Moments

This month hasn't always been easy. Depression can come unannounced and give you a beating. You're left on the sidelines for days, struggling to make it back on the pitch. But just because my mental illness came back swinging doesn't mean that there aren't moments to cling to - moments of happiness.

“Moments never stay, whether or not you ask them, they do not care, no moment cares, and the ones you wish could stretch out like a hammock for you to lie in, well, those moments leave the quickest and take everything good with them, little burglars, those moments, those hours, those days you loved the most.” ― Catherine Lacey, 'Nobody Is Ever Missing'

I discovered this quote today which reminded me of the importance of moments.

They don't tell the whole story. Often they vary off on their own tangent, with little respect for sticking to the main narrative. But they are important. Moments provide light in the dark; hope in the midst of a raging sea of depression. Moments are what we cling to, look back on, feed off. Moments are our sign from the universe that there are good days, the bad days don't last, there is hope.

Appreciate the Little Things

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make the big things happen." - John Wooden

I love that quote. It really got me thinking over the week about how essential all of the little things are.

Little things are small, but significant things that affect our mood. Little things can be as simple as how much happier you feel with a cup of green tea, or a quote that resonates with you in the novel you're reading. Little things can be what you actively do for yourself, or be an unexpected positive surprise from someone else. They are so important to our overall wellbeing that there's a mental health campaign in Ireland called The Little Things.
Little things make the journey possible. But we don't often take the time to appreciate them.

But the little things got me through the week, and I want to take the time to acknowledge how instrumental they have been in keeping my mood positive over the past few days.

x My hotel room was upgraded.

x A phone call from the boyfriend to cheer me up when my laptop broke (again).

Creating a Self Care Box

Hello!
What better way to get my month of self care underway than be creating my own self care box?

But what is a self care box I hear you ask? Well I came up with the idea when reading '21 Days to Master Extreme Self Care' by Cheryl Richardson. In the book she talks about the importance of having a first aid kit – a well prepared plan of action in place before you need it.

So much of self care for me is about fending off the bad days. But with mental illness, that doesn't mean that there won't still be days when you feel like you've had enough and want to give up. Having a first aid kit prepared in advance means that you have somewhere and something to turn to for help.

Intro. to Self Care is Not Selfish

Happy February everyone!
And welcome to month two of my Romeo Project.

My second resolution of the year is ‘Self Care is Not Selfish’. It might seem pretty obvious to some of you that looking after ourselves is important, but over the years it has been something that has been difficult for me.

When I was 18 I was in the grips of severe depression.

I didn’t care for myself, my own safety, or my own health.

I didn’t eat. For a week I survived off of toast or threw up with anxiety.

I didn’t go to class.

I didn’t want to look after myself.

For me, self care is all about preserving good mental health. It’s the little things we do for ourselves; whether treating yourself to a hot chocolate, or getting an early night ahead of a big day in work, or just going for a walk in the good weather.

Things That Always Make Me Smile

When it comes to authenticity I think it’s hard to fake a smile.

When you smile, genuinely smile because something makes you feel good, that’s authentic.

Here is a list of the things that never fail to make me smile;

• Making my Dad laugh
• Giving a nerdy present to my little sister
• My dog licking my hand after I’ve been petting her
• When someone remembers a small and almost insignificant detail I told them
• When someone offers to pay for the coffee/tea I just ordered
• When you do a little favour for someone without them having to ask
• Getting a compliment
• When my Dad calls me on the phone
• A supportive blog comment
• Getting to treat a friend
• A warm, calming cup of tea after a long day

Interestingly, I see my values in this list. This also made me smile.

August Favourites

August has been a very good month for me. There were no spells of depression so to speak. While I was anxious about certain aspects of my life, they didn't get me down. Here are the little things that made a big impact on my mental health this month. 

Going to Dublin Zoo, eating ice cream, and generally enjoying the sunshine and good moods. It was an amazing day out and I have so many beautiful pictures of the adventure. This one is my favourite photos!

Treating myself and my little sister to hot chocolate in Costa was a nice treat. I love being able to spoil the little one. 

June Favourites

Here are a few of my favourite things from this month:

My Jurassic World poster to mark the most epic film of the year.

I've been living on this Sanctuary Spa hand cream all month. The result: smoother and softer hands!

My new Mid-Year Academic Diary to keep myself organised and to-schedule all year!

My new stack of books for summer reading! 

Walks around campus as the sun sets.

Very frequents baths. They're just so relaxing, how could you not treat yourself?

My new window seat for all the summer reading I have to do.

My new favourite nail varnish is this Max Factor colour. 

And it's sunglasses season (finally)!

May Round-Up

This month was amazing, and full of so many little memories that I wanted to share with you all. Here's my Round-Up of what's been keeping me going for the past 4 weeks.

My favourite new Rimmel goodies. From foundation to primer to powder and lippie. Really loving the primer for a perfect look.

The month of May was metal health awareness month with the Green Ribbon campaign from See Change.

Wearing this with pride during the first 3 weeks of May as Ireland became an island of pride.

My darling friend gave me a little mini Iron Man.

My first ever Glossy Box this month was full of wonderful goodies; 

I wrote Good Luck Cards for my Junior Cert year group.

I bought this book, 'Reasons to Stay Alive' by Matt Haig, with an Easons voucher I had, and it was my best purchase of the month by far. 

Getting back into the crafting spirit by starting with my own card making station.

It's the little things like these that are so important to our mental health. Take care.

xoxo