What luxuries make your life easier/happier - particularly if you're depressed

[smartgreenball]

I've been careful over the years not to increase my spending as my salary has increased but I'm struggling at the moment with chronic illness and depression and wondering if I should be spending on a few more luxuries if it will make things easier rather than save every penny.

I know you can't buy your way out of it and I don't want to go crazy or spend for the sake of it but was looking for ideas that might make day to day life easier.

Initially I was thinking:

Cleaner - I live alone and have always felt this was unecessary but I am starting to struggle with energy/pain from my condition. I can do it, but it wipes me out for a day of the weekend and am starting to dread it

Fancy gym 2 mins away - I should be exercising more and it has nice facilities so if I liked going I wouldn't mind paying the extortionate fee but I'm worried i'll be intimidated by the fit people and not be able to force myself to go when i'm having bad days (i'm quite overweight)

Any other ideas?

Definitely a cleaner.

I have a heated foot/leg massager machine. It's the best. Makes my legs feel so much better and is so relaxing.

@NuffSaidSam

100% get a cleaner.

Nice, healthy food. And if cooking is a bit much either the occasional deliveroo or one of those ones where they deliver all the ingredients and simple instructions for you to prepare at home.

I like nice tea. I drink cheapish most of the time, but I like some posh tea as a treat a few times a week.

Subscription to something you like, could be a magazine or Netflix or something.

A treat to look forward to once a month or so. For me it's theatre tickets, but could be whatever you like.

Could you recommend some tea please @NuffSaidSam ?

Aw what a shame. Great idea for the cleaner and gun. Try not to think too much about other people there- they genuinely are focusing on themselves and everyone starts somewhere. Fancy gyms are really lovely too because you often have a pool, steam room, sauna which can be great for relaxing, even if you don't feel like exercise. A small thing that I like is getting takeaway coffee. It's a nice thing to do when going for a walk, and I find it makes me more motivated to get out for some exercise x

Sorry you are going through such a rough time OP.

A good cleaner was my go to - sadly made redundant so I had to let the cleaner go, but also a well-organised home helped/s me massively.

I would hold off the gym memberhsip unless there's a cancellation clause - maybe try committing to a home exercise routine so you can see how much you can do before committing to a (usually) uncancleable membership. Lots of places offer discounts for disabilities.

Decent Pillows
Essential Oil Diffuser
Speaker and wireless headphones
Insight Timer App

I would say some really good walking shoes/trainers so you can go for good walks.

Lovely books.

A box set of something you really enjoy, rather than having to search endlessly on netflix or whatever (this annoys me!)

Really good herbs, spices, ingredients to make luxurious meals.

Beautiful plants in your garden, nothing cheers me up like watching them grow and seeing the bees/butterflies.

A lovely journal and pen, a takeaway delivery so no cooking or washing up once a week, a few uplifting books, a lovely bedding set, a new mattress/pillows, definitely a cleaner!

Cohorted box once a month, very high end products that are worth loads more

Posh soap

Oh yes definitely a teapot/tea jug, some lovely cups and some good teas.

Have a look at Jing tea, for example.

Weirdly, an absolutely in-depth springclean of my finances. I like getting the cheapest deals, cashback, getting £125 for changing current account etc.

Also overpaying my mortgage obsessively and eBaying everything that is unused.

It’s a sense of achievement.

And listening to podcasts and deadheading plants in the garden.

And geocaching makes going for a walk seem more productive!

Low expectations.

Changing bed sheets as often as I want, fancy bath stuff and fancy candles

Gym membership
Cleaner
Cinema unlimited ticket
Regular massages / facials
Saunas and steams
National Trust membership

Ive quit alcohol & caffeine recently and the above list are such lovely treats and have helped with sobriety in many ways.
Your mental health is so important, you must do whatever it takes to look after it!

I signed up to an art class when I was coming out of a severe depression & anxiety episode
It got me out of the house one a week and I found it really therapeutic. I was the youngest person on the course by a good 25 years and it was just a bit of gentle chatter arriving and leaving rather than a taxing social thing.

Sorry to hear that things are tough for you atm @smartgreenball.

I think a cleaner is a great idea. Ours changes the sheets too- so after she has been the house looks lovely and my mind does benefit from this.

I enjoy walking outdoors so a great coat, boots and a membership to the carpark of our lovely local beauty spot has helped me get out and about.

I can recommend a defuser with essential oils.

A massage our similar treatment also helps me.

I have put on a hideous amount of weight recently. I want to loose it but I did recently concede that I need new clothes as everything is extremely tight and splashed out on lovely PJ, lounge pants and a few other bits and I feel so much better for it.

I think that it really worth digging deep to see if you can work out what type of thing lifts you even a little. I know that this can be very hard when you feel down, but it makes it easier to pinpoint the type of things that might help you most.

I have a chronic condition so you have my sympathy
Cleaner - twice a week 😬
(I can afford it and I realised that I was just being an unpaid cleaner who wasn't appreciated )
Personal Trainer - she is a specialist in chronic conditions. I can't tell you the difference it has made to my life and health

Definitely lovely, healthy food - good olive oil, eggs etc make such a difference.

Definitely a cleaner.

Maybe a good pair of trainers for a walk or light jog everyday and a subscription to Apple Music/podcasts etc so you can listen to it whilst you walk/jog.

Maybe a treat monthly - a haircut, nails done, facial. Whatever you like really, as long as you feel good and pampered.

Some nice bubble bath and a body lotion that smells lovely. Maybe on a Saturday or Sunday using those products could be your treat?

Of course, only if these kind of things interest you

Gym - definitely, look around a few and pick the one with the friendliest staff, I’ve always got on better if there’s someone there who’s going to give me a bit of encouragement or who I feel comfortable asking for help to try new things, I even use the free weights section at my gym when I’ve always been discouraged in the past because they’re usually filled with bodybuilding me .

Repeating things previously said, but things that improve my life include:
Nice sheets
Nice towels
Essential oils in the bath (I buy almond oil and then mix with different essential oils in tiny bottles)
Fountain pen, proper ink and nice notebooks - even if only for writing a shopping list!
Fresh flowers - a cheap bunch from M&S will usually last at least two weeks

Before you get a cleaner, definitely invest in getting your house as refreshed and reorganized as possible: we had a professional organizer do our pantry recently and it’s a game changer.

Cleaner. We also have a Roomba that does a daily sweep
Sending away laundry - we get ours picked up and returned same day, cleaner then hangs it up
Ahava Dead Sea Salts (pure) and Mud Packs help with my injury
Storage unit - clutter drives me mad, so outsourcing it elsewhere makes me happy (things like decorations, bikes etc)

If I was physically able, I’d LOVE a pelaton.

My dog!

May not be suitable for your situation but she meant I got fresh air & exercise every day & ended up making friends with some other dog walkers so it was social too.

Really lifted me out of post-redundancy blues.

Cleaner. 1000 per cent.

One those wet mops with a throw away wipe are not the most green things ever.

Those wipes will still be around when your grandchildren are alive. They really won't thank you for that problem. The OP would be better off with a steam mop - or let the cleaner do all the mopping with a proper mop.

@ddaisy09

Aw what a shame. Great idea for the cleaner and gun. Try not to think too much about other people there- they genuinely are focusing on themselves and everyone starts somewhere. Fancy gyms are really lovely too because you often have a pool, steam room, sauna which can be great for relaxing, even if you don't feel like exercise. A small thing that I like is getting takeaway coffee. It's a nice thing to do when going for a walk, and I find it makes me more motivated to get out for some exercise x

So sorry! That should say "gym", not "gun"