Post 2 in this series is written by Professor Tharina Guse, Counselling Psychologist and Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Pretoria.

While it may seem frivolous to talk about well-being and happiness in the context of the tragedies surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, it is essential to harness our positive psychological resources during times of crises.  It is possible to create small moments of happiness in your everyday life. Doing so will foster the experience of positive emotions that are important in building our resilience and assisting with coping with stress. Some practical suggestions for enhancing well-being include the following:

 

• Savour positive experiences, for example having coffee with your partner, watching the sun set or rise, noticing nature in your garden.  Dr Lea Waters provides several additional strategies to enhance positive emotions:
  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/17/silver-linings-how-to-stay-positive-during-the-coronavirus-crisis
• “Tend and befriend”: engage in acts of kindness. Threatening situations can elicit an instinctive response in people to work together and to be kind and nurturing towards others. You can do this by, for example, buying essentials for a neighbour who is ill or keeping in touch via social media with family and friends who may feel isolated. One of the most important acts of kindness you can do right now is to engage in behaviours that will prevent the virus from spreading. As you will read in Dr Lea Waters’s piece, engaging in acts of kindness can increase feelings of well-being for both the person who receives and the one who performs these acts of kindness:
  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/21/like-an-emotional-mexican-wave-how-coronavirus-kindness-makes-the-world-seem-smaller?fbclid=IwAR1cqBSyt88dLQTxUJhWpXmK-t-YW9uolEfytnuZ_VwNEbnL-odM-aFRp1o
• Maintain physical distance but increase social connection. The most difficult thing right now may be that we have to physically isolate ourselves from friends and family. Fortunately, technology allows us to stay in touch via social media. Use the opportunity to call your loved ones more often and engage in longer conversations. Talk about what you appreciate about them and reminisce about positive experiences you may have shared in the past. If you are at home with your family, Suzie and James Pawelski provide various suggestions that can be used quite effectively to increase social connection within the family:
  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-together/202003/how-social-distancing-can-strengthen-our-relationships

 

Taking charge of our emotional well-being can help us and those around us to deal with this uncertain time, growing stronger together.