Battling Your Brain

It’s hard. Waking up anxious, maybe not even wanting to get out of bed—and just laying there, wondering how the heck you even got to this position in life.

I get it, I’ve been there. I might still be there.

And people love to tell you to "Get better" and "Stop being so nervous" and you just think, "Gosh, if only I’d tried that sooner." The help you need isn’t something that just anyone can provide.

I won’t be able to extinguish the anxiety, depression, and/or existential crisis—but I can certainly try and help.

So let's get started, shall we?

‘The List’

Today's starter is ‘The List’. This is going to help you schedule. I got this from my boyfriend; it's helped me for weeks.

Write this list for the next full day. Write down the date and list everything you want to achieve. Start small. Let's say you’ve wanted to get back into exercise for example. You can’t start off by writing that you want to run a marathon in the day and then do a 2 hour workout at the gym, because that’s destined for failure (unless you are Usain Bolt). You have to start by putting easy goals. Easy to achieve. Like saying you will go for a 15 minute walk somewhere. Start simple.

First off—hygiene. Showering and washing your face. If you have been struggling to look after yourself, this is a good time to get back into the routine. When feeling down, it will feel like the hardest thing in the world to get up and jump in the shower—I know how it feels, I didn’t shower for weeks. But once you do, it will make you feel so much better. First thing to feeling better, is treating yourself better.

Second—eating. Make sure you are eating enough of the right things. This was a struggle for me, because I love to comfort eat. When all felt wrong, crisps made it easier. But your body won’t thank you for it. Second step to self-improvement is giving your body the fuel it requires—and that isn’t crisps and chocolate. Saying this, though: Any food is good food if it's the only fuel your body is getting. Anything is better than nothing. Healthy eating comes into place once you are in the habit of eating three meals a day again. Don't listen to the first section if you don't eat at all. Eat something. Anything.

Third—fillers. Things to fill your day—if you work a job, that goes here. Things that you do normally or want to do. If you want to write a poem in the day, thats a filler—write it down. You can also whack any exercise you want to do in here. But ONLY put things down that will make you happy. It’s pointless putting down things that will only cause misery. Give yourself something to look forward to.

Lastly—write yourself a message to read and live by that for the day. Motivational, something to spark the day. The only thing getting in the way of your happiness are the obstacles you place yourself. So make the day as positive as possible. You can’t beat yourself up everyday, you need to cut yourself some slack. So you need to hear yourself say that you CAN do it and you CAN get better.

As much as you may feel it, you aren’t alone. There is support available. You just need to go out and get what you need to get better.

We will do it together, though.