‘What’s something that isn’t therapy, but feels like therapy?’ – 22 remedies you won’t find on the NHS

As Blur famously said: modern life is rubbish.

It’s hard to find things to feel good about while existing in a time of perma-crisis, but there are plenty of everyday occurrences that can soothe and sustain us, if we manage to notice them. Over on Reddit, user Radiant-Assumption53 asked:

‘What’s something that isn’t therapy, but feels like therapy?’

And lots of people jumped in with the little things that help them navigate tough times.

1.

‘Laughing so hard with a friend that your stomach muscles ache.’
–Middle-Cranberry-792

2.

‘Walking into the woods and bathing in the sunlight and coolness. There’s something about trees that gives me a sense of calm. That and petting cats and dogs.’
–Total_Aerie_3778

3.

‘A good talk with a friend isn’t therapy, but sure feels like it.’
–PM_me_TitsOfAnySize

4.

‘Cleaning and organising, it’s oddly therapeutic for my mind.’
–bunnybreeb

5.

‘Alone time.’
–sleepingrusher

6.

‘Crafting. When you get in the zone it’s like meditation. For me, quilting by hand does the trick.’
–CursingWhileCrafting

7.

‘For me it’s exercise, being able to turn off my brain while listening to music and exerting all of my energy into something positive is something I wouldn’t be able to find in anything else really except fitness.’
–Hades7119

8.

‘Gardening. I cannot speak to the WHY of it but in numerous real world settings, such as post-WW2 relocation camps, people who participated in gardening found their way back to health at a rate far greater than those who did not.’
–venturebirdday

9.

‘Baking bread from scratch. Something about kneading dough for 10 minutes straight just hits different. Plus, my apartment smells amazing and I get to stress eat warm bread after. Win-win.’
–TemptingSunflower

10.

‘Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve had many bad games through the years but I can noticeably track the positive changes its had on my confidence and interpersonal skills, which is crazy for a game where you do funny voices and math.’
–heynoswearing

11.

‘Taking a nap in the middle of the day.’
–Degen_Boy