I said on Twitter last month that I wanted to start doing more personal posts on my blog; I kicked off this months selection of posts with probably the most personal post I’ve ever written and you know what? It felt good. It was scary. But it felt good having written it. This is my space on the internet after all – nobody else’s. Why can’t I talk about my private life, my personal problems and my own experiences?
Whether summer has hit where you are right now or not, chances are, if you’re a hay fever sufferer like me, you’ve already started or are starting to think about what you’re going to do to make these summer months sneeze-free. I have been a chronic hay fever sufferer since I was little and whilst I am eternally grateful that that is where my ailments stop and whilst I’m fully aware it could be much, much worse, that doesn’t mean that I don’t suffer terribly during the summer. Because I do. Boy, I do. Think about my eyes so swollen I can barely see and not being able to breathe through my nose without the help of a nasal spray for months on end. What a pretty sight that is!
I’m not sure if I believe in fate or “signs” from the universe but there’s no doubt that things happen sometimes that make you ponder. Receiving an email from Fab Little Bag for me, was one of those things. There I was, PMS’ing like cray cray; my boobs felt like bags of sand, my skin resembled that of a 13 year old boy and I had heartburn galore when up pops an email from this company. On the cusp of my period, I received an email from a period-related-company who want to send me a period-related-product? If that’s not a sign, then I don’t know what is.
I am all for self-care. Despite the fact it’s deemed a by-product of our generation and sense of entitlement, I can’t help but think, ‘why shouldn’t we be entitled to look after ourselves the best we can?’ And even, on occasion, before we look after anybody else. We are our own biggest commitment after all and we’re the only person in the entire world that we are stuck with forever so for that reason, I believe in self-care and its importance. But what I’ve been thinking about more and more recently is the actual self care “routines” we are often bombarded with which are sure to make us feel better and increase our mental wellbeing.
I am a 24 year-old female and I have a hella lot of trouble sleeping sometimes. Lack of sleep, insomnia or just general problems sleeping are usually associated with older people, right? Like menopause or health problems that occur later in life that might prevent people from falling asleep as easily and as naturally. It definitely sucks but older people have options to make night time more pleasant, like adjustable beds and riser recliner chairs for example which can make a huge difference to your wellbeing associated around sleep. But what about us young’un’s?
I am not here to repeat the utter tripe that started the whole #JustGoForAWalk frenzy on twitter a little while ago (if you don’t know what happened, basically someone said to the mental health community that their depression and anxiety could be cured by ‘just going for a walk’ – make of that what you will). As an anxiety sufferer myself, I know fully well that just ‘going for a walk’ does not cure all your mental health concerns. But… whilst it won’t cure you completely, walking, exercise and getting outside into nature and the fresh air can have a huge positive impact on your mental (and physical) wellbeing. From my own experiences, I wanted to share some of the ways me and my mental health has benefitted from it.
This post idea has been on my “post ideas” list for a long time now. I was planning on writing it around the beginning of Blogtober but kept putting it off and putting it off for some completely unknown reason. I don’t know whether I was worried that what I was going to say might anger people (even though that’s a ridiculous notion) or whether I wasn’t as outspoken enough to write a post like this but I figured to hell with those thoughts and wanted to write it anyway. Education is great – I loved school, truly loved it. But it’s no secret that schools, all schools, seriously lack certain elements of education that really, really need to be addresses. And if they are already addressed, chances are, students are still left in a haze of bewilderment because the teacher has scratched the surface of the topic and sent them on their way.
When we’re young and going through the big P (puberty, for those who glossed over that one), we’re given so much information about what is happening to us and our bodies and it’s a lot to take in. There’s also a lot of things that we don’t get taught or even made aware of at such a young age and only when we start getting older and more knowledgeable do we even start to learn about these essential parts of growing up and more importantly, womanhood. Most of the things I know now I actually researched and found out about myself. The only thing I remember being shown at school was a tampon in a glass of water so we could see how it expands (what?). But if I had a girl, I’d like to think I would teach her everything – so when she turns into a young woman, she wouldn’t have to spend hours on Google, reading leaflets or asking for advice on Twitter.
The notion of self-care is one that’s been somewhat pushed on us more and more, especially over what seems to be the last year or so. Before I started blogging, I can’t say I had ever heard the phrase “self-care” before in my life. That being said, I thing self-care is extremely important and if anything, the fact that it’s been talked about here, there and everywhere right now is a welcome reminder to all of us to take damn care of ourselves every once in a while.
I’ve never been a fan of my teeth. I’ve never had braces, I’ve always hated the dentist and they’re definitely not pearly white. For that reason. I won’t be including any photos of my teeth in this post because the crookedness will make me far too self-conscious. Despite all that however, I do look after my teeth and have always wanted whiter teeth – contemplating the various procedures and expensive mouth guards you can buy in order to achieve a sparkling white smile. I’ve tried various whitening toothpastes in the past and am always open to trying something new. Which is where White Glo come in!
