‘Optimism isn’t about being naively positive, it’s about choosing what to focus on’

Dr Mark Williamson, co-founder and director of Action for Happiness, which has a free 10-day online coaching programme for challenging times at 10daysofhappiness.org

One of the hardest things about all this is the way lockdown measures limit our contact with people we care about. Getting some of that freedom to see loved ones back has been wonderful, and the thought of having that curtailed, even just with this new rule of six is disheartening. But try to remember that it’s not so much social distancing as it is physical distancing. We may be forced apart but we can still stay connected.

It’s still vitally important to look out for each other, share how we’re feeling, keep checking in with loved ones. Staying actively in touch with the people we care about isn’t just important for them, it does wonders for our own wellbeing.

Having a chat literally boosts your mood. Remember all the ways we kept in touch during the last lockdown – the Zoom quizzes and the return to old-fashioned phone calls. We did them once and we can do them again. Except this time we’ll know which bits of that digital life we enjoyed and which bits we’d happily see the back of.

It helps to practise what I call “active hope”. Being an optimist isn’t about being naively positive, it’s about a gritty and grounded way of seeing the world as it is and choosing what to focus on.

There is so much to be grateful for. Like the fact that we haven’t seen spiralling death rates again, and that people have generally been brilliant to each other.

What we did in the first lockdown was one of the greatest examples of collaboration for the greater good in living memory, with people going out of their way to help one another. That togetherness hasn’t gone anywhere, and we can take comfort from that.