Feeling anxious - ways to stay (more) cheerful?

[Tangerines2021]

I’m finding that I’m getting bound up in anxiety and news-related gloom, checking the news and social media, on phone all the time etc. Like most people we had to cancel Christmas plans and I keep thinking about where we should have been, what we should have been doing etc.... am dreading possible homeschooling in the new year, generally not feeling very Christmassy!

For those who are managing to stay cheerful, or at least not completely anxious - how are you managing it? Any tips for the rest of us ?

I really need to do things on this thread. Tier 4 here and family are tier 2 so they can still meet up Christmas Day but we can’t join them. It’s our babies first Christmas and everyone is so down about it. We’ve been trying to come up with fun things to do in Christmas Day just the three of us.

Focus on all the things you can do that you would normally do at Christmas. Listen to carols while you bake mince pies or yule log. Watch classic Christmas films. Decorate the house. Read an escapist novel sitting by the fire. Feed the birds. Go for a wintery walk.

Make a list of fun things to do that you wouldn't normally have time for. DC asked for a traditional afternoon tea instead of dinner yesterday. We did the whole thing - cucumber sandwiches, scones and cream, big cake. They adored it and it put them in such a good mood. It would never have occurred to me to do afternoon tea in midwinter but it was great fun.

We are also writing silly quizzes for each other and planning games nights and story nights.

The world survives. It has survived far worse plagues than this one. Feeling anxious won't make the virus fade quicker or keep us safe. It just makes our experience worse. The only way to handle it, imo, is to do as many things normally (within the rules) as we can, and then use the change of circumstances to do some fun things we can't usually do.

@Labobo

Focus on all the things you can do that you would normally do at Christmas. Listen to carols while you bake mince pies or yule log. Watch classic Christmas films. Decorate the house. Read an escapist novel sitting by the fire. Feed the birds. Go for a wintery walk.

Make a list of fun things to do that you wouldn't normally have time for. DC asked for a traditional afternoon tea instead of dinner yesterday. We did the whole thing - cucumber sandwiches, scones and cream, big cake. They adored it and it put them in such a good mood. It would never have occurred to me to do afternoon tea in midwinter but it was great fun.

We are also writing silly quizzes for each other and planning games nights and story nights.

The world survives. It has survived far worse plagues than this one. Feeling anxious won't make the virus fade quicker or keep us safe. It just makes our experience worse. The only way to handle it, imo, is to do as many things normally (within the rules) as we can, and then use the change of circumstances to do some fun things we can't usually do.

Love all these ideas! So many lovely posts thank you - a great antidote to the gloom