Woman beats depression by leaving her comfort zone and doing something new every day for a year
Here's a list of some of the new things she tried.

A woman happily embracing life from a balcony.
Like many of us, Jess Mell, 34, an insurance adjuster in England, had a hard time during the pandemic. During the first two years of lockdowns, she suffered from anxiety and depression, so on December 27, 2021, she decided to fight back by getting out of her comfort zone.
To overcome her mental health problems, she challenged herself to try something new, every day, for 100 days. The challenge was so effective at improving her mental health that she extended the challenge to a whole year.
“The first 100 I did one new thing every day—for the rest of the year I decided I’d do 365 new things in 365 days,” she said, according to The Metro. “I could do ten things in one day if I was free.”
One of the most interesting things about the challenge was the wide variety of new things that Mell attempted. She tried new artistic endeavors such as taking a life drawing class, origami and attempting to play the ukulele.
She gave up on the ukulele, but at least she tried.
She also expanded her life skills by learning to pick a lock, using chopsticks and changing a car wheel. Mell also took a walk on the wild side by drinking moonshine, taking a shot out of a belly button and dying her hair pink.
According to the New York Post, by the end of 2022, she had only accomplished 364 new tasks. She found the perfect number 365 by turning her year of new experiences into her first Instagram reel.
Mell has gotten tremendous benefits from expanding her horizons and she looks to continue the challenge in 2023 as well. “I’m going to keep [trying new things] in that it’s now just part of what I do,” Mell said according to the New York Post. “I’ve always tried to find new things to do, so that will go on. Whether I track it the same way I’m not sure.”
Anxiety and depression are serious health conditions that require professional help, so Mell’s experiences shouldn’t be seen as a cure-all for complex conditions. However, there is some scientific backing to her turnaround.
In Psychology Today, Dr. Jutta Joormann explains that “experiential diversity” (having new experiences) “can improve overall well-being” and leads to an increase in “positive affect.” Dr. Joorman adds that when we experience new things it can lead to a positive “upward cycle” that can “promote subsequent development of more positive emotions.”
That’s probably why once Mell started her challenge, she couldn’t stop.
Mell’s story is a wonderful reminder to all of us of the benefits of getting out there and trying something new. Hopefully, her story encourages people to break free from their routines and have some new experiences. As science shows, it’s bound to improve your outlook on life.
“What has been so nice about the whole experience has been that whenever I’ve thought ‘I could try that,’ rather than putting it off, I just ask myself ‘why don’t I?’ I really hope I keep that up,” she said, according to The Metro.
Here’s s partial list of some of the new things that Mell tried. Any sound interesting to you?
Tried origami
Went to hot yoga
Dyed my hair pink
Learned how to do various types of knots
Went to a life drawing class
Completed a paint by numbers
Learned to pick a lock
Ate using chopsticks
Attended a first aid course
Changed a car wheel (or helped to!)
Drank a shot out of a belly button
Made fudge
Played golf
Made a pizza from scratch
Went to Belfast/Northern Ireland for the first time
Attempted to learn to play the ukulele (gave up!)
Visited Krakow/Poland
Tried moonshine – 72% strength
Had a beekeeping experience afternoon
Tried breast milk
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.