I'm insanely stressed out at the moment, if I'm being honest. School is so much work, my family is being extremely overwhelming, and I feel like I'm drowning in expectations that are set by people who aren't me.
So yesterday I took the entire day to attempt to destress and treat myself for a bit. And, since I'm stressing out again today, I thought I would come on here and share with you what I do to destress!
I'll separate everything into "categories" and "subcategories"
1. Environment
Your environment makes a huge impact on your mental wellbeing. If you're life is cluttered, your head will be cluttered, and you'll feel overwhelmed and stressed out and it doesn't help.
The first thing I do to fix my environment is clean my room. My room is generally clean but lately it's been a mess, so I got some trash bags and cleaned everything. Including the drawers that I've been avoiding since last year. After hours of shlepping and a full trashbin later, my room was clean and organized and I felt a huge weight off of my shoulders. So yes, cleaning your room helps.
Next is "setting the mood". I usually "set the mood" by lighting a candle or playing my favorite music. My favorite candle is either my Eucalyptus Mint or Flower Shop candles by Bath and Body Works.
Music wise, my favorite band has been Mayday Parade since 7th grade, my favorite singer is Ed Sheeran and has been for a while now. I've also recently discovered Birdy, who is absolutely flawless and perfect and her voice is stunning and I don't know how I didn't learn about her earlier. Open a new tab and search Skinny Love by Birdy on YouTube right now. Now.
2. Pamper!
This is one of my favorite things to do, but then again isn't it one of everyones?
The first thing I did was throw my hair up in a bun, grab my Glamour magazine, ran a bath and chilled with bubbles for around an hour. Warm water always calms me down, even in the dead of summer. Bubble Baths are just amazing. My favorite bath products come from Lush. They're cheap/affordable, and they work amazingly.
Next I smothered on some thick, good smelling lotion and an acne mask. The one I used was a sample of the Origins 10 minute miracle, or something along those lines, which made me look like a mime. While that was sitting on my face, I painted my nails. This isn't so out of the ordinary as I paint my nails at least 3 times a week anyway, but it still calmed me down.
Nails done, face done, I then put on some boxers and a worn in shirt and climbed into bed.
3. Relaxing.
This may seem pretty obvious, but relaxing calms me down a lot. My favorite ways to "relax" are going on my tumblr + reading. I spent hours and hours and hours blogging and reading and it was a lovely way to spend my day.
If you're looking for a new read, I recommend reading Looking For Alaska by John Green, or Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green + David Levithan. Looking for Alaska is a bit more serious than Will Grayson Will Grayson, which puts me into a fit of never ending laughter whenever I read it.
So this post was on the longer side, but I hope it helped!
xxx,
Ashley
