When the world is dragging you down, remember there’s plenty of positives out there, too. Enjoy our rundown of 50 sensational stories from 2022, to give you a more optimistic outlook
Environment
1. Parts of the Great Barrier Reef are reportedly showing the best signs of coral recovery in 36 years!
2. In a major milestone, there are now enough solar panels around the world to generate 1 terawatt of electricity.
3. Based on current progress, scientists estimate that the hole in the Earth’s ozone layer will close around 2070!
4. As of September 2022, Denmark has become the first country in the world to offer ‘loss and damage’ compensation to developing countries affected by climate change, in the form of €13.4 million.
5. Engineers at Stamford University, California, have created revolutionary solar panels that can also generate electricity at night.
6. In a truly selfless and generous act, an anonymous French man who won the Euromillions jackpot has used his €200 million winnings to start an environmental charity.
7. In August, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, based off the Yorkshire coast, was declared fully operational. It features 165 wind turbines, and will help to provide renewable energy to more than 1.4 million UK homes.
8. WasteSharks are the latest incredible innovation tackling plastic waste, utilising drone technology. Designed by Dutch company RanMarine, the aquatic drones were inspired by whale sharks catching their prey, with each one able to hold up to 160 litres of waste.
9. Hawaii closed its last coal power plant to focus on greener energy options, removing the 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases it created each year.
10. In a world-first, the National Grid is removing 22 electricity pylons from Dorset’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is replacing them with 60 miles of underground cables, in a bid to return the landscape to its natural form.
Animals
11. In April 2022, the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill was passed into British law, in a landmark ruling that recognises animals as complex beings, and protects them with stricter sentences against those who mistreat them.
12. Dog-lover Erica Hart has used a drone to search for and rescue more than 200 lost dogs in the past seven years. Helping distraught owners, her birdseye view has been invaluable in tracking down pups before any harm can come to them, and she’s even started a Facebook group to create a community on the watch for missing dogs, to reunite them with their families.
13. They may say ‘cat’s got your tongue’, but not any more. App, MeowTalk, claims to have cracked the code to translate a cat’s meows into human languages
It’s a long road to recovery following emotional abuse, manipulation, and gaslighting, but the following suggestions can help to ease that journey
Over the past couple of years, narcissistic abuse has become a social media buzzword – more and more people are becoming aware of the signs, and working to break free from it. Since 2017, I’ve been helping abuse survivors from all over the world to get back on their feet, regain their mental health, and recover who they were always meant to be.
Every person who walks through my door says something along the lines of, “I don’t know who I am any more.” Or, “I don’t recognise the person looking back at me in the mirror.” Some don’t even see anyone else at all. The complete loss of self, caused by the tactical erosion of identity, is one of the most difficult and heartbreaking consequences of narcissistic abuse.
The good news is that with the right tools, and the right support, you can find your way back to you, and when you do, this connection with yourself will be stronger than you could have ever imagined. So, how do you do it?
This is the most important rule of abuse recovery. Also, admittedly, one of the most difficult steps to take. If you stay connected, even if it’s keeping their number on your phone, just in case, you will not heal. Period.
Does this mean you’re selfish? Does this mean you’re a bad person? Does this mean you’re turning into a narcissist yourself? No, no, and no. No contact and narcissistic silent treatment are not the same at all. It serves your self-protection.
If no contact isn’t possible due to shared custody or legal proceedings, the contact needs to be highly modified and kept to the absolute minimum, with no personal touches at all, ideally through a neutral third party and/or apps such as OurFamilyWizard (ourfamilywizard.co.uk).
2. Take responsibility for your journey
It’s really easy to feel sorry for ourselves when we’ve experienced such unspeakable horrors and struggle with our mental health as a consequence. Is it fair? Absolutely not. The reality, however, is that we can’t change what has happened. All you can do is change how you feel about it. Can you take full responsibility for yourself and your recovery, make life happen, and feel empowered and in control? The decision is yours. Remember: you are the CEO of this operation!
3. Shift the focus
Shift the focus away from them, and what happened, and onto yourself and your healing. There is a time for reading books about narcissists and victim stories, and engaging in self-help groups, but eventually, you need to start to focus on yourself and begin to learn about things that actually will move you forward.
4. Self-care, self-care, self-care
I cannot stress enough the importance of self-care in finding yourself. This is something that very likely doesn’t come naturally to you. You’ve probably spent your whole life sacrificing yourself, and have always put others’ wellbeing before your own. Now is the time to change that. It’s like you putting your oxygen mask on first on the plane before you help others.
Self-care is whe