by Sarah Cramoysan | November, 2020 | Humour, Sarah Cramoysan
Speaking as a positive psychology student who feels they should know how to cope, I have to admit that there are times when trying to maintain a positive outlook on life gets increasingly hard. In the early days of lockdown, I managed to retain a grateful outlook on life, enjoying walking and cycling with my husband in the beautiful Hampshire countryside where we live. When we did bump into people we knew whilst we were out, everyone was so pleased to stop and talk, it was easy to see the positives in our situation, particularly bearing in mind we were all very conscious of the war against Covid being fought by the NHS in intensive care units up and down the land. I was very grateful that my family and most of my friends had not been adversely affected. Eight months down the line, however, with the nights drawing in and the number of Covid cases rising, it’s getting harder to stay positive. I’m still focussing on gratitude, enjoying the glorious autumn colours of the trees, and appreciating the contact with family and friends that is still (for the moment) allowed, but there are times when I’m struggling that I need something more to lift my mood. The answer for me in the last few weeks has been Brooklyn Nine-nine – not normally mentioned as a Positive Psychology intervention, but for me it has been very effective. Brooklyn Nine-Nine as a Positive Psychology Intervention For those readers who are not aware of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I should explain it’s a comedy series available on Netflix, – a cop show set...
by Sarah Cramoysan | September, 2020 | COVID Life, Sarah Cramoysan
The challenge A couple of years ago, I decided to set myself a challenge of not buying anything I didn’t really need for a whole year. For me the main challenge was not buying clothes – I’m not a shopaholic, but I’m a female who likes to express myself through what I wear and will happily fall for the lure of a dress from my favourite shop or a bargain from TK Maxx. My main reason for setting myself this challenge was environmental. According to statistics published last year by the United Nations Environmental Programme, the amount of clothing produced annually has doubled in the last 15 years, and the clothing industry globally was responsible for 10% of all carbon emissions, more than all international flights and shipping combined. Scary statistics like this often dominate the headlines, so I was keen to set myself an environmental challenge and also explore the other side of sustainable living – could a change in lifestyle that benefits the climate also benefit me psychologically? How did it go? A year is a long time, but I managed to buy nothing new apart from a couple of pairs of socks. At times I missed the fun of shopping and novelty of having something new, but did I feel badly dressed? Not once! A new attitude ‘Shopping’ became a new experience. Although I didn’t go shopping by myself anymore, I still went out sometimes with my teenage children. Now instead of wandering off to search for something for me, I spent more time talking with my children, or just taking in the general scene. On...
by Sarah Cramoysan | August, 2020 | Covid19, Sarah Cramoysan
Why we need to remember what lockdown taught us about the importance of social connections Evidence There is plenty of evidence in positive psychology of the benefits of social connection. Having strong social ties makes us healthier, happier, more resilient and can even make us live longer. Most people would agree with that friends and family are more important than money and success, but in a busy world it is easy to forget this fact. Heaven or Hell When lockdown happened it affected us all in different ways. Some people had to self-isolate alone, some were furloughed and enjoyed the benefits of having more time to spend with their families, parents working at home juggled work and home-schooling and key workers struggled with stressful jobs and trying to keep their families safe. Some people enjoyed the change of circumstance and having time to slow down, others were bored rigid and just wanted to get back to normal, or found new ways to busy themselves, making scrubs or masks or shopping for others. Common Ground What lockdown initially gave to us all, was a shared sense of humanity and the fact that we were all in this together, whatever part we could play. Facing a common threat brought us together and we developed new ways of connecting socially to fill the gap left by the need for social distancing. We talked to our neighbours every Thursday when we clapped for the NHS, we learnt how to use Zoom, we looked out for our neighbours and when we saw someone we knew whilst out exercising, we stopped and took time to...
