Eat, sleep, worry, repeat

Think about how else your lifestyle changes during a low mood: less sleep, Uber Eats on speed dial, no enthusiasm for exercise. These are all indirect ways stress can make you age faster than a potato at the back of the cupboard. Taking at least 30 minutes’ exercise a day not only releases endorphins (a natural antidepressant), but the extra energy burn will make sleep come more naturally. And what’s sleep important for? Skin repair. Over the last five years, 44% of adults say their sleep has worsened, and with people who suffer from insomnia a staggering 17 times more likely to experience anxiety, we’re faced with yet another vicious circle.* Ban screen time before bed and cut down on caffeine and alcohol. A glass or two of the good stuff might knock you out, but it’s been proven to reduce the amount of time spent in REM sleep (the stage responsible for mood regulation and skin-cell repair).

If you consider yourself a comfort eater, it might be

void I’d been carrying around with me for a while.

“Research suggests that doing something good for someone else can positively impact our own happiness,” confirms O’Sullivan. “Helping others can make us feel less isolated and more connected, giving us a completely different perspective on a situation.”

It was these words that got me thinking – about how the way we live (and the physical symptoms of it) could be altered forever. Will we rise like a phoenix from the ashes, more in tune with ourselves and others around us? Has the peace, love and self-care “hippy” way of life, mocked by many in the past, now become the ultimate survival (and skin-saving) tool?

Even if I do still insist on half-watching the news in my pyjamas, I’ve adopted other habits, too. Long Epsom-salt baths, lunchtime reading (print, not screen), a few drops of CBD oil under my tongue before bed. Will I look 10 years younger? The jury’s out. But small steps can still go a long way.