Unless you've been holidaying on another planet, you'll know that the world has been plunged into crisis as Covid 19 continues to wreak havoc and upheaval. 'Social distancing' and 'self-isolating' are two key phrases that are on everyone's lips at the moment, and we've all been ordered to stay at home and keep off the streets - unless absolutely necessary of course.
Unfortunately, staying indoors; not being able to go to work or socialize; not being able to see family and friends; the constant barrage of alarming news reports, and worry over our loved ones has not been good for our stress levels. Far from it. As a result people are working out; doing yoga or art, meditating, doing online courses to learn new skills etc. as ways of practicing self-care.
But for nostalgiacs like us, there are other ways of practising self-care that incorporates an element of nostalgia. Everyone knows that things that trigger memories of happy, carefree days and simpler times increases feelings of contentment and reduces levels of stress and anxiety. So we've compiled a list of activities that you can do in the comfort of your own home by yourself. Some of these activities are often done as part of a group so it might feel strange at first. But it can be done - and hopefully it will take your mind of these difficult times and make our time in isolation go that much faster. Well, we can hope!
1. Read a Book, Create a Nook!
For many people, reading books are so nineties! And if they do choose to read, it's usually on a device of some kind. We have to admit, those tablets and eReaders are indeed very handy but most of us nostalgiacs agree that there is nothing like an actual book in our hands with pages, a cover and a spine, and to breathe in that woody-inked aroma of a book. Aah!
But whether you use a book or a device, we all have a novel in mind that we've promised ourselves we'll get around to reading but it never seems to happen! With all this extra time that most of us have, now is the perfect time to get around to picking up that novel. And if you can create yourself a cosy little reading nook somewhere in your house, it'll motivate you even more. In fact with the weather getting warmer, if you're lucky enough to have a garden, you could find a reading spot out there. Oh and the addition of a pot of tea and a slice of cake are practically essential!
2. Get Crafty
Do you remember when we were at school and we had wet play? Sure we'd rather have been tearing around the playground with the dinnerladies on playground duty shouting at us for running too fast, but wet play - where we had to be indoors while it poured down with rain outside - was also pretty cool. We used to have paints, pencils, craft papers, plasticine and all sorts of creative bits and pieces brought out to us which enabled us to get crafty and imaginative.
And most of us are still big on our crafts. It's just the crafting activities we choose to do now are a lot more sophisticated than the plasticine food we used to make when we were kids! Those who have children are bound to have all sorts of crafty bits that you can use to make things with your kids (which should hopefully stop "I'm so bored" cries!)
Many of us are into some kind of creative interest whether it's knitting, soapmaking, painting, sewing etc. And all too often with the hustle and bustle of daily life we don't have enough time to devote to our artistic endeavours. Furthermore, getting creative is an excellent stress buster and a great way to relax - which probably explains why crafting is such big business during the stresses and strains of modern day life - plus you feel that sense of achievement when you complete a project.
3. Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be Mary Berry!
Could there be anything more nostalgic than home baking? We all remember the aroma that filled the kitchen whenever there were baked goodies in the oven. And what about teatime with all the family complete with freshly baked scones, a homemade cake and limitless cups of tea?
Well tea with all the family might not be the order of the day right now, but you can still get your Mary-Berry on by indulging in the highly relaxing pastime of baking. Plus you get something delicious to scoff at the end of it all. And if the recipe has come from a vintage recipe book, then that's even better.
For those of you whom baking is not your strongest point but you'd like to learn, then this is your chance to practice. Providing you can get all the ingredients of course!
4. (Binge) Watch a TV show from your childhood
We all have shows we loved as a kid. And when we watch them again, it takes us right back to our childhoods and all those happy memories come flooding back. And dare we say it - shows from back in the day just seem so much better!
Luckily for us, a lot of these programmes are still available for us to watch either on video sharing platforms or boxed DVD sets.
5. Play lots of old school tunes
Every generation seems the think that the music of their time was far superior than the 'awful noise' that's currently around. Well we think the same! It's amazing the happy memories that hearing an old song can bring: posters on our wall; school dances; dodgy hairdos; first year of secondary school; first concert, first kiss...
So play those feel good anthems all day long. And if you're able to watch old videos of your fave bands in action, so much the better!
6. Movie marathon
We all have a collection of movies that we absolutely love and even if we've seen them a million times, it still never gets old. And a lot of these films are ones that we've probably seen during our childhood and teen years. Like an old song, films can also bring back memories of people, places and happy moments in the past.
No talking is usually required when watching a film but ironically it tends to be a real social activity and something we do with other people either at the cinema or at movie nights at a friend's house. So it might seem a bit odd having to watch a bunch of films on your own. But look at it this way: you have the whole couch to yourself; you can watch whatever movies you like without any complaints, and you don't have to share the popcorn! Though you might have to save the horror flicks for later!
7. Board games to stop you getting bored!
Who didn't play a board game when they were kids? It was something a lot of us did with our families on a Sunday afternoon (before all the shops started opening) or at Christmas.
Of course unless you're playing solitaire, the classic traditional board games will be difficult to play because they're usually meant for multiple players. But that's where you'd have to get a little less old school and use the online version of the board game to play against the computer. And lose!
8. Get back to class!
There are things we excelled at in school which we didn't really bother with once we left. Perhaps you were the star pupil in French class? Or your art teacher always gave you A+ for your still-life drawings? 'Miss' always read your poems out to the class and your music teacher thought you had what it took to be the next Santana.
If you had a love for these things but you gradually gave up because life got in the way as it so often does, perhaps now is the time to give these things a go again. You might be a bit rusty at first but with time you'll soon get into the swing of things. And if you're having trouble motivating yourself, there's lots of online classes and courses to guide and inspire you.
9. Phone a friend
Even though there are millions of ways to keep in touch with people, we're all so busy that we often forget or simply don't have the time to keep in regular contact with people. As a result a lot of friendships fall by the wayside, and we go years without contacting people who are still quite dear to us. But perhaps now is the time to do just that. Not just because we have so much time on our hands but because now more than ever, we need to reach out to others - in a self-isolating kind of way! So give them a bell or send them an email. Skype call them! If you've lost touch with them completely, we're lucky enough to live in an age where most people can be tracked down quite easily.
But be sure to make an effort to stay in touch once this crisis is over.
10. Follow your dreams
From the time we were children we all had dreams and ambitions - even if it was becoming He-Man or Supergirl! But for those of us who had more attainable goals, now might be a good time to work on those, especially if you've been harboring those ambitions for years. Write the first draft of that novel; compose those song lyrics; design that range of fashion accessories... who says it's not possible? Remember when we were kids? Absolutely nothing seemed impossible back then.
If this pandemic has taught us anything at all, it's that life is short and we really have to make the most of it. Now is a time for self-reflection, to decide what we want to do with the next stage of our lives. The things that we'd like to do may require further training which might not be possible right now, but there's nothing to stop you from looking into it and seeing what your options are.
So go for it and realise those long-held ambitions. As we said at school: Don't dream it - be it!
Stay safe, healthy and well everyone.
Photos from Pixabay
Word Cloud by Angel Noire