The Crystals That Called To Me

I firmly stand by the belief that you should choose and purchase crystals in person - it's a much more personable and inspiring experience, especially when the sales assistant is so calming and knowledgeable. Mum and I headed into town last Friday morning and on the way back to the car we stopped in my favourite crystal store to buy crystals as a gift for Mum's god mother. I didn't intend on buying anything, but a few things screamed at me so I picked them up - I never ignore the internal pull towards a certain crystal, and it's always funny to read up on them later to discover they're exactly what I've been needing. On this occasion I purchased a single crystal and a necklace, and my mum treated me to a polished piece too.

4 More Ways To Boost Positivity | Self Care Sunday

{ Self-care Sunday, episode six }

As I promised many moons ago, here is the second part of my 4 Ways To Boost Positivity post!

A Little Act of Bravery

{ Weekend diary; part two }

These days, I adhere to a very strict schedule when I'm out. Of course it's massively anxiety-driven and I probably shouldn't give in to it so often but sometimes writing down a minute-by-minute plan helps me step out of the front door. I've been using this coping technique more often than not over the past year, but on Saturday something happened: I went with the flow.

Dealing With Social Anxiety Online



I wrote and published the bare bones this post sometime last Summer, but I deleted it within minutes. I didn't feel comfortable with it, I'm not sure why, but I've been experiencing some pretty crippling social anxiety related to my blog and social media this year and I figured it was time for this post (now expanded upon and revised) to see the light of day.

 

I've always had difficulty making friends. I'm always very quiet, shy and observant when around new people and because of this I'm usually branded rude or arrogant before I've really had a chance to get to know someone. This isn't completely the other person's fault - I'm not very good at eye contact or small talk, and even when someone is trying to talk to me I get so nervous and lost within my anxiety that I just don't know how to reply. Since writing this blog and becoming a lot more active on social media, I've noticed that this trait also extends to my online world.

4 Ways To Boost Positivity in 2017 | Self Care Sunday

{ Self-care Sunday, volume two }

Something I struggle to maintain is the feeling of positivity. I'm not sure if it's just a bad habit or if it's a trait hard-wired into my DNA but I can be quite a negative, cynical person and I know it's hurting me a lot more than it's helping. Over the next few years I hope to take significant steps towards becoming a more positive person and today, for my next instalment of Self-Care Sunday, I thought I'd share a few little things I'll be trying this year to aid that.

Little Ways to Self Care 01 | Self Care Sunday

{ Self-care Sunday, episode one }

 

I've been thinking a lot about self care recently. January is always a particularly difficult month for a lot of people - it's dark, it's rainy, it's cold, we don't have Christmas to look forward to... - and although I've been doing pretty well, I've also had a few key appointments to go through / look forward to so I've been feeling a little down and on edge. To combat this I've been practicing a lot of self-care and it inspired me (along with a quick Twitter poll) to document it more often on my blog. And so: Self Care Sunday was born! I do love a good blog series and although I'm a little late starting I thought it might be a nice one to run through 2017. It co-insides with my 2017 goals rather well, too!

Self-Care at Christmas & How I Cope

{ B l o g m a s :: day fifteen }

Christmas is a time of joy, love and family but it's not always so easy if you struggle with a mental illness. Last year I found Christmas Day & Boxing Day extremely difficult because of my depression, anxiety and the issues I was having with food at the time, so I thought I'd write this post to offer some advice and comfort to anyone else struggling this year.

Things I Need To Start Doing

{ B l o g m a s :: day seven }

Following on from last month's post sharing Things I Need To Stop Doing, I thought I'd write a little list of the things I need to start doing.

♥ Implementing a morning routine.
♥ Taking more personal photographs.
♥ Believing in myself.
♥ Saving more money than I spend.
♥ Leaving the house every day.
♥ Reciting positive affirmations that don't make me feel like a knob.
♥ Riding my bike once a week.
♥ Calling my Nan once a week.
♥ Getting into bed by 10.30pm.
♥ Turning off my social media notifications.
♥ Posting on Instagram more often.
♥ Feeling the fear & doing it anyway.

I'm seriously considering adding a number of these things onto my 2017 goals list as they're things I really feel I need to work on. Hopefully starting them now will make them easier to achieve next year ~

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Fictional Women Who Inspire Me

{ B l o g m a s :: day six }

Whenever I'm having a particularly hard time I tend to run head first into my favourite fictional worlds for a lil bit of escapism, but also for inspiration. I love that by reading or watching a story, you can see not only the problem but the cause, struggles and resolution. I find comfort in seeing exactly how a character has overcome something and how their life carries on afterwards. Today I thought I'd share with you a few of my favourite fictional women and the ways they inspire me. (Lil warning: this post will contain spoilers.)

The Happy List Project 03

Hihi! Today I'm here to deliver another load of happiness to the blogosphere through the medium of another Happy List Project post. Today I have another list of my own as well as three lists from a few of my favourite blogging ladies.

 

Christmas Gift Guide: Gifts to Calm & DIY Self-Care Hampers



Welcome to my second gift guide of 2016!

Things I Need To Stop Doing

A little list of things that I need to stop doing.

The Happy List Project 02

Welcome to the second instalment of my new Happy List Project! I feel the idea went down really well with all of you guys and I've had a lot of people interested in submitting their own lists so it looks like this little series is going to become a real ~thing~ which makes me v happy in itself. I wasn't going to put up this post for another week or so, but after recent events I feel like it's needed. Today I'm going to be sharing another list of my own as well as one from my nine year old sister and two new submissions!

Things To Do On A Down Day

I'm doing pretty well with my depression at the moment, but sometimes I just wake up and the entire world feels grey. I can liken the 'sensation' of depression to wearing a heavy dark uncomfortable fur jacket that pulls down at your shoulders and smothers you. Of course mentally it's a whole other story, but I do feel like my body is weighted by it, too. Sometimes it makes it impossible to do things, but here is a list of twenty-something things I do on days like today when the world just seems a little darker.

On Self-Love and My New House Colours



Something I feel at least 90% of my generation has in common is Harry Potter. We grew up with the books and the films, and experienced Hogwarts as Harry himself was experiencing it. The youngest among us had a chapter read to us at bedtime by our parents, whilst the oldest devoured each book as they came alone. There's something so innocently magical about Harry Potter and the way wizarding life wove its way into our mundane. I especially take it more seriously than I arguably should, but I'm not embarrassed or ashamed by it.

I was intending for this post to be quite light-hearted but as I reached the final paragraph I felt a surge of sadness, relief and liberation. I'd thought my journey of self-love and self-exploration was going quite well, on the surface at least. I indulge in self-care often and tend to my anxiety every day. But I think that mental health aside I have a long way to go in terms of truly loving who I am and honestly wanting the best for myself, and bizarrely enough something as little (although big to me) as changing Hogwarts Houses has sparked something that I've been in need of for a long time.  

4 Distraction Techniques for Anxiety



Enduring my anxiety can be oh-so difficult at times but I'm steadily building up my arsenal of distraction techniques. Today I thought I'd share them with you.

Art Therapy At Home 2.0

It's been well over a year since my last art therapy session but I still rely on the practice to keep my anxiety in check. There's something very freeing about art therapy, and I find it can help release stopped-up feelings as it doesn't require you to actually try and articulate your emotions in a way for someone else to listen to or understand. Today I thought I'd share another load of little work books I use whenever I have a little art therapy session by myself at home. If you haven't checked out my original Art Therapy At Home post then definitely do so as it features some more artistic and creative ideas for art therapy as opposed to the more structured work books in this post!

A Reminder

I am depressed. I am anxious. I am suicidal.

But.

I am also my favourite gemstone. I am the corners of book pages that I fold down to mark my place. I am an Eeveelution trainer, a Slytherin, the Mayor of Hogwarts. I am my favourite Lush bath bomb. I am the chipped nail polish on my fingernails that I can never be bothered to remove. I am a sister, a daughter, a girlfriend. A cat mother. A cat lover. I am the Pokemon cards organised by type and level of cuteness in my ring binder. I am the gluten-free vanilla cookies that I’ve grown obsessed with. I am a lover of vlogs, blogs and Pinterest. I am my favourite episode of Sherlock, my favourite region in Pokemon. I am the sea shell wind-chime that hangs above my bed. I am each of the teddies that Luke has won me from claw machines across the years. I am the bicycle rides that fill me with undiluted happiness. I am the Costa smoothie that’s been on my to-try list forever. I am my favourite of the two H&M stores in town. I am the characters chattering in my head that I owe a story of their own.

 I am blindly holding on to life when I feel like it’s trying it’s best to let me go.

I am depressed. I am anxious. I am suicidal.

But I’m also so much more.

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My Self-Care Book Collection

It's no secret that I love books, but what is surprising is the amount of time I'm investing into books that aren't fiction - and how rapidly my collection of non-fiction lifestyle-y books is growing. I've always found comfort in reading and I connect with written quotes a lot better than I do a verbal lecture. I think it's the writer in me that just has this passion for words and the ability to appreciate them on a deeper level. A lot of these books, I feel, are also replacing the need for emotional creativity that stopped for me when I left art therapy and I also find a lot of comfort in that, too. SO without further ado, allow me to walk you through my self-care book collection.

Little Comforts

Little things that comfort me when I'm feeling sad, tired and anxious.

Holding Luke's hand. Lying on my side in bed with Luna curled up RIGHT next to me. My little sister bringing me a glass of just-the-right-temperature water. Watching Sky Sports News with my dad. Wearing my onesie with the hood up, bear ears and all. Sitting with Luke on our bench in the woods. The sound of my cat Bailey meowing. Warm toast slathered in vegan butter and strawberry jam. Watching Luna play in the garden from my bedroom window. The sound of Luna purring. Reading my favourite blog, Daisybutter. Cosy yet vaguely stylish clothes that blanket me and protect me from the world. Lazy evenings on Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Quorn chicken nuggets and ketchup. The sound of my sister laughing. Surreal pink sunsets. Watching endless episodes of Hawaii Five 0 with my mum. Lush The Comforter bubble baths. Sitting RIGHT next to Luke on the sofa. My sister brushing my hair. Rereading an old favourite.

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