Happy Wednesday, congratulations you made it hump day; now you can take on the week and nothing will stop you. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I LOVE FALL; but with fall comes gloomy cold weather. As much as I love fall, sometimes it brings bad days with it, the days are getting shorter and everything is chilly. With this change in weather, some individuals may be feeling pretty blah. I know I am a part of that group; icky weather means icky feelings.
After my appointment last Friday, I had a fun concoction of morphine and valium flowing through my little body. Both of these drugs however have been found to increase feelings of depression. On Friday I felt great, I was on top of the world; but by Saturday I felt terrible. I am someone who deals with my fair share of mental health issues, so to feel so low was a really scary thing. Fortunately by the time I woke up on Monday I was feeling like my old self again. This isn't always the case though, so I wanted to throw together a list of ways for you to combat your worst days and turn them into a great one.
Some days are worse than others, not everyone can find the motivation to jog a 5k or bake a cake. I have broken my lists into two categories, high functioning and low functioning; this way you can pick the list that best suits your day. Of course this is a loose guideline and everyones definition of self-care is different, regardless I hope you can take something away from this.
LOW FUNCTIONING
GO FOR A WALK
If you can find the energy and motivation to get outside, then do it, some fresh air and physical activity will do you a world of good. You don't have to look like a supermodel, just throw on your shoes and get outside.
SHOWER
When the days get tough it can be very difficult to find the time to care for yourself. If this is the case, please try to take the time to shower, it may not solve everything but it may help you to feel just a little bit better.
DRINK A CUP OF WATER
Odds are if you aren't feeling your best, you may not be hydrating your body as much as you should. With this in mind adding one cup of water to your day will help you to feel more energized and refreshed.
MAKE YOUR BED
I have mentioned this in other posts, but making your bed is so so important, there is nothing worse than crawling into an unmade bed at the end of the day. Even if you only plan on staying out of bed for 15 minutes, still make it. This may help to keep you out of bed for more than 15 minutes!
3 MNUTE BRAIN DUMP
This is something I do all the time, it doesn't matter if I am having a great day or a bad day; I will always brain dump. For this you want to get a notebook or piece of paper and just write for three minutes. Don't think about what you are writing, just write and whatever is clogging up your brain will come to the surface.
MAKE A LIST OF POSITIVE THINGS
On the days where it feels like nothing is going right, this is a great one. Sit down and make a lit of positive things; this could be things that make you happy, things you are grateful for, a list of dog breeds you like. The list doesn't have to be a mile long, but writing down a few positive things may help to change your mindset.
STRETCH
This one is great because you dont even have to get out of bed to do it. Start by tensing up your body then slowly relaxing from your head down to your toes. Then do big wide stretches, if you cant find the energy or motivation to do a full workout this is a great way to get blood flowing.
BRUSH YOUR TEETH OR YOUR HAIR
Some days it can be really hard to want to take care of yourself, on days like that try and do one simple thing. Either brushing your hair or your teeth can help to make you feel a bit more human.
LIGHT A CANDLE
If you find that you are unhappy in your environment but cant bring yourself to do much then light a candle. This will help to freshen up your space and in turn may help to make you feel better.
OPEN A WINDOW
Not everyone likes the smell of candles, if you are one of those people but need to freshen up your space crack open a window. By doing this you are bringing in plenty of fresh air and that can help to boost your mood.
STAY OFFLINE FOR THE DAY
Sometimes all you need is a little electronic detox, just make sure before you shut everything off that you let people know what you are doing. I would hate for you to be half way through your detox only to have family panicking because you haven't answered all their phone calls.
HIGH FUNCTIONING
GRAB COFFEE FROM A COFFEE SHOP
I am a coffee fiend, I love me some tim hortons dark roast with two cream one sugar. Sometimes just getting out of the house and picking up a coffee does the trick and lifts my spirits.
MAKE COOKIES
As I write this, I have gluten free sugar cookies dough chilling in the fridge before I pop them in the oven and I am so excited. When you take the time to focus on something other than the thing stressing you out, it is really freeing. So taking that time to focus on cookies is a great way to clear your head.
CLEAN YOUR ROOM
Shoutout to all my fellow neat-freaks out there, you'll love this one! When I am stressed or just having a rough day I love cleaning my room, it never fails to turn my mood around.
MAKE A DELICIOUS SMOOTHIE
I love making a smoothie with fresh and healthy ingredients, of course you can make an unhealthy one. My personal favourite is peaches, mango, strawberry, oranges, some yogurt and water all blended together. It is fruity, fresh and delicious.
GO TO THE GYM
Working out has many health benefits, this includes mental ones too. After a workout you will notice that your head feels clear and you will get a serotonin high!
READ A BOOK
I am a huge book worm and if I have the time to get my hands on a book I am very happy. Of course, trying to balance school, work and adult responsibilities means I don't get a lot of reading time. When I do get the chance to read, I take full advantage of it because I know I will feel great after.
HAVE AN AT HOME SPA DAY
After a really stressful or blah kind of week I love to pamper myself. This typically involves a bubble bath, a luxurious lotion for afterwards and a good book. I will soak in the tub until the water turns cold, once this happens I get out slather on some body lotion and put on my coziest pajamas.
MAKE A HAPPY PLAYLIST
Music is a great form of therapy, not only is it cheap but it is easily accessible. If you are having a crappy day put on some good tunes and you will start to feel better. On the days that you have the time, put together some playlists to help you through the bad days.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading through this list and if you find yourself having a hard day then I just want to say I am sorry. I am sending lots of love, hugs and kisses your way and am here to remind you that you can get through anything life throws your way!
Comments