Daily uplifts during the COVID-19 pandemic: What is considered helpful in everyday life?

• Background: Knowledge about what has been experienced as uplifting and helpful during the pandemic could inform sustainable pandemic recommendations. Objective: We explored individuals’ views on helpful and uplifting aspects of their everyday life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Participants answered a brief, daily survey via SMS for 14 consecutive days during July-August, 2020. The survey included the question: “During the past 24 hours, is there anything that has made you feel good or helped you in your life?”. We used content analysis to compile the responses from 693 participants who provided 4490 free-text answers, which resulted in 25 categories subsumed under 7 themes. Results: Positive aspects during COVID-19 primarily related to social interactions, in real life or digitally, with family, friends, and others. Other important aspects concerned work and colleagues, as well as leisure and recreation activities, such as hobbies and physical exercise. As the data collection took place during the summer, one theme concerned vacation, doing excursions, and being in nature. Nevertheless, maintaining everyday life routines emerged as important. Participants also mentioned health-related factors. Sensations, thoughts, feelings, and activities that benefited wellbeing were frequently reported. Lastly, people were writing about the government strategies for containing COVID-19, and whether to comply with restrictions. Conclusions: Daily uplifts and helpful aspects of everyday life centered around social relationships. During recommendations for social distancing, people find creative ways to maintain their social connections digitally and face-to-face. Social interaction, maintenance of everyday life routines, hobbies and physical activity appears important for wellbeing during pandemics.

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