Things that makes you happy, or give you a little fillip of delight, or help to relieve your stress

[countessalmirena]

I will admit it; I'm more prone to moments of stress at this current time than I can remember being at any other time.

That said, I thought an antidote thread - about things that give us a smile, a moment of relief, some happiness or pleasure, to counter the ongoing stress of this pandemic and all of the rolling effects it has, might be a good idea.

I'll add one thing that helps me, and I hope we can make it a nice long constantly updated list. It might be easiest to manage if we add 1 thing at a time.

Reading: I am a mad keen reader, and if I have a spare moment, I often fill it with reading. I used to take books with me in my handbag when going to the bank or supermarket, etc.; they are the reason why God made queues. I read non-fiction and fiction of most genres.

Spoiler

I've put my favourite genres into this spoiler to avoid clutter and to let people who aren't interested in other people's (mine in particular) reading preferences just skip on by. I'm a book sticky-beak; I enjoy finding out what sort of things other people like reading.

FICTION: Science fiction, fantasy, historical, classics, literary fiction (esp. anything that approaches Eco's style), mysteries, thrillers, Regency-style as long as the historical details are accurate, the occasional romance as long as it's not all grunt-sex-grunt-sex-grunt, whimsical, adventure... with a strong preference for British writers. NON-FICTION: ancient history, languages, archaeology, medical, physics, biochemistry, mathematics, old maps/ancient geography, scientific research, legal (esp. history of law), how-to, philosophy, cooking, religion, dress-making, art, humour, biographies (mostly historical), music, language itself, examination of mythologies (history and clinical discussion of them)... oh, and books about coffee and cheese and such things.

THE DE-STRESS AND HAPPINESS LIST

1.  Reading

[papermoon.lady]

Reading (I prefer real books, and even more old, smelly books); listening to classical music (in particular Mozart for stress); baby animals.

[nicnacs_4u]

My daughters dog Harley makes me happy.Our Cat Lottie too,but sadly she was hit by a car on Christmas Eve and killed😭 

[papermoon.lady]

I am sorry about Lottie... 😞

[papermoon.lady]

I definitely like nature (in particular, I like to go for a walk or to sit down and read in nature). Well, I used to before COVID and when it was always nice and sunny...

And actually I like all animals, but babies make me smile.

[janeababe]

…This is probably not very ‘lady like’ but I’m a bush gal, through and through.

I love to sit at the riverbank with a cold stubbie in my hand, listening to the ripples of the water and the sounds of nature.  It grounds me.  (More so,  if I take a 6pack 😉) 

[countessalmirena]

Oh, I'm nodding my head in agreement with all of these.

I'm madly in love with classical music and have been since I was at least 5. Baby animals are generally so adorable that it's no wonder humans go ga-ga over them. I don't know your daughter's dog Harley, nicnacs, but I'm sure I would smile over Harley. And nature - esp. nature walks - it's almost impossible to describe the joy of smelling the fresh sweetness of trees and plants and flowers and the soil and so on. (I love those smells even though I have bad hayfever.) Walking through a ferny track, especially when it's just rained a little, is magical. There's a particular place of which I'm thinking, where lyrebirds do their utmost to fool me with their various impersonations, and the ferns droop like rather weary elegant ladies wearing green gowns sparkling with the gems of rain...

So... another thing that gives me joy - coffee. Beautiful freshly made coffee. Freshly ground beans that have been roasted 4-30 days ago. Dark, rich and strong (but not bitter), filtered or espresso or cappuccino for preference, latte if I'm in the mood... No sugar, no milk, just pure pure coffee.

THE DE-STRESS AND HAPPINESS LIST

1.  Reading

2. Listening to classical music (especially Mozart)

3. Baby animals

4. Daughter's dog Harley

5. Nature (esp. nature walks)

6. All animals

7. Coffee

[countessalmirena]

Agh, ran out of time to edit...

Oh, I'm nodding my head in agreement with all of these.

I'm madly in love with classical music and have been since I was at least 5. Baby animals are generally so adorable that it's no wonder humans go ga-ga over them. I don't know your daughter's dog Harley, nicnacs, but I'm sure I would smile over Harley. And nature - esp. nature walks - it's almost impossible to describe the joy of smelling the fresh sweetness of trees and plants and flowers and the soil and so on. (I love those smells even though I have bad hayfever.) Walking through a ferny track, especially when it's just rained a little, is magical. There's a particular place of which I'm thinking, where lyrebirds do their utmost to fool me with their various impersonations, and the ferns droop like rather weary elegant ladies wearing green gowns sparkling with the gems of rain...

And sitting by the riverside? Absolutely. I might have a champagne or Pepsi Max Vanilla rather than a stubbie, but same-same.

So... another thing that gives me joy - coffee. Beautiful freshly made coffee. Freshly ground beans that have been roasted 4-30 days ago. Dark, rich and strong (but not bitter), filtered or espresso or cappuccino for preference, latte if I'm in the mood... No sugar, no milk, just pure pure coffee.

THE DE-STRESS AND HAPPINESS LIST

1.  Reading

2. Listening to classical music (especially Mozart)

3. Baby animals

4. Daughter's dog Harley

5. Nature (esp. nature walks)

6. All animals

7. Sitting at riverbank, cold stubby in hand, listening to the ripples of the water and the sounds of nature.

8. Coffee

[not_for_sale2025]

No matter how down or stressed I feel, SpongeBob always brings a smile to my face. He's such a nice sponge. 

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

THE DE-STRESS AND HAPPINESS LIST

1.  Reading

2. Listening to classical music (especially Mozart)

3. Baby animals

4. Daughter's dog Harley

5. Nature (esp. nature walks)

6. All animals

7. Sitting at riverbank, cold stubby in hand, listening to the ripples of the water and the sounds of nature.

8. Coffee

9. SpongeBob

10. An uninterrupted afternoon siesta

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For me, can’t go past an afternoon nap