Just keep going.

There's no denying that recently I have been going through some real difficulties, in those times of hardship I've found it almost impossible to function like a normal human being (hence the lack of blogging). I don't mean to quote Ronan Keating when I say that life is like a roller-coaster but you cannot deny that there are many up's, down's, twists and things that just turn everything upside down. It's extremely painful when you are in those low periods to see a way from them and to see that soon enough you will start climbing higher. I know that personally I get absorbed in my emotions when I am upset, hurt or angry and in all honesty I can usually only see one way out. That was until around a week ago, I realised that if I didn't actively change the way I thought then how could I ever get better or even see a future. As a result of this I've devised ten steps to make myself feel better, I've found that life is too short already and I really don't want to shorten it any more. I hope that if anyone relates to even one of things I have mentioned that you try to either follow some of my steps, or create your own. Make sure they're not unachievable goals though, they have to be simple, easy yet effective. Remember, it's important to look after ourselves - we're worthy of so much, sometimes our judgement just gets a little clouded.

001. Allow yourself 30 minutes to feel emotional, angry or sad. If you don't allow yourself to feel your emotions you will undoubtedly do more harm than good. So have a good cry, listen to sad music, but make sure that after you've spent the time feeling the emotions that you change what you're doing, put on some happy music and try and distract yourself. 

002. Create a "Be Happy" playlist full of music that you can't help but smile to, or maybe that you have vivid happy connotations of - it's been scientifically proven that upbeat music can improve your mood, and singing even more so. 

003. Distract yourself. Now this can be literally anything. I know that if I'm trying to distract myself then I will watch the television, read an inspiring book, or research some motivational quotes. If you have people around you then go and spend time with them, maybe go for a walk - just move from the environment of sadness to somewhere different. 

004. Make plans, lists and things that you want to do. This is a great one for me as a lot of the time I really lack motivation, but by creating mini adventures you have something to strive towards - it can be as big or as small as you like. 

005. Just know that you're not on your own. There are lots of people that are in the same position as you, and when you're really low I know how hard it is to see that you're loved and that you're worthy, but you are. And there is always someone there that is willing to listen. 

006. Smile, it is such a simple thing to do, yet it often gets overlooked. Smiling creates endorphins in your body that send signals to your brain that you are happy - even if you don't feel like smiling, bite a pencil or pen between your front teeth as it uses the same muscles and so sends the same message to the brain. 

007. Write a letter to yourself saying how strong you are, and list all of your positive qualities, it helps to make your brain think in a different way, and if you ever feel down again you can get it out and read it to know just how important and highly valued you are. I carry one of these in my purse that I often look at if I'm having a moment when I feel bad. 

008. Be healthy - writing this is making me cringe and I know that I should practice what I preach. I need to start putting good things in to my body in order to get the positive out - if you eat crap then you'll feel crap, it's that simple. 

009. Create a space for you to just be free from everything that stresses you out. For me this is my bedroom, I've filled it with positive things such as quotes, pictures of Adele (I love Adele!) and calming colours. It means that I have a safe haven and somewhere to go to when everything just gets a little bit too much. 

010. Sleep. If you are sleep deprived then you will not have the same amounts of energy to face the day and all of the aspects that come alongside it. Even if you're not tired, make yourself a cup of tea and read in bed, it doesn't take me long to fall asleep when I do this - a candle is always a good bet too. 

Ultimately though it's just about taking care of the most important thing - you.