The Joy Edit #11
- Chloe Markham
- Apr 23
- 2 min read
A regular edit for your joy.
Nervous system regulation tool
The Magic Hum
WHY: Humming creates vibration that stimulates the vagus nerve — the same nerve responsible for bringing you out of stress and back into your body. It works embarrassingly fast, which is annoying because it looks ridiculous and you can't really argue with the results.
HOW: Hum anything — a song, a made-up tune, literally just "mmmmm" — for 60 seconds.Louder than you think is necessary.
Did this on a 2+hr train journey to London recently. I was stressed — standing-room only, travel sick, cursing LNER.No one could hear me humming, and it basically kept me alive.
Dramatic? Hello, yes I am.
Try it yourself and let me know what happens.
Listen: Cemetry Gates Radio
Turns out I'm a Smiths fan and I've only just realised.Think old-school indie-rock that'll add some much-needed bop to your day.
Read: Nervous System 101
A joyful, goblin-approved guide to nervous system literacy(and why it changes everything).
A book I'm loving: Beartown
Recommended by a book-friend, this is proving SO un-put-down-able.A great novel for your mission to have more downtime. Certainly helping mine.
Good news: Indie bookshops in the US are making a comeback
"About 422 new indie bookshops opened in 2025 in the US" 🥳
Behind the scenes:
Is there any wonder we're flippin' anxious?
I'm in London as I type, and between the shitty train services, the tube strikes, no one smiling at anyone else, everyone getting in each other's way...
(although I have had some wonderful London suggestions to help me love it more)
...coupled with global politics and every other piece of news, anxiety just feels like the appropriate response.
You're not broken. It's just a lot out there.
My tips to help: prioritise sleep and rest like your life depends on it — because it bloody does.
Feel your feelings instead of managing them into a corner.
And consider a news diet, not because what's happening doesn't matter, but because your mental health matters too, and you have almost zero control over most of it.
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