AD/PR → This is a brand collaboration. While I have been compensated my opinions are mine and always true to my experience. ♥ Bee
I always find autumn is a hard time to look after yourself physically and mentally and I’m sure this year it won’t be any different. Like most people, I have found it really challenging over the last few years and I’m determined to not let myself go downhill.
Nights get darker, it seems to rain a lot with very little light, it gets cold, there is nothing to look forward to and everyone seems a little less happy. However, saying this autumn is also a season I love so this year I’m embracing that.
So here are some of the things I do to look after myself during autumn.
Eat Better
The temptation is to eat carbs, carbs, more carbs, and ice cream and while occasionally I will do that, it tends to really make me feel sluggish and leaves me with low energy. So I always go looking for new and exciting recipes in autumn making sure I also think of lunches.
I am dreadful with eating, I’m not someone who loves food so I really have to try hard to make sure I get easy and simple recipes.
Planning my lunches and meals for the week really helps and I make sure I go shopping with a list. This is much easier now I am not living at home but still, it is something I have to force myself to do.
I’m a vegetarian too so the temptation to just live on pasta is very real for me.
I notice such a difference in my energy especially in the darker months with what I eat.
The Outside
For those of you that know me you know I’m not a fan of the outside the introvert in me always wants to be inside. Normally in autumn, I force myself to meet up with friends and go out at least once every two weeks to make sure I don’t become a hermit.
2020 was a difficult year in this respect, and I’m still cautious to so anywhere crowded. This autumn I am going to make sure I go outside and breathe some fresh air at least once a day, even if it’s just in the small garden. I know this doesn’t sound like much but believe me, for me it is.
Get Dressed
I’m laughing so hard at this one but honestly, the temptation to stay in my pj’s all day is so real. This is partly why I started taking daily outfit pictures because I have to get up and get dressed to take a picture daily. I’ve made sure this year I’ve got comfortable clothes I love and I intend to get dressed most days.
When I get dressed especially in an outfit I love I always feel so much better.
The Inside
When I find myself getting a bit down about the weather or the virus or just life I have made a list of five things I love about this time of year and the way we are living at the moment. I’ve memorized them and every time I feel myself getting down I repeat them to myself. It’s really a way of showing myself that everything in my head is really just bull.
I have a similar list when I find myself comparing my journey to others and feeling I am failing. Whenever my inner voice starts to tell me I am doing badly I say, well that’s not true because and then repeat my list.
This is something my mum taught me as an ex-police officer she is all about evidence, she always said ‘if you can find one piece of evidence that counteracts what you are thinking it can’t be true can it?’. And she was right. It doesn’t work every time but most times it gets me out of a funk.
I hope this has helped you in some way and by looking at my list you might at least do one thing to make yourself feel better. Autumn can be a really difficult time for a lot of people. Our mental health does not generally do well in autumn, or at least mine doesn’t.
Remember however you feel it will pass, it’s just a moment and if someone out there thinks you are an OK human then maybe you are. Oh and just in case you are thinking no one thinks you are ok I do.
