I spent much of this morning watching videos on TED talks. I woke up miserable, and desperate to find something inspiring, something to make me smile. And I found a great deal of inspiration in what I watched, and I laughed a lot, too.

There’s something deeply awe-inspiring about so many people who still have the optimism to change the world, an optimism I haven’t experienced in a long time. And there’s a comfort, too, in finding a sort of familiar spirituality in the science of ‘wellbeing’. I’ve read a lot about Mindfulness, for example, and always found it tickles some old religiousness inside me. The Husband – a die-hard agnostic – recently came across the idea on his own, and he’s found a great deal of benefit in Being Mindful. That makes me happy. Mindfulness, though a discipline backed up with a great deal of scientific jargon, is ultimately what Jesus meant when he suggested ‘considering the lilies’. At least that’s my take on it.

But the above video is from a talk that I found most practically helpful this morning. Jane McGonigal had an accident that left her with concussion, the symptoms of which lasted at least a year. She speaks about how there seemed there was nothing she could do without triggering the issues, but stay in bed. Where she thought constantly about ending it all. As a gamer, and a designer of games, Jane invented SuperBetter and, with the help of her Allies she overcame the problem.

I’ve tried a lot of ways to ‘recover’ from depression, and I’m always keen to give anything a go, so I’ve signed up to SuperBetter. I love the fact that I can use the iPhone app (which makes everything easier) and that I have much more control over the content than other ‘wellness’ apps can give you.

I know a lot of people that might benefit from something like this – it’s not just for depressives, but for people suffering chronic illnesses, people wanting to lose weight, people wanting to quit smoking. In my mind, we might all benefit from a little life coach in our pocket!