A Different Approach

Every time I sat down to write a new blog post, I was determined NOT to mention the pandemic anymore!  I want to focus on something positive and fun while putting behind the negative thoughts that COVID-19 provokes in my mind.  Yet, here I am, writing about it again!! BUT, I would like to take a different approach to the topic this time and talk about finding laughter in this not so funny situation.

Don’t scream, just laugh!

The popular words going around these days are “pandemic fatigue” or “pandemic burnout”, especially among parents with young children.  Many of us are getting so stressed that we find ourselves with a constant frown on our faces, or the corners of our mouths turn down whenever we are not talking.  By now self-care attempts such as taking a long bath or having a quiet morning coffee alone might no longer be enough.  We need something more drastic, more potent such as screaming our heads off into the night like there’s no tomorrow!  Or, we can try something just as powerful but much more positive (and easier on the throat) – laughter!

Get your daily dose of laughter

We have all heard of how laughter can heal and that it is an effective stress-management tactic, but when we are so stressed all the time laughing is really the last thing we have in mind.  But, studies say that laughter can not only boost our morale, but can also improve our physical well-being by suppressing stress-related hormones that can lower our immune system.  Having a better immune system is exactly what we need to stay healthy during the pandemic or help us recover faster if we unfortunately caught the virus!

Laughing doesn’t hurt, give it a go!

So, the key is to find laughter wherever possible to jumpstart those feel-good hormones so we can stay healthy to fight another day, or longer! Instead of releasing your stress through screaming, maybe we can consider releasing it through Laughter Yoga.  The idea might sound a bit forced at first, but apparently there is a lot of research and knowledge behind this form of yoga.  It never hurts to give it a try!

Pandemic Humour

Another easy way is to watch some light-hearted entertainment when the kids are finally in bed.  Nothing beats a stand-up comedian finding humour in all the situations you can totally relate to, especially during the pandemic!  Here at Bombol, since we are all parents and are only too familiar with the “funny” anecdotes of everyday parenthood, we produced a series of short videos about it a few years ago.  We think now is the perfect moment to dedicate them to all fellow parents who are hanging on to their last thread of sanity during the pandemic: you got this, you can find humour in every sticky situation (literally)!

Hang in there and Stay Sparky!