Had a Bad Day?

I've been wanting to let you all in on what I do when feeling down, because hey, it happens to all of us. For me these help reduce stress, overthinking and general anxiousness, and became practically rituals over the recent exam season.

• prepare fruit (or cooking in general, whatever you fancy) - oddly therapeutic, unsurprisingly very tasty

• browse Free People - the styling, the visuals, the photography... All so aesthetically pleasing, I can scroll for hours 

• watch anything David Attenborough - The "Africa" series on Netflix has been my favourite recently. Man this is like an emotional rollercoaster; you can be egging on a baby turtle to reach the ocean one minute, and the next minute be borderline crying over a tiny bird after seeing he's being hunted by prey. Also, the videography is immense, which makes it stunning to watch and very addictive

• catch up on a couple of Youtube subscriptions - Watching a good YouTube video is always a nice way to chill out, see my favourite channels listed here 

• look up at the sky - (I'm telling you the sky doesn't get enough credit) Gazing at sunrises, sunsets, stars, cloud speckled blue skies, whatever's up there. Some of my best/ most reflective thoughts happen when I do this, it's both beautiful and calming

• listen to music that reflects your mood - if you want cheering up then of course go ahead and blast that mid 2000s pop playlist. But if you feel the need to sing along to 'Fix You' whilst staring out a rainy window the day before an exam, nobody's stopping you from hitting play on those slow Coldplay/Tom Odell/James Bay tunes

• watch impractical jokers (aka marathon your favourite show of choice) - OK clearly TV helps me escape all my problems. This show though can have me in tears of laughter, though I warn you I have the same humour as a 12 year old boy so Impractical Jokers might not be for everyone

• go outside - I know you've heard this a million times already, but it genuinely does have a soothing effect. Stopping to appreciate wildlife and plants or breathing in fresh air to cleanse and relax clouded headspace can really help ease stress (plus your camera roll becomes full of cute flower pics). Bonus tip for any of you going through exams right now, take your materials/flashcards outside! Walking the dog whilst lecturing my poor mum about A level geography was so much better than sitting at the dining table staring at dull notes, let me tell you

Remember, bad times are temporary ~ 'onwards and upwards' :)