Please note my little Chumlins that I am obviously by no means any form of medical professional and this is just good old friendly advice that friends give to each other, right? Ok, then I shall begin...
There is so much advice out there for depression, anxiety, low mood and all mental health type conditions. And it’s all lovely and nice and we know we should, but sometimes, well, mostly, when you are feeling rubbish it is just bloody hard to follow.
Fear not my little Chumlins for I have a solution. Well, less of a solution, more of a what I hope to be uplifting and comical little guide of the real life stuffs that make me, and hopefully will help you, feel that little bit more like your old self, or better, if that’s what we are aiming for.
When it comes to the daily battle I like the sandwich method; a must, a want and a should. Now you may see the following splendor as a want but it is all most definitely a must. You must look after yourself. You are you, you are unique and you cannot be replaced. So kick yourself up the bum and remember that you are awesome, you can do this!
Now get yourself a nice feel good drink; coffee, cup of tea, fruity tea, fizzy pop, that kind of jazz, and read on. (Ooh, I could shamelessly link here couldn’t I?) Obviously the best drink is a Frothy Cinnamon Latte, made from my own special recipe. Nudge nudge, wink wink. Anyway;
Stick on a comedy show. My current happy place in TV land is Miranda. But I can also recommend 2 Broke Girls for a good old belly chuckle. Everyone loves a good old belly chuckle right?! So something you know will make you laugh is just clever and wonderful and all that jazz.
Wash. Be clean. Seriously. I know exactly what is happening. You are feeling low and rubbish and the thought of moving from under the blanket is not appealing but you will feel so super amazing jumping in the shower and giving yourself a real good clean. Put some feel good music on and sing loudly to take it to the next level. The worse the singing, the better you will feel. This is a scientifically proven fact, well, Kyra proven, so really, that's even better!
Bonus: Stick your blanket in the wash before you jump in the shower. We all know it’s been your friend and snuggle buddy protecting you throughout this hard time but let’s face it, it will probably crawl there itself soon anyway so give your buddy a hand and do the job for it.
Fill up your washing up bowl with hot soapy water. Clean it first, obviously. Then plonk it on top of a towel on the floor in front of the TV and dunk your feet in it. Sure those fancy feet machines are nice, but who can be doing with all that noise? My Grandma used to do this for me when I was younger and it always cheered me up, plus, clean lovely feet. Stick some moisturiser on after for an extra boost, you don’t walk on laminate floors for a while after, unless you want a bit of a slip and slide situation
.
Have a bath. No this is not the same as being clean, come on…laying in your own… OK, wait, positive… So it’s not the cleaning that a shower gives you but boy do they feel good. Put down your phone, grab a book, stick on some music and shut the world out for a bit. Sure, you could scroll through the endless drawl of Facebook but, let’s shut that off for a bit shall we and just relax? We all secretly know it's crap on social media... For added 'OoOOOooo yeeah' add candles, smelly bubble bath and a whole basket of pampering goodness!
Shave. Everywhere. OK, not the hair and eyebrows.. but a good old shave can feel soooooo amazing! And then when you are feeling a bit sad you can stroke your legs and literally feel the achievement.
Have a GIF battle. Seriously, is there anything better than a GIF? No, of course not. They say to reach out to friends but that can be hard when you don’t know what to say. Enter the GIF to save the day!
Face masks. What feels better than relaxing with a face mask? The feeling of pulling it off. Except of course if you’ve got one of those mental feel like they are pulling your insides out through your pores ones. Don’t do that. Once it's dry do big wide open mouth things and feel it peel in a lovely satisfying way.
Find your quick and easy comfort food and stock up. I personally like ‘scoop’ food. (OK, I really call it shovel food but that sounds a bit, well, you know…unflattering) I like scrambled egg and beans, spaghetti hoops and hot dogs and cereal. Super healthy you see, and that’s ok! Broth and stew is also yummy if I have them laying around waiting to be eaten.
Brownie. In. A. Mug. Just, yes… Calories don’t count when you are feeling down, right? And this quick and easy sweet snack is the perfect TV and blanket partner.
If you own unicorn slippers, put them on. Nothing is happier than unicorns, fact. If you don’t own unicorn slippers, get some, immediately, if not sooner. OK, lets throw caution to the wind, dinosaurs, flying unicorn whales and pandas are also suitable alternatives. You're welcome.
Put on jeans. Yes, the joggers are super comfy, so so comfy, but you always feel a bit too comfy in them. Put on a pair of feel good jeans, maybe even a top that makes you feel good. Just this little bit of looking and feeling more human like can really help change the mindset.
Dancing. Silly, wild, random dancing. Movement with loud feel good music feels great! Just let go and move however the music makes you feel. Do you look crazy? Absolutely. Do you care? Definitely not!
So there you have it, my own personal little guide of suggestions really, of what you might try to feel better. Try one, try more, try them all, but just, give it a little try.
And if you have any funny little suggestions of your own, just give me a shout!
TPFN
Kyra x
Comments