Staying Calm

 

If there's one thing that I will spend my life trying to accurately master, its the act of staying calm. I'm a truly positive person in general, and get excited about the littlest of things, but the other side to me is one of worry. Part of growing up (some may call it adult-ing), is learning what soothes you, and calms your nerves. Throughout my teenage years I think I've near enough perfected my list, so I thought I'd share the wisdom, because there ain't nothing worse than that panicky feeling in the pit of your stomach.

 

Writing

I don't think there's anything in life that writing can't solve, honestly. I'm assuming that this might be a mutual feeling, since a lot of us write on our corners of the internet - sitting down with a notebook and filling it with thoughts and fiction has always been a kind of solice for me. There's something about expressing your thoughts that lets the negative ones seep away. Side note: writing with a hot chocolate gives you bonus points.

 

Therapy Balms

This is a new one for me, and I recently wrote a post about my favourite therapy balm brand here. Focusing on such a strong scent takes my mind off the long list of worries in my head, and for at least a minute, I let my mind become a clean slate. (Sometimes, a minute is all you need. For me, panicking happens very quickly, so a minute of calm makes a world of difference).

 

Poetry

Most of the time, reading in general settles me in about five minutes flat. Occasionally though, I'm too restless to shift my attention to a novel, so snuggling up in a blanket and reading a couple of poems gives me enough time to divert my attention. I received 'Milk and Honey' for my birthday in April, and its a goodun'. Wholeheartedly recommend. Rupi Kaur has a gift for phrasing thoughts so beautifully and eloquently.



 

 

Making lists

This method is an old one. I vividly remember my Mum telling me to make lists in my mind when I couldn't get to sleep/calm down back in my younger days. When I was in primary school, we used to sit together every night and make a 'worry list' of all the things that had cycled around in my head that day, and I guess the habit has stuck. To-do lists are my favourite to focus on; feeling organised never fails to calm me down and the practice of handwriting a list can also be a real gem when it comes to settling.

 

Keying into your senses

I've seen this circling around the internet in the last few months, and I've been trying it out a lot whenever I begin to feel anxious. Essentially, think of all the things you can smell/see/taste/hear/touch, and again (like the other methods) it shifts your attention to a different task. That's the theme around here; moving away from the stressful thoughts and towards anything else that you can grasp, is what really helps. I know that for some people TV is effective - personally the consistent noise unsettles me and I prefer silence, but its all a learning curve to find what works for you.

 

If you have any methods of your own, I'd love to hear them in the comments! I hope you're enjoying the slight shift away from a purely beauty based blog; I still adore writing about my glosses, but lifestyle is a genre I want to incorporate more and more. Particularly with mental health, which I've kept silent about in the past but finally feel comfortable talking about.