Things that brighten your day

When you're either wholly or partially housebound, or not able to go too far from home, you might find the smallest things make your day worthwhile. Maybe it's the garden outside, or the birds you see from the window. Maybe it's a radio station you like to listen to, or your cat or dog, or baking, or a hobby.

Feel free to share the things that lift your spirits or brighten your day.

 

My subscription to Netflix in the last year or so has been a great boon. Once I find a series I like, I then have a new episode to look forward to each day.

So far that has included Endeavour, Lewis, Death in Paradise, Silks and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. From that you can deduce that I'm a fan of old fashioned detective stories. Current series is Big Bang Theory which has the advantage of hundreds of very short episodes. Ideal for short attention spans.

I suspect that's not quite not what was intended, having just re-read your intro, @Ysabelle-S . Never mind. I do find having specific things to look forward to is so helpful in a life that is mostly the same every day, apart from symptom fluctuations.

 

This is a particularly difficult one for me, right now anyway. I don't think anyone is unfamiliar with the monotony and "small world" syndrome of being stuck in one place with little variation. Going outside to read or study is almost essential for my struggling mental health! Spotify and music brightens my day, my piano, singing and drinking tea really does help.

Studying Maths part time is also really helping. It finally feels like I'm getting somewhere and there's something empowering about developing Maths as a skill. I will have the tools to unlock and understand the Universe. As I continue to build knowledge in maths (and ultimately science), I'll be able contribute something positive to the world. I need to maintain that long term mind set and see small steps toward it in my day to day to really feel brightened up. Having direction and seeing progress, no matter how small, is the ultimate way to brighten your day in my opinion .

 

@Trish - I find the Amazon Fire TV stick very good, but since I spend most of my time in the bedroom, where I can't get a good wireless signal, I tend not to watch it too much. When I do, I go on binges lasting a few days. Then I retreat back to the bedroom!

I think my cat, Luna, is the highlight of my day, because she's a character, and she makes me laugh from one end of the day to the other.

 

I should have added I do all my TV watching on my laptop while lying in bed. Now that I have managed to get myself properly set up with sloping pillows and bed tray with sloping section, I can lie in comfort and watch, read and type as I want to.

The biggest danger in this is doing too much screen time. At least with a laptop it's easy to darken the screen and turn the sound down.

 

My laptop is my lifeline! It's hooked up in the bedroom via ethernet cable, which is more reliable than wireless anyway.