign that you’ve got yourself a frenemy. Still, there's a lot that you can do to shift the dynamic, says Dr. Miriam Kirmayer.

“Sometimes a cancellation comes from a place of burnout,” says Dr. Miriam Kirmayer. “Maintaining our friendships and investing in our relationships does require a significant amount of energy.”

Most of us haven’t been taught that breaking up with a friend is worthy of sympathy, it leaves a lot of ambiguity around how we should feel when one is ending, says Dr. Miriam Kirmayer.