50 Uplifting Stories That Provide A Much Needed Break From Bad News

For the past few years, the world has been a painful mess. You open the news wishing to find positive things, but the headlines offer only more despair.

However, just because mass media paints a grim picture of our times, that doesn't mean it's all hopeless.

Recently, Redditor ItsTheCess wanted to cheer themselves up and asked: "What are some good things happening in the world right now?" Immediately, people flooded them with wholesome things, and we at Bored Panda believe this post, together with the replies it has received, is exactly what we need to start the week with a smile on our faces.

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I bought a f**k ton of milkweed and wildflowers and got rid of 20% of my grass lawn to make a meadow.

Bees are thriving in my lawn.

I also successfully seed bombed quite a few places in my area from last year's fall that are BLOOMING this year.

We managed to get in touch with ItsTheCess and they agreed to have a little chat with us. "I don't remember exactly what I was doing right before I posted it but I can guess the news cycle had been more depressing than normal that day," the Redditor told Bored Panda. "The question itself was almost sarcastic. 'There's so much evil happening in the world right now, is anything good actually going on?' Part of me expected to get downvoted into oblivion and just a few comments saying some variant of 'No.'"

ItsTheCess said the replies really stuck with them. "The fact that literally anyone took the time to give real answers and not just some variant of 'No' meant a lot to me. I particularly enjoyed the answers that pertained to space, such as the JW telescope, or the medical field, such as the new treatments for cancer, because scientific advancement is something I hope to never stop seeing or learning about."

Pandas are no longer endangered!!

As Pamela Rutledge, director of the California-based Media Psychology Research Center, explains it, our tendency to doomscroll “really just describes the compulsive need to try and get answers when we're afraid." We do have to assess whether new information constitutes a threat. "We are biologically driven to attend to that," Rutledge said.

"Unfortunately, journalism to some degree plays to that tendency,” she added. Provocative headlines and stories draw in readers because they elicit fear and urgency. We tell ourselves, if I know all the latest news, I can better protect myself and my family.

And while this soudns reasonable, most people scroll well past the point of ascertaining any valuable information.

An Arkansas school district installed 1400 solar panels, turned a $250k deficit into a 1.8 million dollar surplus due to the amount of energy they saved, and are now raising teachers salaries by 2,000 3,000 dollars.

A day of scrolling through positive news probably won't erase or counteract the habits we've formed from months or even years of doomscrolling and their negative effects on our mental wellbeing, however, good news do, in fact, bring us joy.

From what they see in the media, ItsTheCess believes publishers should really step up and cover more positive stories. "I know they don't do it because it probably doesn't equal rating or at least they think it doesn't equal ratings. Good things are happening. Good people are out there. People should be aware of that too," the Redditor highlighted.

"That balance is incredibly important to me and I believe it should be important to everyone. All that negativity takes such a toll on the mind; it's not healthy or sustainable," they said.

"[I would like to] remind everyone reading this to be kind to those around you and those who you interact with online. You never know what someone is going through and you don't want to add to it. The only way to get kinder people into the world is to be one," ItsTheCess added.

Polio was officially eliminated from Africa last year.

I was at the Phoenix airport a couple weeks ago. An older gentleman sat next to me at our gate. Both his feet were wrapped in some sort of bandage and he was struggling to get around with a cane.

On his other side were a pair of teenagers just giggling over kitten videos on their phones. They were strangers but made sure this man got helped to the restroom, had a drink, carried his bag, got to his seat, had access to a wheelchair when he got off the plane! It was seamlessly selfless.

The kids are alright. They really are. I'm 47. I am seeing it around me so often.

I finished my Master's degree on Wednesday. I'm the first woman in my Hispanic family to have one and I'm a single mom.

The last three classes were extraordinarily difficult for me due to my mental health issues and financial situation. However, my instructors worked with me and supported me through out them.

There is a video going around of this Ukrainian refugee woman who told her son that they were going to see Jon Cena in order to get him to escape with her.

Jon cena heard the story and flew over there to see them so he could meet her son.

My husband is two months alcohol free.

I made some friends for the first time in a while

I ditched Facebook completely and my mental health has improved by 90%.

R Kelly got sentenced to 30 years. It's about time IMO

Ukraine is generally beating Russias a*s which is good

Greater one-horned rhino or Great Indian rhinoceros population stands at around 3,700 individuals, a significant increase from around 200 remaining at the turn of the 20th century. Strict protection and management action from Indian and Nepalese authorities and their partners are responsible for bringing the species back from the brink.

I know it may be selfish to put here but I’m proud of myself for this.

I went from not seeing a purpose in living to living every day with purpose.

Scientists have discovered a worm that can digest plastic, and they are currently trying to copy it's digestive system. This can help solve a huge problem.

I left an abusive relationship after 5 years and have found a nice niche helping my brother remodel his house- the house we grew up in.

Ozone layer has been almost 100% repaired after the CFC bans from years ago

Several extremely promising treatments for cancer are being developed.

More people are seeking to "break the cycle" of all the c**p they had to deal with as children, and I couldn't be prouder.

The aboriginal flag is having a permanent fixture on top of the Sydney Harbour bridge

Earlier today i saw a post of a woman asking where she can get free menstrual products and the very first comment was 'sent me a amazon wish list, I got you girl!' And that really restored my faith in humanity

bald eagle populations have made a MAJOR comeback

There's a woman (forgot where she lives. I think in Africa) who started collecting plastic waste and compressing all of it into bricks for roads and giving people jobs. They're still trying to perfect it or get it to last longer, because it will erode no matter what, but it's still limiting the space where all the plastic is.

The amount of machines in development to clean up plastic pollution is just crazy. Want a large boat patrolling the oceans? What about a small drone for busy waters? A gate stopping plastic in rivers from entering the oceans in the first place? You name it, someone is working on it.

There have been advances in vaccine tech that will likely cut development time from up to twenty years down to 1-2 years.

my girlfriend said she loves me

In recent drug trials, Dostarlimab had a 100% success rate in treating colorectal cancer. 18 out of 18 participants were in remission 1 year from being administered the drug. Enormous news as this is the closest we’ve ever been to a cancer “cure”.

Edit: i misremembered the number of participants. It’s 14 out of 14 not 18 of 18.

Johnny Depp’s victory is a promising sign for other men in abusive relationships.

My son.....he was born yesterday. We got lucky to find out Walmart got a supply of formula in this morning too. I may sound selfish but I might have a better job by the end of the week to afford this new bundle of joy

New Lyme disease vaccines are on the way, accelerated thanks to the knowledge learned from making the Covid vaccine.

Canada and Greenland (Government of Denmark) have just come to a peaceful resolution of the 38 year territorial dispute over the highly coveted Hans Island, where they've agree to share the island and split it right down the middle.

This is of course the famed "Whiskey War". The main aspect of it (swapping schnapps with whiskey or vice versa), I imagine, will remain in some part as a celebrated border-crossing tradition.

I heard on the news, a guy spent a whole year planting his blind wife’s favourite flowers, and that really warms my heart

Trees are blooming, wild animals reproducing, bees making honey. Nature is beautiful man.

Germany will reform its laws surrounding identification to better support the rights and safety of transgender people.

My guava plants produced fruit, I had so many tomatoes that I gave some to the neighbors, gave some to the chickens and ducks, and still had lots left over for salads and sauces. I got about a hundred cucumbers. And found out my new puppy likes to steal ripe tomatoes off the vine (which sounds like a bad thing, but they were just going to rot there cause I can't pick them in time, so good job Bleu)

Psilocybin therapy is helping people overcome addiction, depression, and anxiety.

More and more nations accept trans and gay people, women's rights are becoming an acyual matter and equality is becoming possible

Futurama coming back in 2023

The ocean cleaner that everyone said wouldn't do anything years ago has carried itself into an outstanding success!

Advances in stem cell research.

More awareness on mental health and treatment.

Science has discovered a way to grow a type of biological plant life with only artificial light

Science has improved solar power to the point where it is now a very viable solution to our energy needs if we just muster the political will

Science has improved electrification (eg heat pumps, EVs, et al) to such a point that if society were to muster the political will we could probably dramatically slow, halt, or even reverse the current climate crisis if used in combination with solar and other renewable forms of energy

On the surface of Mars, the mars rover was able to successfully separate oxygen from carbon dioxide.

I've almost beaten a lifelong skin condition that seriously affected my confidence :D
Edit: I meant to use the word chronic not lifelong.

Breakdancing will appear in the Paris Olympics in 2024!

Some journalist wrote something based off of one of my tweets and now I accidentally named a movie. Even if it s*cks I hope the film gets a release since that's a notch on my belt

The California Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility Act passed! Monterey Bay Aquarium Senate Bill Act 54 Article

The Ozone layer is healing.

They found a baby mammoth so that's pretty cool

Australia prioritizes reducing emissions and cheaper EVs:

Australia's new government is putting climate change at the top of its legislative agenda when Parliament sits next month for the first time since the May 21 election, with bills to enshrine a cut in greenhouse gas emissions and make electric cars cheaper.

Space programs are moving forward at a pace not seen since Apollo.

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