Hey guys!
Today's post is going to be about mental health, I wanted to talk a little about the experience I have with mental health and ways I overcome slumps and what self-care activities really help me when I am feeling low! I will also be talking about some of my favourite mental health books, in hope that they can help you too!
I always try to be as open as I can on Instagram about the mental health problems I experience, as I find it so important to talk about. I suffer with anxiety, panic attacks, depression and bulimia, these have been diagnosed, but I also believe I suffer with OCD and PTSD. It seems a lot but self-care really helps me to manage each one.
I'm not really going to go into a HUGE amount of detail on each aspect, as I could be here forever (but if you want me to do a separate post on the different conditions then of course I would be happy too!).
The main problems stem from the anxiety, panic attacks and depression. I have some incline as to what triggered them but it is so hard to change something that happened in the past. The depression can often feel so overwhelming and I either experience such intense feelings of sadness, grief and emptiness, or I feel nothing at all. The anxiety can be so overwhelming in different ways too, some days its manageable, other days it really isn't! It can be so frustrating to manage each day, just when you think you are managing it well, it comes back, creeping over you. But it is so important to find ways that help you manage it and cope with the extreme feelings. It can be so difficult to cope with, so please know that it is so important to talk to others and you most definitely do not have to do it alone. Tell somebody, anybody. I am always a listening ear if you need somebody to talk to. I am available always! If you can talk to people in your life, talk to family, friends. If you don't want to talk to somebody you know personally, talk to your GP, self-refer to a counselling service (if that option is available to you), mental health charities are also available to talk to - The Samaritans have an amazing helpline, you can call, email or write letters to them. Talking is so important.
Mental health slumps can be so hard to overcome, I have only just come out of a slump myself! It lasted for weeks, I was struggling to motivate myself, I didn't want to go outside, I didn't want to talk to anybody or do anything, I was snappy and just generally not nice to be around. Everything was so overwhelming and it can be especially difficult to overcome when you don't feel like doing anything at all, but self-care is so important, it is important whether you have mental health problems or not. It can really help to calm your mind, bring you out of feeling low, be a good distraction when your mind is all over!
I do self-care activities every day, some days I will dedicate the whole day to self-care, other days I will just make sure I do something that is good for my mind! It really helped to get me out of the slump I was in.
My self-care activities:
1. One of my favourite self-care activities is colouring. I just love how peaceful it makes me feel, it relaxes me and helps to shut off my mind when I am feeling particularly anxious.
2. Of course I love reading when I am feeling anxious or low. I love reading mental health books or light, easy, feel good reads! Something that is not too heavy on my brain and will also make me feel warm while reading! I particularly love the Comfort Food Cafe series by Debbie Johnson for a pick me up!
Some favourite mental health books of mine are: Reasons to Stay Alive (Matt Haig), Notes on a Nervous Planet (Matt Haig), Depression in a Digital Age (Fiona Thomas), Bring Me To Light (Eleanor Segall), Happy and Calm (Fearne Cotton), Anxiety (Helen Kennerley).
3. I love doing puzzles, any kind of puzzle really - they just help to keep my mind busy when anxiety is taking over! It also gives me something to focus on and means I don't just sit there doing nothing when I am feeling lower than usual!
4. Making lists!! Another fab way to keep your mind busy. I love making lists, any kind of list works for me, sometimes I will list my top favourites of different categories, or the places I most want to visit, sometimes I even just do simple lists of things I want to get done that week. Making lists for organisation, like lists of things I want to do that week, really help to keep me motivated, as when I make a list I have to stick to it! Lists for fun, like the places I want to visit, just keep my mind busy and also help to give me something to look forward to in the future!
5. Walking. Walking helps to clear my mind, it is so nice to just get out in the fresh air when you are feeling anxious or low, fresh air can honestly help so much!! It is useful as it helps to clear my mind and I also love to find new places to sit and read my book!
6. I love to declutter!!! Probably too much! When my mind feels cluttered, my physical space also feels cluttered and I love having a good clear out when things feel overwhelming. It always makes my mind feel so much clearer and less cluttered. This week I have decluttered my wardrobe and organised my bathroom cupboard, I have a list of areas in my house that I can also declutter over the next few weeks! Decluttering brings me so much joy as I love to be minimal!!
7. Some little things that I like to do when I am having a self-care day; have a bubble bath, drink lots of tea, do a face mask, paint my nails and have a pyjama day! It is the little things like this that make me so happy, I feel so content when doing these activities! I love how cheap/easy self-care can be, it definitely doesn't have to be expensive, or difficult, or time-consuming. Sometimes just doing a nice thing for yourself each day can really go a long way!
I would love to hear what self-care activities you guys do!
Today's post is going to be about mental health, I wanted to talk a little about the experience I have with mental health and ways I overcome slumps and what self-care activities really help me when I am feeling low! I will also be talking about some of my favourite mental health books, in hope that they can help you too!
I always try to be as open as I can on Instagram about the mental health problems I experience, as I find it so important to talk about. I suffer with anxiety, panic attacks, depression and bulimia, these have been diagnosed, but I also believe I suffer with OCD and PTSD. It seems a lot but self-care really helps me to manage each one.
I'm not really going to go into a HUGE amount of detail on each aspect, as I could be here forever (but if you want me to do a separate post on the different conditions then of course I would be happy too!).
The main problems stem from the anxiety, panic attacks and depression. I have some incline as to what triggered them but it is so hard to change something that happened in the past. The depression can often feel so overwhelming and I either experience such intense feelings of sadness, grief and emptiness, or I feel nothing at all. The anxiety can be so overwhelming in different ways too, some days its manageable, other days it really isn't! It can be so frustrating to manage each day, just when you think you are managing it well, it comes back, creeping over you. But it is so important to find ways that help you manage it and cope with the extreme feelings. It can be so difficult to cope with, so please know that it is so important to talk to others and you most definitely do not have to do it alone. Tell somebody, anybody. I am always a listening ear if you need somebody to talk to. I am available always! If you can talk to people in your life, talk to family, friends. If you don't want to talk to somebody you know personally, talk to your GP, self-refer to a counselling service (if that option is available to you), mental health charities are also available to talk to - The Samaritans have an amazing helpline, you can call, email or write letters to them. Talking is so important.
Mental health slumps can be so hard to overcome, I have only just come out of a slump myself! It lasted for weeks, I was struggling to motivate myself, I didn't want to go outside, I didn't want to talk to anybody or do anything, I was snappy and just generally not nice to be around. Everything was so overwhelming and it can be especially difficult to overcome when you don't feel like doing anything at all, but self-care is so important, it is important whether you have mental health problems or not. It can really help to calm your mind, bring you out of feeling low, be a good distraction when your mind is all over!
I do self-care activities every day, some days I will dedicate the whole day to self-care, other days I will just make sure I do something that is good for my mind! It really helped to get me out of the slump I was in.
My self-care activities:
1. One of my favourite self-care activities is colouring. I just love how peaceful it makes me feel, it relaxes me and helps to shut off my mind when I am feeling particularly anxious.
2. Of course I love reading when I am feeling anxious or low. I love reading mental health books or light, easy, feel good reads! Something that is not too heavy on my brain and will also make me feel warm while reading! I particularly love the Comfort Food Cafe series by Debbie Johnson for a pick me up!
Some favourite mental health books of mine are: Reasons to Stay Alive (Matt Haig), Notes on a Nervous Planet (Matt Haig), Depression in a Digital Age (Fiona Thomas), Bring Me To Light (Eleanor Segall), Happy and Calm (Fearne Cotton), Anxiety (Helen Kennerley).
3. I love doing puzzles, any kind of puzzle really - they just help to keep my mind busy when anxiety is taking over! It also gives me something to focus on and means I don't just sit there doing nothing when I am feeling lower than usual!
4. Making lists!! Another fab way to keep your mind busy. I love making lists, any kind of list works for me, sometimes I will list my top favourites of different categories, or the places I most want to visit, sometimes I even just do simple lists of things I want to get done that week. Making lists for organisation, like lists of things I want to do that week, really help to keep me motivated, as when I make a list I have to stick to it! Lists for fun, like the places I want to visit, just keep my mind busy and also help to give me something to look forward to in the future!
5. Walking. Walking helps to clear my mind, it is so nice to just get out in the fresh air when you are feeling anxious or low, fresh air can honestly help so much!! It is useful as it helps to clear my mind and I also love to find new places to sit and read my book!
6. I love to declutter!!! Probably too much! When my mind feels cluttered, my physical space also feels cluttered and I love having a good clear out when things feel overwhelming. It always makes my mind feel so much clearer and less cluttered. This week I have decluttered my wardrobe and organised my bathroom cupboard, I have a list of areas in my house that I can also declutter over the next few weeks! Decluttering brings me so much joy as I love to be minimal!!
7. Some little things that I like to do when I am having a self-care day; have a bubble bath, drink lots of tea, do a face mask, paint my nails and have a pyjama day! It is the little things like this that make me so happy, I feel so content when doing these activities! I love how cheap/easy self-care can be, it definitely doesn't have to be expensive, or difficult, or time-consuming. Sometimes just doing a nice thing for yourself each day can really go a long way!
I would love to hear what self-care activities you guys do!
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