This week I write these words from Krakow in Poland.

I am here with my friend Nicky to see what we can do about the glitches in the hopeless UK visa system which is preventing Ukrainians from finding refuge in our country.

At times it has felt as though we are wading through treacle.

People here are friendly and everyone is willing to talk to us and share their experiences.

However we are hearing the same narrative time after time.

People have lost faith in the UK system because it feels to them as though they are not wanted there.

Ukrainians have no idea how to make contact with a potential British host and even if they do they are finding themselves bogged down in a visa system which seems impossible to navigate.

Volunteers here are saying that they are not even suggesting the UK as a destination as they can’t get through the red tape.

So, despite wanting desperately to achieve something positive, today has felt like a day when we have achieved very little.

We have felt frustrated, annoyed and helpless. Part of a system that is not working and over which we have no control.

Feelings like these are not confined to a refugee crisis in Poland either.

It is not unusual to feel overwhelmed when you are in a situation you do not like but cannot control.

However, despite what has been a challenging day we are not going to bed stressed and angry tonight.

We made sure that there was some light relief built into the day as well.

In our case it wasn’t anything wild or extravagant. It was a moment when we were just able to direct our thoughts elsewhere and find some humour in an innocent moment.

We went and looked in the window of the hotel gift shop which was full of all kinds of ornaments, vases and pieces of art.

Without any intention of buying anything, we spent several minutes looking at what was on offer and saying which pieces we would have in our own homes and which we would not entertain for a moment.

It turned out that our tastes were completely different. What I found attractive Nicky found boring and what she thought was amazing I could not understand at all.

The best thing about all this was the fact that for a few minutes we were able to concentrate on something totally removed from the day we had left behind and have a good laugh about it. Somehow that innocent moment made the challenges of the day easier to bear.

The frustrating, out-of-control situation had not changed, but our attitude towards it had.   The mood was suddenly lighter again.

Tomorrow will be a new day. There will no doubt be new challenges to negotiate too.

But whatever obstacles or frustrations we come up against, we will make sure that there are some moments of light relief to balance things out.

You can’t always control the situation you find yourself in, but you can always take steps to look after your own mental health.

And in the light of all that is going on in the world at the moment, never has that been more important than it is right now.