For many of us at the moment, our own happiness and wellbeing and that of our loved ones is at the forefront of our minds and at this uncertain and anxious period for everyone across the world it seems kind of ironic that the international day of happiness should fall on Friday the 20th March. However, as the covid-19 virus sweeps its way across countries and causes widespread change and uncertainty perhaps this timing is a good thing. Therefore, I’m going to try and focus on some ways we can all stay happy at this frankly crazy time. One such avenue is through activities like playing เล่นบาคาร่าออนไลน์ที่ UFABET.
Good news: Amongst all the media attention given to the virus and its effects at the moment it’s easy to feel suffocated every time you turn on the news. Instead of being constantly tuned in to the news, why not have a look at some positive updates brought to you by outlets such as positive news and the optimist daily. These sites not only feature the positive sense of community that is being highlighted at the moment but they also cover other optimistic aspects of world news from farming to culture, just to take your mind off things. If all else fails, you could always try going offline for a bit, deleting your social media apps on the weekend is a great way to get away from the anxiety that social media can bring. This can also allow us to reconnect with others in a more authentic way either face to face or on FaceTime, which is becoming ever more important as friends may feel more distant than ever right now.
Hobbies: One thing that feels like a silver lining at the moment is the fact that social distancing gives us more time to focus on those things that we’ve all been putting off for yonks. I don’t know about everyone else but my list of ‘oooh, I’ve always wanted to try that’ is endless. In particular I would love to try upcycling more of my old clothes, finally re-tuning the guitar that has been sat in my corner for far too long and digging out my old oil paints again. From personal experience, being creative and having a creative outlet works great as a stress reliever for even the most uncreative people and a bit of paint is fun no matter who you are or how talented. Sometimes you just have to let go of the need to be good at things and instead enjoy them for what they are. Meanwhile if you’re looking to find a new skill or just something new completely then YouTube or sites like FutureLearn and SkillShare (they have a two-month free trial) are always a winner.
Community: Reach out to your community. This doesn’t just have to be in a physical way but could be a phone call, a letter or even just an email. Something that I love is the mypostcard app which lets you make postcards of your own photos and send them to your friends, or you could send a handmade one. If you have a car or means of supplying vulnerable people with goods and food, volunteering your time to do so is a small act of kindness that will have a big positive effect. Community doesn’t always mean your neighbours or city either, reach out to online friends and communities or use the time to connect with old friends.
Practice gratitude: Something that I always used to brush off as being a little ‘too much’ was the practice of making a list of everything that you are grateful for every day, but now I can understand the use in it and the positive perspective it can bring. Mine usually features my good health, access to chocolate biscuits and my cat. Anyway, it can never harm to feel grateful and practice optimistic habits.
Fresh air: Despite advice to social distance it is still important that we all keep our spirits up by getting fresh air and sunshine where we can. This may seem obvious, but from personal experience it seems some are totally planning on not going outside for an extended period, which isn’t good for anyone. Instead we should all just practice caution and balance by going places where we will be at least a metre apart from others, such as parks or alternatively just sitting outside our houses for a little each day.
Retail therapy: As someone who is very against the consumer culture of the fast fashion industry this is not a plea for you to go online and scroll through the likes of PrettyLittle Thing and Boohoo for hours. But I also understand the desire to buy a little something new in times of anxiety or low mood. So instead, as a lot of us will have time on our hands this is a great time to get researching about alternative and independent places to shop. For example as my deodorant just finished I decided to research some more eco friendly alternatives and ended up ordering some from nuud. Meanwhile with shops like urban outfitters closing down until the end of march, now is a great time to fulfil your self-isolation retail needs through places such as Depop, thrift plus, etsy and asos marketplace, to name but a few. Alongside this, why not watch some great documentaries on the subject such as Stacey Dooley’s ‘Fashions dirty secrets’ and ‘The true cost’, it’s a great time to stay educated on other major world issues and how we can collectively help.