Magic mementoes

After returning from a month in India eight years ago, rather than unpacking the tattered little satchel I'd used as my handbag for the trip, I tucked it away at the back of my wardrobe.

While the mound of filthy clothes from my backpack headed straight for the washing machine (and some of it, the bin), every scrap of paper, ticket stub and spare coin remained in the little satchel, where it still lives today.

And every now and then, when I get it out of my wardrobe, just touching the battered fabric sends me right back to the chaotic and captivating narrow streets of Varanasi and the mesmerising peace of watching sunrise on the river Ganges.

I know (or at least, I hope) that I'll never forget that adventure. But having something tangible, something that was physically part of that experience with me, reignites the sensory memories in a way that simply casting my mind back can't quite match.

Many of my friends are memento-keepers. One has a stock of plastic sealable folders in which she records the events and highlights for each year; tickets for concerts she went to, gig wristbands, tiny trinkets picked up along the way, even a business card or flyer from whichever encounters she particularly wanted to remember.

While a dream holiday or special life stages, like a family wedding or the birth of a child, might be the obvious events you'd want to keep lasting reminders of, recording 'every day' experiences can make us more appreciative of smaller joys too.

That funny thing you saw when you were having tea with a friend. That walk along the beach with your dad. That delicious muffin you tasted in the cafe you stumbled on with your partner.

There's a wealth of evidence saying it's these everyday things that make us happiest and most fulfilled; simple but meaningful time with loved ones and opportunities to slow down and smell the roses.

Really tapping into this often needs to be a conscious decision though. As the saying goes; we all need to count our blessings - and counting requires us to engage our brains a little, doesn't it?

For Leah Dieterich, expressing gratitude for everyday blessings became the subject of a blog (thxthxthx.com), where she posted daily thank you notes. She'd say 'thank you' to anything from her morning coffee to her sister's new job.

Her mother had always taught her as a child that thank you notes were very important, and now, as an adult, the project has boosted her own wellbeing - and inspired countless others who've read it.

"I started the thank you notes in 2006 or so but I only wrote one or two and put them away in a box, thinking I'd continue the project," Leah recalls. "I got busy with other things and kind of forgot about them."

A few years on, a work project saw Leah's husband move away to another city. After 11 years together, she suddenly felt "very unmoored".

"I remembered the thank you notes," she says. "I began writing them alone at my desk at the end of each day, and they helped me focus on all the beauty in life amidst the chaos."

The blog came later, and Leah noticed that it struck a chord with others. "Sometimes I have to stretch to think of something to thank, but that's often when I come up with the most satisfying notes. It's the moment when everything is going wrong but I can still find one thing to be thankful for that makes life bearable and reminds me how good everything really is.

"It's the small things that are always there, I make a point to notice them," she adds. "Once you start doing that, you see a lot more beauty in the world."

It doesn't matter how you choose to record your own blessings, or create lasting mementoes for them - the act of doing so, as well as revisiting them at later dates, is always beneficial.

Sarah Hosken, a cognitive behavioural therapist and counselling psychologist, encourages people to keep memento boxes.

"The overall process stimulates people to put time aside to reflect upon what's precious to them at different stages of life's journey," she says. "People gather mementoes of places, people and situations past, present and future, which inspire them to savour the meaning of their positive life experiences and to enhance their overall sense of wellbeing."

It might sound like an inherently nostalgic thing to do, but rather than keeping people's minds in the past in a negative way, Hosken believes it can make people more positive and confident about facing the future too.

"Mementoes can be comforting and helpful to look back on. They can help people savour the past and provide inspiration to step more confidently into the future," she says.

Having something tangible and physical works well for engaging and stimulating the memory.

"Memories are made up of information perceived through the senses and stored in different parts of the brain. If we remember a happy day in the park, images of the kite floating in the blue sky arise from the visual cortex, the smells arise from the olfactory cortex, and the birdsong from the auditory cortex," she explains. "In this way, mementoes that stimulate the sense to recollect an event, such as a photo, a tissue with the smell of a perfume or a pressed flower, help to ground and reconnect you with the memory and accompanying feeling of wellbeing."

Hosken was drafted in to help launch Paperblanks' new range of Memento Boxes (www.paperblanks.com); their intricate designs make them a work of art, and putting your memento box together can certainly be a great creative outlet - another wellbeing-boosting component in itself.

Niki Rowland is a perfect example. A keen scrapbooker who also shares her projects in a blog (scraphappyniki.blogspot.co.uk), Rowland started scrapbooking in 2005, to "preserve the memories" from her first holiday with her now husband.

Unlike a photo album, a scrapbook means she can record every little detail, adorning them with words - like the lyrics of a song that was playing during dinner - and tickets, for instance.

"Looking back on that album now make me cringe a bit, as the layouts are so basic - my style's moved on a bit since then!" she says. "But I love that so many memories have been preserved."

These days, she scraps about "literally anything".

"I obviously scrap about the big events in life, like weddings, my children, holidays, but I also have a real love for the everyday little things, such as my favourite foods and the funny things my two-year-old does."

She says it's very easy to get started and anybody, any age, can do it. There's a big online scrapping community too, and you don't need to spend a fortune on fancy supplies (www.ukscrappers.co.uk is a good place to start).

"Just get started with a few papers and photos and think about what you need beyond that," she says.

"For me, it's a way of preserving my memories - but I also love being creative and playing with pretty paper, stickers and inks."

Tried and tested

Danny Williams puts a patch on pain

What is it?

Salonpas Pain Relief Patches are medicated plasters. You stick them to the site of pain, like a sore shoulder or knee for instance, and the ingredients (they contain Methyl Salicylate and Levomenthol, topical treatments used to soothe muscle and joint strains and sprains) are absorbed into the skin. They're designed to deliver relief for up to 12 hours and are suitable for day and night-time use. For over 18s only and one plaster to be used at a time, for no longer than three days in a row. (Always consult your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking other medication or have long-term health problems).

What's it like?

The patches are very thin and discreet, so they don't cause any bulk under your clothes and they're easy to put on. I have an old knee sprain which still flares up and gets a bit sore from time to time, but I try to avoid taking painkillers whenever possible as they can sometimes aggravate my stomach. The patch was the ideal size for my knee and, after a few hours, the soreness was noticeably reduced.

Information:

:: Salonpas Pain Relief Patch is available in larger Asda and Sainsbury's stores, plus Boots, Superdrug and pharmacies nationwide. £4.99 for pack of three, £6.99 for pack of five. For more information visit www.salonpas.co.uk.