July Favourites

These are the little things, my favourite things, that have gotten me through the month.

Creating a work space for my blogging has been high up on my priorities list this month. My desk has been cleaned, tidied and organised so I can get my priorities in order. July has really been the month when I realised what makes my blog unique, and that I should concentrate on those unique features in all of my posts. I used to hate that I was different to other bloggers; I saw it as a negative. In reality, it's what makes my blog original. 

A few of my favourite things...

As you may have noticed by now, my blog can feature some seemingly random things from time to time. Sure, I talk about mental health, in the socio-economic context, the medical context, and from my own personal point of view. Occasionally, you’ll see scattered amongst those posts little to-dos on crafting. Maybe a review of a product, or a tv show.

The thing is, I’m quite preoccupied with mental health. My depression plays such a huge role in my life. But then there are these other things I also obsess over.

My appearance, Doctor Who, Feminism and strong female role models, Books, Comic Book inspired films and tv shows, music reviews, nail varnish....

Basically, everything makes it onto my blog. And that’s because everything has an impact on our mental health.

You see, mental health is a much broader term than how most people use it. Mental health is something we all have, whether battling a mental illness or not. It's your general state of feeling; your emotional well being. Proactively protecting and enriching your mental health can actually prevent mental illness from occurring.

Lone Cinema Goer | Going to the Cinema by Myself

I posted a tweet on Thursday 16th July. I posed the question; 'Would it be weird if I went to the cinema by myself?' And the tweet got a lot of reaction.

You see, it had been on my mind for a while. That Thursday I had been to see Song of the See in the Light House Cinema, Smithfield. I love that cinema. I hadn't been in years and it felt nice to be back. 

The Luxury of Feeling Unmotivated Part 2

Last month I blogged about not having the ‘Luxury of Feeling Unmotivated’ anymore. It can be a struggle as an adult when you can no longer spend the day feeling totally mopey. You have responsibilities. You have a job.  

And sure, there are benefits and drawbacks of having to go to work rather than pulling the duvet covers back up.

For one thing, I thrive on keeping busy. Without responsibilities, a to-do list, motivation to get me out of bed and off my bum I crumble. That’s what happened to me last Christmas.

But some days I feel like I’m about to burn out. (Sometimes I do burn out, and my stress makes me sick – physically I mean, not just my mental health). Some days I wish I could abandon my responsibilities and stay in bed, roll over and binge watch Netflix until I get lost in so much narrative I forget why I feel so crap. And sometimes I want to take the day off just so I can remember how to feel things.

But which is best? Staying under the covers or having to leave the house?

Both have their merits.

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."

If you leave your bed and duvet behind you still have to deal with the emotions. Forcing yourself to work when your depression is sneaking up behind you and tapping you on the shoulder every few minutes isn’t easy. You can’t concentrate on what you’re being paid to do. You feel like a waste of space, and a waste of your pay cheque.

Project 1 in 4

I love looking at mental health campaigns from around the world. There's always new inspiration to be found in the war to defeat stigma. The latest one I've discovered comes from America.

Project 1 in 4 is a daily exploration of the everyday struggles that are presented by mental illness. The project creates one sketch depicting a struggle with mental illness every day for 100 days.

Here's how they describe themselves:

What this equates to is very honest, very real pictures of what it's like to live with a mental illness. Below, I've shared 5 of the images that really spoke to me the most. But go search the website for yourself, and learn that although you may feel alone, you are not.

What I really do when I’m sad

Yesterday I posted about What to do when you’re feeling sad. But the truth is, in a state of sadness (however you might define that term) it’s difficult to see outside of your feelings and into the ‘I’ll address this and make myself feel better’ frame of mind. It's all well and good giving advice, but I'm not quite as good at following my own advice 

So, here's what I really do when I’m sad:

- Isolate myself

- Lie in bed

- Don’t leave the house (except for work)

- Drink coffee

- Binge eat junk food - especially Pringles

- Cry

- Bottle it up and try not to cry

- Tweet some angsty 140 character rants

- Binge watch Netflix

- Fail to concentrate on what I’m doing

- Worry about being sad and how long it’s going to last without doing anything productive to help myself get out of the funk.

- Get angry at myself for not being productive

- Stare into space. A lot.

- Get especially irritated at the little things

I'm terrible at following my own advice. And so instead of working out my feelings through journaling, or treating myself, or releasing endorphins by exercising, I normally wallow in self pity.

Depending on the scale of my sadness, this could last a couple of days, a whole weekend, or maybe even a week.

What to do when you're sad

Things feel a little rough today. And if you're also feeling like you need a pick-me-up, here's a list of things that can help when you're sad...

- Listen to motivating talks (e.g If I Should Have A Daughter , To This Day.... for the bullied and beautiful)

- Treat yourself - buy an icecream, a mocha etc. and don't feel bad about it because you deserve it.

- Write a letter. This can be to a friend or to yourself.

- Or just write. Open a notebook and get those thoughts out onto paper.

- Make lists.

- Light candles.

- Run a bath and spend as much time as you need soaking.

- Watch your favourite film (but not a sad one!)

- Get creative and make something.

- Or colour in.

- Go outside - take a walk, sit in the park, find a forest.

- Watch the sunset.

- Make a cup of tea.

- Cuddle your pet. Or any pet. But don't steal one.

- Bake.

- Eat baked goods.

- Put on fresh bed sheets.

- Buy new pyjamas.

- Talk it through with a friend. It helps to express your pain and know that somebody has got your back.

You will get there.

Bel Esprit