"Stability Won't Be Found At The Bottom Of An Overpriced Hair Mask"- My Realities of Self-Care
Hiiiii,
Going to delve into the depths of self-care and mental health this week because to be honest, although my thoughts and head have improved drastically over the past few months (thanks to some sunshine and time to relax), with uni stresses beginning to set in again amongst various other strains, I've reverted back to feeling a bit shit.
I began to realise that I suffer from anxiety and sometimes depressive episodes in the early months of my first year at university (2016), when I was 18. Today, there is more information available than ever before on mental health and something that I see people repeatedly discuss on social media in particular is "self-care". When I began to realise that my head wasn't feeling its best I started to relentlessly read lists of self-care tips and I remember thinking that if I bought myself a product from LUSH every week and arranged my books in alphabetical order then surely my thoughts would be rationalised.
Spoiler! This didn't happen and I still struggle with these feelings but I have realised that, sadly, stability won't be found at the bottom of an overpriced hair mask. That's why in this post I'm going to talk about my own self-care tips and what I do when I want to feel more positive (at least for a little while) every single day.
(I'm by no means an expert and I'm not trying to suggest that what I am saying helps me will help everyone, BUT even if this post helps one person then that's great)
(I'm by no means an expert and I'm not trying to suggest that what I am saying helps me will help everyone, BUT even if this post helps one person then that's great)
1. Leave your bed, get a shower and brush your teeth. Lazy days aren't always a cure.
Ok, although this seems really basic, I've heard many friends talk about how they couldn't face getting out of bed when they are down and I've had many first hand experiences of this myself. For a long time I thought I was weird for not particularly enjoying 'lazy days'; something which are seen to be a form of self-care in themselves. Getting up at a reasonable time and taking half an hour to freshen up, freshens up my mind, helps me to feel motivated for the day and in control of myself.
2. Eat what makes YOU feel good.
A pattern that I have noticed is that eating a strictly healthy diet is often encouraged within other lists similar to this one. Although healthier foods do help with energy and mood it's important not to suggest that if you have days when all you want to eat is pizza and chocolate you should feel bad about yourself. Somebody who portrays this message well is Swedish influencer, Matilda Djerf who openly talks about her past struggles with an eating disorder. When people ask her what her diet is she states that she eats what makes her feel good at that time, whether that be a salad or a slice of cake. I found her words, as simple as they are, to be really powerful in helping me realise that if I was having a rough day and wanted ice cream to cheer myself up, that's not something I should punish myself for. It should be seen in exactly the same way that a salad makes me feel good if I haven't been looking after my body as much as I would like for a few days.
3. Have your own thing going on (as small as it may be)
I'm very lucky to have very talented and creative friends, many of whom have their own projects and plans; they are actively doing something with their time. Through no fault other than my own overthinking, I began to see myself as a bit inadequate, which is silly, but it's true. To quote girl in red, (in the least pretentious way possible), "All my friends are doing things/ It's good for them/ But I'm nothing". To be honest, I felt really really bad about myself, as if all I could bring to the table was moping about, doing well in university and working part time. These feelings went on for about a year or so and eventually I got fed up and I started to think of what I could do. After many scribbled out words and empty ideas I came to this; my blog. Although this is only my second 'official' post on here, I can honestly say that I have felt a change within myself after writing. I feel good.
I'm not suggesting everyone should start a blog, what I mean with this point is consider creating something with your interests, passions and talents, something that you can look at and say "I did that".
Ok, although this seems really basic, I've heard many friends talk about how they couldn't face getting out of bed when they are down and I've had many first hand experiences of this myself. For a long time I thought I was weird for not particularly enjoying 'lazy days'; something which are seen to be a form of self-care in themselves. Getting up at a reasonable time and taking half an hour to freshen up, freshens up my mind, helps me to feel motivated for the day and in control of myself.
2. Eat what makes YOU feel good.
A pattern that I have noticed is that eating a strictly healthy diet is often encouraged within other lists similar to this one. Although healthier foods do help with energy and mood it's important not to suggest that if you have days when all you want to eat is pizza and chocolate you should feel bad about yourself. Somebody who portrays this message well is Swedish influencer, Matilda Djerf who openly talks about her past struggles with an eating disorder. When people ask her what her diet is she states that she eats what makes her feel good at that time, whether that be a salad or a slice of cake. I found her words, as simple as they are, to be really powerful in helping me realise that if I was having a rough day and wanted ice cream to cheer myself up, that's not something I should punish myself for. It should be seen in exactly the same way that a salad makes me feel good if I haven't been looking after my body as much as I would like for a few days.
3. Have your own thing going on (as small as it may be)
I'm very lucky to have very talented and creative friends, many of whom have their own projects and plans; they are actively doing something with their time. Through no fault other than my own overthinking, I began to see myself as a bit inadequate, which is silly, but it's true. To quote girl in red, (in the least pretentious way possible), "All my friends are doing things/ It's good for them/ But I'm nothing". To be honest, I felt really really bad about myself, as if all I could bring to the table was moping about, doing well in university and working part time. These feelings went on for about a year or so and eventually I got fed up and I started to think of what I could do. After many scribbled out words and empty ideas I came to this; my blog. Although this is only my second 'official' post on here, I can honestly say that I have felt a change within myself after writing. I feel good.
I'm not suggesting everyone should start a blog, what I mean with this point is consider creating something with your interests, passions and talents, something that you can look at and say "I did that".
4. Take the day off.
This is something that I think will help me a lot with the upcoming academic year. In my first year of uni from the start of semester one to the end of semester two I worked out that I'd roughly taken 7 days off to do no studying at all. This isn't healthy and I can't stress that enough. I found on days when I wasn't feeling myself or I was suffering from a severe lack of motivation (or maybe a bad hangover) instead of just saying to myself 'I'll take today off and do this tomorrow', I'd force myself to study, and it once took me 7 hours to read a 25 page article. Unless something is due the next day and you really have to do it, you'll benefit more from taking some time to build yourself up again rather than forcing something that clearly isn't happening that day.
I only learned that I could take days off and still do well in my studies when I went to Venice for 5 days with my degree earlier this year. It was coming up to deadline season and I'd brought my laptop with me thinking everyone would be manically typing up essays every spare moment they got. This wasn't the case at all. Instead I think I drank my body weight in Aperol Spritz and nobody spoke about deadlines once. When I got home I felt refreshed and motivated (not stressed or anxious) and I promised myself I'd take more days off during the semester and do things I enjoy.
5. The Classic. Drink more water.
We all know the benefits. Sorry to say the obvious. Wanted to make this up to 5 and I am worried I have rambled for too long so here is a basic reminder. Just drink it.
Hope you enjoy this post, let me know if you have any tips of your own to help- they'd be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for readin' and please look after yourselves <3
rxchz x
This is something that I think will help me a lot with the upcoming academic year. In my first year of uni from the start of semester one to the end of semester two I worked out that I'd roughly taken 7 days off to do no studying at all. This isn't healthy and I can't stress that enough. I found on days when I wasn't feeling myself or I was suffering from a severe lack of motivation (or maybe a bad hangover) instead of just saying to myself 'I'll take today off and do this tomorrow', I'd force myself to study, and it once took me 7 hours to read a 25 page article. Unless something is due the next day and you really have to do it, you'll benefit more from taking some time to build yourself up again rather than forcing something that clearly isn't happening that day.
I only learned that I could take days off and still do well in my studies when I went to Venice for 5 days with my degree earlier this year. It was coming up to deadline season and I'd brought my laptop with me thinking everyone would be manically typing up essays every spare moment they got. This wasn't the case at all. Instead I think I drank my body weight in Aperol Spritz and nobody spoke about deadlines once. When I got home I felt refreshed and motivated (not stressed or anxious) and I promised myself I'd take more days off during the semester and do things I enjoy.
5. The Classic. Drink more water.
We all know the benefits. Sorry to say the obvious. Wanted to make this up to 5 and I am worried I have rambled for too long so here is a basic reminder. Just drink it.
Hope you enjoy this post, let me know if you have any tips of your own to help- they'd be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for readin' and please look after yourselves <3
rxchz x
(Below is a list of mental health helplines on the NHS website which may be useful if things become too severe)
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