Psychologists say easing of lockdown 'breathes new life' into Liverpool

Psychology experts in Liverpool say the easing of lockdown 'breathes new life' into what was one of the worst affected Covid hotspots in the country.

As gyms, shops and outdoor bars reopen, positive cases have dropped to just 15 per 100,000 in the City, down from more than one-thousand in the middle of January.

With the region living under various restrictions over the last year, Dr Mark Forshaw from John Moores University says a bit more interaction is working wonders for our mental health.

He said:

"It makes us feel better and it also makes us smile. A smile from a stranger, when we smile back, we feel better because our body associates smiling with feeling good.

"We can trick ourselves the more we feel good, the more we smile and the more we smile the more we feel good. That's good for everybody.

"Even as a baby we love looking at colours and shapes and that doesn't go away when we grow up; there's a little bit of that still in us. The fact that many people have been staring at the same four walls for so long we've forgotten what some shops look like inside so being able to go in there amongst other people is going to refresh our senses if you like".