Consider yourself a friend

Many of us go from our day to day lives taking care of someone else in some way. I'm the type of person who needs to help someone, I need to know my friends are okay and I feel satisfied knowing I've helped someone.

Sometimes I get a bit carried away with this, sometimes we all do, and it's only when someone leaves our life, or doesn't need our help anymore that we can find ourselves a bit...lost?

This is the moment when instead of trying to find someone else to take care of, we should look to ourselves. How many times in the past few weeks, months, year even have we taken the time to really look at ourselves? More than the material things I'm talking about here, more than buying something nice for yourself, treating yourself to something indulgent. I'm talking about really putting all of your energy into yourself, work on the bits you don't like and concentrate on the bits that you do like. Make sure you begin to feel like you again, take time to connect with yourself and take time. One way I like to do this is to visit a special little corner of the internet, it only takes a couple of minutes and can be done on a busy day, when you wake up or maybe before you go to bed to clear your mind, please check it out it's well worth it!! 

Now for the long bit :) 

A few ideas to start with could be to become a morning person. Start each day with some extra time for writing, reading or practicing yoga or Pilates instead of rushing straight to work.

I've recently found peace in journalling. Peeling back layers to heal 
yourself and look at yourself instead of pushing them into the depths of your mind. 

Give yourself acknowledgment for the accomplishments in your life, big or small.

Slow down! Try cut back on the time you spend online and on your phone. Stop rushing around and committing yourself to too many things and putting yourself under pressure just because you can.

Remember to feel things. This sounds obvious but many of us don't take the time to really let ourselves feel what we're feeling. 

Embrace your sadness and let go of it all! The more you hold onto something the heavier it gets, easier said then done I understand, but trust me it works.

Listen to your body. Try not to count calories, or stress over how much your losing and how fast your losing it. Just be mindful of what you eat and do some exercise, even if it's light, and it will happen and it will happen in the right way!

Try and let go of the memories and stories that replay from the past and any of the worries you have for the future. It's all out of your hands, there isn't anything you can do about either!

Don't cling onto your fears or anxiety.

Create a sanctuary for yourself, a time during the week to relax and be you instead of waiting to burn yourself out to do this.

It's okay not to have answers to everything.

Acknowledge the present time fully. Let yourself be with every moment, every joy, every challenge, everything!

Be positive! Eventually the world will take on a different appearance one which is kinder, more meaningful and more compassionate. 

Journaling

Recently I've began to journal. Writing down all my thoughts to expel the anger and anxiety that fill a cavity within me. It builds and builds until it's all I can think about, they're literally the only thoughts that go through my mind. All the arguments and all the words I don't necessarily want to say and have but I think about them nonetheless it takes over like a huge black blanket, it's dark and it's heavy and it feels like being inside a black storm cloud, thunder that slowly rumbles, waiting for the lighting to crash out, struggling to keep it from expelling itself, the cloud swells trying to keep it in. 

Journaling can help you get rid of a lot of things on your mind. I've found that once I've written down everything on my mind it tends to go away, or at least be kept at bay (unintentional rhyming), sometimes I might have to write a certain thing over and over until it leaves my mind but writing it all out helps me sleep better, concentrate on work better and more importantly, concentrate on me better. 

It's nice to write down every thought and every word you can't tell everyone else and know that no one will ever see it. Personally I like to keep my entries for a little while and then burn them or throw them away because, lets face it, they aren't things that you want to read over again and again like a typical diary. They are negative thoughts and I find that throwing them away can help with the 'cleansing' process!!