Daily updates on death rates and the stresses of living in lockdown make it hard to see any sort of bright side in this pandemic. But psychologists and war time survivors say finding a few positives is key to surviving tough times.
17 reasons I’ve found to be cheerful in lockdown
Writer and mother-of-three Fiona Webster has found a few things to smile about.
1. Comprehending what my 90-year-old mother means when she mentions the war, when she was bombed out of her Liverpool home. It's tough for the many people like her, isolated and living on their own, but she says: "I've survived worse."
2. Re-evaluating what is important, realising how irrelevant many of the worries and wants from my previous life were and how vital friendships, family and day-to-day living are.
3. Not buying clothes, or even looking at them online. I'm seeing my own clothes, jewellry and perfume afresh and looking forward to when I can wear them. I know the fashion industry is suffering, but it will bounce back, meanwhile the thought of ordering more stuff now makes me feel sick (I realise this condition may be temporary).
4. Enjoying the fact that everyone seems friendlier and more courteous, so far at least. When I see anyone on my daily walk we smile and wave – from a distance, and in our normally busy community neighbours are offering to help each other.
5.Planning to tackle at least a few of the dozen things I swear I'll do every January. So far I have made bread and I plan to learn how to pickle.
6. Admiring young people and the way they are coping and pulling together. I work with a group who are adapting to their new confinement and work patterns without complaint and looking for ways to help each other.
7. Acquiring Zoom and video conferencing skills, I've even advised a couple of friends on how to do it, something I'd never dreamt I'd be able to do a few week ago. We're going to use it for family meetings now.
8. Saving a packet on make-up and cleansers – my now constantly bare faced skin has never seen so much sunlight and fresh air.
9. Reconnecting with old friends – even if just forwarding a picture or YouTube video via WhatsApp or hearing how they're coping.
10. Realising how tired and tetchy commuting used to make me. I used to dread the two hour each way trek, now I wake up and know I don't have to brace myself like Ben Hur for the journey to work.
11. Appreciating my home more. All the things I have bought and once loved but no longer really saw, are getting noticed again.
12. Recognising the qualities of our rescue dog Freddie, an English springer spaniel who we adopted when he was three. He is loving the walks and attention. I'm also thankful for my rescue chickens – these once scraggy birds would have been slaughtered at the battery farm where they were caged since birth, but the Britsh Hen Welfare Trust give them to hundreds of people like me so they can live their last years in freedom.
13. Dressing up – although I'm spending a lot of time in joggers and jeans, I look forward to putting some nice things on occassionally, even just for Friday night supper.
14. Discovering my husband is good company in a crisis, even though we may kill each other before the lockdown is out.
15. Appreciating the countryside and understanding what recovered patients and released prisoners mean when they say they savour bird song and the smell of fresh grass.
16. Discovering new skills, like painting walls and card making, though I'm clearly no Kirstie Allsopp.
17. Looking forward to when I can go out and savour a coffee in a café, meals with family and friends and just browsing life further than a couple of kilometres from my own doorstep.