My Skin Journey After Coming Off Acne Meds.

Hi my loves! I hope you’ve had a great week so far. This week I’ve been busy with work and I’ve caught up with family which has been lovely; and because I’ve been so busy this past week I’ve been making sure that I’m making a few minutes each day (minimum) to practice some self care so I don’t feel too overwhelmed and exhausted.

One thing I’ve been doing for my selfcare is my skincare routine, which I’ve recently switched up a bit after binge watching Skincare with Hyram on YouTube! In switching up my skincare routine and products I started reflecting on how my skin has changed over the last few years, and let me tell you, it’s been a ride.

So, today I’m going to be telling, and mostly showing you, my skin journey to how I got to where I am now!

And with that said, let’s jump into it!

Let me take you back to this time last year, where I decided after much deliberation that I wanted to come off the medication I was on for my acne and for contraception. The reasoning behind this was purely for the fact that the pill I was on (an extremely high dose of co-cyprindiol) made me feel low, tired and started giving me migranes.

When I was taking this medication my skin was clear and felt great. (You can see another skin history post from that time here).

I was hoping that my body would be able to cope and wouldn’t erupt when I came off of the pill, but boy oh boy was I wrong.

For reference, here’s my skin whilst I was on the pill:

Here’s my skin on the day I decided to finally give up the medication:

I had the odd pimple now and again but I was extremely happy with how my skin looked without makeup on; but I just couldn’t justify taking a pill that made my mood low that came with loads of other side effects just for clear skin. So, I stopped taking it.

After a few months, my skin seemed fine still, which I now realise must’ve been due to my body having so many hormones etc in it from the taking the pill for over 4 years! Here’s my skin in October and November:

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Not bad at all right!

Well, Christmas went by and here we are in January, and as you can see, my skin has started to get a few more spots:

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Here’s February:

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Then in March, I had my worst skin I have ever had in my life. So bad in fact, that I did not want to go out, and refused to leave the house without makeup on other than for work. The first photo is on the 15th March, and then the other two are literally from 2 days later!

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My face was painful to touch, and nothing I did was helping it, and I was beginning to think that I should just bite the bullet and go back on the pill again. But, nevertheless, I persevered! I started using an Adapalene Retinol cream nightly, which got my skin to this point:

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If you’ve read my review of the Carbon Theory Soap Bar then you’ll have seen the above and below photos before!

Here’s after using the soap bar after a few weeks/months:

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And as you can see, the soap bar seemed to work a bit of magic! It was at this point that I’ve really delved into my skincare routine and am beginning to make my skincare routine a real habit that I actually remember to do every morning and night.

Here’s my skin in April:

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And then May:

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And the we get to June:

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And finally, here we are today:

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As you can see, my skin is still far from perfect. However, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable in it and I’m not afraid to do photoshoots without covering my discolouration, roseacea, spots and scars up!

Since switching up my skincare routine and makeup products, I now no longer wear foundation or bb cream because I’m trying to love my skin as it is, and I often forget that my skin without makeup isn’t that bad anymore! It’s been a learning curve and shaving my head has also helped with this because there’s no hair to hide behind!

Also, side note: I’ve decided to grow my hair back out long and curly (like the previous photos!)! I loved it that length, and I can’t wait for my hair to be the healthiest it’s ever been! After a few months my hair is already beginning to curl like it did when it was longer so I’m looking forward to seeing how curl it’ll get since there’s no heat damage this time round!

And that my friends, is my skin journey from the past year. It’s certainly had some pretty bad moments, but I feel like I’m in a place now where my skin will only get better over more time. I also read somewhere that after being on the pill for such a long time, it can take around 2 years for you hormone levels to go back to normal and your skin to regulate itself again. So I guess I’ll be doing an update and where my skin is at in a 2021!!

Well, that’s all from me today my lovelies! What’s a skincare product you can’t live without? For me it’s definitely my cleanser and SPF! Let me know in the comments!

Have a great weekend my loves!

Love,

5 Audiobooks I’ve Listened To and Loved.

Happy Saturday my lovelies!! Sorry I have been missing the last week or two, I’ve been dealing with some personal challenges; but I’m back now and better than ever! Over the last few weeks, I’ve been taking some time for selfcare, and one thing I’ve been getting really into is listening to audiobooks.

So, why are audiobooks great? Well, they are perfect for long car journeys by yourself, great for when you’re home alone, and I love them for when you’re too tired to move and watch tv but not too tired to actually go to sleep.

I currently listen to audiobooks through Audible (not sponsored, but it could be – Amazon.. you listening?), and the only reason I even began listening to audiobooks was after listening to podcasts on youtube (mostly the TryPod by the Try Guys and Kelsey Darragh’s podcast, which are both great!) whilst doing other things like cleaning my room or painting.

So.. I thought I’d let you know what I’ve been listening to!

Let’s get right into it:

1 . The Harry Potter Series – Read by Stephen Fry. Look, you know I love Harry Potter, so this was a given recommendation. But also, if you’re after something that’s incredibly easy listening and calming, Stephen Fry reading you a bedtime story is just a perfect way to end the day and wind down.

2 . The Hidden Power of Fucking Up – Read by The Try Guys. I love the Try Guys, for many reasons, which I may or may not get into in future posts.. we’ll see. It’s basically the story of 4 guys who funnily enough, try things out of their comfort zone and also run a youtube channel; oh and they’re hilarious so be prepared for a laugh! They get into personal stories and tries, share the good and the bad and are genuinely lovely human beings without a hint of toxic masculinity in them.

3 . Over The Top, By Jonathan Van Ness and read by him! It’s Jonathan’s story, from what his childhood was like, to how he became the absolute icon he is today! If you love Queer Eye, then you’ll love this; Jonathan shares everything and is so incredibly open it’ll make you love him even more!

4 . How to Break Up with Fast Fashion, By Lauren Bravo. I bought this with my monthly Audible credit on a whim, and I was not disappointed! I listened to this entire book from start to finish in the space of two days, and in those two days I overhauled my wardrobe and am grateful to now have a new view on my clothes and a realisation on how many clothes I actually have. Too many, incase you were wondering.

5 . And finally: Body Positive Power, By Megan Jayne Crabbe, or as you may know her on instagram – @bodyposipanda. I found this book perfect for those days where you just aren’t feeling happy with yourself and your body image. It’s helped me see my body in a new light and appreciate everything it has and continues to do for me and allow me to do. Need a body image pick me up? Then this book is for you!

And those are my recent listens in my Audible library. I loved every single one of these listens, and nearly every time I was listening to these I found that I was either super relaxed and chilling out, or I was being more productive in my spare time than ever before. I also found that it’s a great substitution to having the tv on for the sake of having the tv on because you want background noise. My favourite time to listen to audiobooks is when I’m cleaning/organising and painting.

Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, what’re you listening to now? Let me know in the comments!! I’d love some new recommendations!

And that’s all from me for today! I’m now off to go and find a new book to listen to and paint a huge canvas; which I may or may not record a timelapse of, we’ll see how it turns out haha!

Have a great weekend my lovelies!

Love,

Having Confidence To Be Yourself.

Hello my lovelies! I hope you had a good week! This week has been super busy as usual, but I did manage to have a little time to see my sister, niece and nephew! And with seeing them, my sister brought me some funky new earrings that I absolutely adore. Which leads me to today’s post, having confidence to be yourself, no matter what others think.

So, this week I decided to talk to you about confidence. Specifically in having confidence in being yourself regardless of other people’s opinions.

For me, I can remember being tiny and having absolutely zero self-esteem issues and having complete confidence in myself and giving no fucks. And I can also remember when I began giving all of the fucks to what people thought about me and my appearance.

Sadly that day came in primary school when all of the year 6 girls (myself included) got to wear their Brownie uniforms to school. I had no care in the world about how I looked, I was just happy I got to wear something other than my usual uniform; and then came a comment from one of the kids in my class, it was something along the lines of: “why are you wearing those pants? You look stupid”.

And poof. Insecurities as far as the eyes could see.

Several years of bullying throughout school later, all I wanted was to fit in. And then a few years working in two different jobs types, and spending some time working on myself away from negative people.

As time went on, my confidence has grown quite a lot, and I think that is partly due to ‘The Weight Of My Worlds’! I say partly but I think that’s actually a huge factor for me.

Something just clicked in me one day and I decided that from then on I was going to be completely apologetically myself. Regardless of what other people think, because someone who’s worth spending your time with will only lift you up and not put you down.

My tips for building confidence in yourself are:

1. Looking at yourself in the mirror, as you are, without makeup, without fancy clothes, just as you are. Get used to you and your appearance.
2. Don’t be afraid to be weird when you’re by yourself, be as weird as you want to be by yourself so much so that when you’re with your loved ones you start being yourself more because you’re more comfortable with yourself.
3. Fake it til you make it! I love this phrase because it’s something that I’ve done for a long time and it definitely helped me in my early days trying to build my confidence. It’s also a good one for anxiety!
4. Wear whatever you want to. Wanna wear a skirt? Wear a skirt. Wanna wear a suit? Wear a suit. Wanna wear crazy patterns. Wear em. Wear what makes you happy!
5. Do a complete detox. Anything that doesn’t make you feel good, get rid! Social media was a big one for me, so I unfollowed all of the accounts that made me feel bad about myself and followed loads of positive ones that made me feel good.

So, what’re some things that I do now that I wouldn’t before?

Well, for a start, I now don’t care about what people think of my appearance or personality anymore; because I am me and guess what? I’m pretty great as I am.

How else do I know I’m more confident than before? Well, I would never pose or do photoshoots where other people could see me, and now I am not afraid to strike a pose in public!

Another thing that’s changed is that I’m not afraid to wear whatever wacky, weird and quirky things I want. At the moment I’m really into crazy shoes and jewellery! My sister gave me these awesome gumball machine earrings that I can’t get enough of!

So, that’s a bit about how my confidence has gone through ups and downs and ups again and how I have improved my confidence! Have you got any tips and tricks that make you feel more confident? Let me know in the comments!

And remember, you are perfect just as you are. Be apologetically yourself because you’re incredible! Be bright, be bold, be you!

Have a great weekend my lovelies!

Love,

My 5 Favourite Storytime Posts.

Happy Saturday everyone! This week I’ve been busy journaling, catching up with friends and family and I’ve been practicing some selfcare. And speaking of journaling and selfcare; this week I’m going to share with you my top 5 favourite storytime posts I’ve written.

So, onto my top 5 posts! Let’s get into it!

1 . I Found Out My Ancestry With 23 and Me.

I loved writing this post. For ages I wanted to find out my ancestry and I still go back to look at my 23 and me profile regularly to see that I’ve got more and more DNA relatives!

2 . I Hate My Belly, So I Got My Belly Button Pierced.

This post will always hold a special place in my heart. For as long as I can remember I’ve hated my stomach, and that all changed when I wrote this post. I think it’s the furthest I’ve ever pushed myself out of my comfort zone as an experiment and I have stopped hating on my stomach every since. I mean, I still have other parts of my body I like more, but I’m a long way away from hate.

3 . Why I’m Refusing To Make New Years Resolutions About My Body.

I got a lot of responses from this post. And I think it’s because I’m not sure I’ve ever seen any posts like this about new years resolutions. And I’m happy to say that this one will always be a favourite of mine because I think it raised an important point for lots of people who weren’t a fan of themselves, and why they should learn to love themselves and spent their time on better things than self-hatred.

4 . Learning To Play An Instrument.

I am still so so happy that I wrote this post, and it partly came with my new years resolutions and it’s been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to play the piano. And guess what?! I’ve kept up my learning since this post and I’m not about to stop now! I can’t believe how far my learning has come and I can now play a few beautiful songs from memory and read sheet music!

5 . Being An Apprentice.

This post was one I had wanted to write for a really long time, and it’s a post all about my job, why I decided to become an apprentice in my 20s and why it’s important to celebrate your successes, no matter how big or small they are!

So those are my top 5 favourite storytime posts from this year! It’s amazing to me that we’re already 3/4’s of the year through and that I’ve had my blog for over a year and a half!

Have you got a favourite post of mine? I like writing these posts every few weeks as it’s a great way to reflect over what’s been happening and what my favourite topics are to write about!

And that’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed today’s post, it’s always great fun writing about my life, interests, hobbies and being creative in general; coming up with new ideas and posts for you is something I always try to do, and if you’ve got any ideas for posts you want to see from me, let me know in the comments below!

Have a great weekend everybody! Love,

Taking Some Me Time.

Happy Saturday my lovelies! This week we’re talking me-time. Self-care. Down-Time. Whatever you like to call it, I’m letting you into how I like to make time for myself.

We all have stressful days here and there, and we all deal with them in different ways, so this week I’m hoping to either give you some ideas on how you can make time for yourself. Or this’ll just be a healthy reminder of some of the small things you’re already doing without realising it’s something you do to make yourself feel good as self-care.

Self-care is often perceived as a bubble bath and a face mask in my eyes, and don’t get me wrong, those’re definitely I like to do to relax too, but there’s loads of other small things I do for some me-time.

So, enough blabbering from me, here’s what I like to do!

Get an early nights sleep.

Who doesn’t like staying in bed? If we love having lay-ins so much why not go to bed earlier and have longer in bed? I struggle to actually stay in bed once I’ve woken up – which is usually around 7 without my alarm so going to bed earlier let’s me have at least an extra hour in bed without feeling like I’ve wasted the next day.

Spending time on my hair.

Ever since I decided I wasn’t going to straighten my natural curls and waves anymore, I started taking care of my hair in a way that I have never done before. Before I’d brush it like mad, hate the frizz and straighten it everyday all whilst using sulfates and silicones on my hair damaging it. Whereas now I do bi-weekly protein and moisture hair masks, use more natural hair products and I avoid using heat at all costs. It takes more time than before, but I like to listen to my favourite music and spend that time in the moment, relaxing.

Organising my things.

I love a tidy room. And I’ve learnt overtime that when I begin to see mess piling up in my room it’s a sign that mental health is taking a dip. So I then take time to get everything organised and make sure that I do spend some more time doing things that make me feel good(in other words, what’s on this list!).

Taking a bubble bath.

It’s a classic I know, but I won’t deny that I enjoy a big bubble bath with candles, Netflix on my laptop and a nice cold drink. There’s not much else to say about that one!

Listening to my body.

This is new to me. Something you may or may not know about me is that I struggle with back problems (I’ll do a post about it all at some point!), and for me that means that I’m near enough in some form of constant pain. Sucks I know, but life goes on! Because I’m often in pain, over time I stopped listening to what my body needs and then suffering because of it. So recently I’m trying to actually listen to how my body is feeling and if I’m struggling then I give myself permission to simply stay home in my bed with snacks.

Doing my physio exercises.

Leading on from my last one, when I’m in pain that can be an indicator that I should try doing some more of my physio exercises to try and ease my pain. Plus, this helps me in the long run, and it’s time well spent since it then make the next day a bit easier on my body!

Reading a good book.

Who doesn’t like to curl up somewhere cosy with a good book? I’m currently reading ‘Happy Fat’ by Sofie Hagen and I’m loving it. It’s all about loving yourself, how society continues to spread fat phobic messages (whether we’re aware of it or not) and why you should stop hating your body.

Making myself a cup of tea.

If you’ve been here since the start of  ‘The Weight Of My Worlds’ then you’ll know that I’m a bit of a tea addict.. which is why I’ve recently switch to exclusively decaf tea! And I try to stay mindful when I’m making my tea and of course I just love a good cuppa. Bonus points if it’s in a super cute mug like this!

Watching old TV series’ that I love.

Although disputed, I love old TV series that are no longer in circulation or that came out years ago, in particular crime/CSI style shows like Bones, Castle, NCIS, CSI and so many more. That doesn’t make me weird does it? Well.. I don’t care anyway haha it’s great television.

Spending time on my hobbies.

I have a long long list of hobbies, most of them creative. So I like to spend time drawing, painting, sculpting, up-cycling, sewing, playing the piano and interior design. I can’t count how many times I’ve redone my room in some way, in fact, I’m actually re-painting mine as we speak!

Styling clothes.

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You look good when you feel good, right? I certainly do. Plus I was known for changing my outfit multiple times a day when I was younger, but what can I say, I like to change things up! I wear different styles depending on my mood and creating and styling clothes based on that is always fun.

And that’s it from me! Those are some of the things that I like to do when I’m needing some me-time. There’s more, but I think we’d be here for quite some time! It’s important to make some time for yourself, because you matter and self-care is NOT selfish.

What do you like to do when you need time for yourself? Did you get some new ideas from here? Or did you not realise you might already be practising some self-care without realising it? Let me know in the comments!

Might I suggest spending some time this bank holiday for yourself? Have a good one my lovelies!

Love,

Birthday Reflections.

Thursday was my birthday!! Which means I ate cake, got pampered and did a bit of reflecting on what I want for the next year of my life. I guess it’s a little like new years resolutions but without the guilt if you break them. Reflecting on what I want for myself in the next months is something I’ve never really done before, but the time just feels right.

So, lets get into it!

1 . I am learning (and loving) how to be unapologetically myself.

2 . I want to wear whatever I want, no matter how wacky, weird or boring without fear of being judged, because my opinion is the only one that matters when it comes to my appearance!

How cute was my birthday outfit?! I love that jumper and accessories so much!

3 . Not feeling guilty for any food I eat or workouts that I don’t do.

4 . Be proud of myself for my little achievements.

5 . I want to schedule away at least one day a month for a selfcare day.

6 . Continue to push myself out of my comfort zone and try more new things.

7 . I want to read more books, I love reading but struggle to find stories I get sucked into, so I am on a mission to find some new books!

8 . Learning to love my hair when it’s natural and style it without heat.

9 . Continue blogging as it has brought me so much joy, and I love being creative!

10 . Giving people compliments when I like something about them, whether it’s a piece of clothing, their personality, attitude and/or anything really. It’s always nice bringing a smile to someone’s face, and you never know how much of a difference it can make to someone’s day.

Well, that’s what I’m going to be doing for this upcoming year, and I can’t wait to see what it’s going to throw at me! And I cant wait to see where I’m at in another years time.

So here’s to being another year older, wiser, happier and more comfortable in my own skin. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Love,

 

 

What Is Classed As Selfcare?

It’s #SelfcareWeek ! And it’s got me thinking, what do we actually think classes as selfcare? For me, I typically start thinking about face masks and bubble baths. And well yes that can be classed as selfcare; but as amazing as those things are, there are hundreds of other things you can do. And over the last few days, I’ve been partaking in a few of these myself.

The thought for this post came to me whilst I was walking home from the gym; it occurred to me that even though I think of lots of luxurious things as self-care, there are lots of small things I do for myself that make me feel good, and these count too.

Here’s a few things I’ve been doing for myself that aren’t always considered self-care:

• Going to the gym, and doing what I want there, if I don’t feel like doing the stair climber today, I just don’t do it and I refuse to feel guilty about it!)
• Buying myself a hot chocolate when walking home after going to the gym.
• Putting on my moisturizer.
• Listening to the Peptalk app (I highly recommend this one for when you’re commuting and walking anywhere, it’s a great motivational tool!)
• Watching videos by Glamour, Ladylike, As/Is and the Try Guys.
• Self Affirmations.
• Watching Nikkietutorials (believe it or not I watch Nikkie’s videos when I’m at the gym and they make me so happy!)
• Cleaning my room.
• Playing with makeup.
• Putting on makeup when I’m not going anywhere!
• Lighting scented candles.
• Having a bubble bath.
• Unfollowing any social media profiles that make me feel bad about myself.
• Watching my favourite films.
• Cooking my favourite food.
• Singing in the shower.
• Talking to friends.
• Finishing work ON TIME.
• Related to the above – not looking at work emails when I’m off work.
• Making myself a great breakfast.
• Blogging.
• Painting, drawing and being creative.
• Getting 7/8 hours sleep.
• Wearing thermal socks.
• Using a 99p face mask.
• Chatting to my sister.
• Seeing my Niece and Nephew on FaceTime reeking havoc in my sisters house.
• Driving round to look at Christmas Lights when they go up.
• Making myself a cup of tea.
• Meeting up with friends for a chat/food/movies (basically spending time with the important people in your life)
• Wearing my favourite clothes.

Honestly the list could go on and on. I love selfcare, sometimes I do still feel selfish or guilty for spending time on ourselves, but we really shouldn’t. We’re stuck with ourselves for life so we better take care of that person we see in the mirror.

And at the end of the day, if something makes you happy and feel good, it’s probably your own version of selfcare. We’re all different so it’s impossible to say that one thing will work for everyone; telling someone to go take a bubble bath to relax if they hate having baths is pretty pointless. It’s a personal thing.

Some of the things in my list you might not consider to be selfcare, but for me, they are. Just doing one small thing for yourself a day can make such a difference to your mood and wellbeing. And myself from a year ago would say something along the lines of “I’ll start next week or in the new year”, but that’s not how I think anymore, the time to start is now.

That’s all from me today, I’m off to go get myself a hot chocolate and sit in a blanket with a book. Have a great weekend lovelies! You’re all amazing!

Love,

P.S. The UK Blog Awards are now open for voting! It’d mean the world to me if you could vote for me my lovelies!! 

10 Cheap Things To Buy Yourself For Self-Care

We all know that feeling when pay day hits; you know, the feeling you get when that little voice in your head says treat yo self! You deserve it! And then you go and buy a load of stuff that you forget about until you’re surrounded by loads of mystery packages.

I’m pretty bad for buying stuff that I don’t need when pay day hits, and I always forget about budgets and keeping track of my spending habits, which is until the week before pay day where I don’t stop checking my bank balance.

This is why I’ve decided to create a list of 10 presents you can buy yourself for a treat which are great for some self-care without breaking the bank! And they’re all available on Amazon!

Lets get into it!
1 . Success & Inspiration in a Jar. £14.99

Because who doesn’t need a little pick me up every now and again? These are little quotes, inspirations and motivations to give you a boost every day for a month and are great for if you’re having a bad day and need a little positivity boost!
2 . Mini Elephant Shaped Candles Gift Set. £5.11

These are just so cute! They are all scented as follows: Purple is Lavendar, Green is Jasmine, Pink is Rose, Red is Strawberry and Yellow is Lemongrass. These would be great for when you have a big bubble bath to relax!
3 . BiC Coloured Pencils. £10.00

Coloured pencils are always a good treat, and are necessary when you buy the next gift for yourself!

4 . Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom Colouring Book. £7.19

Colouring isn’t just for little kids; it can be really therapeutic and great for mindfulness. I personally love tuning out and doing a bit of drawing, so being able to chill out and just colour is great!

5 . Bath Bombs Gift Set. £8.99

Bath bombs are great for going with those cute elephant candles and these are a great gift to buy yourself and forget about. They come in a cute box so it really is like getting a present in the post!

6 . Bluetooth Shower Speaker. £17.99

This one is a little more pricey than the rest but still less than £20. And is great if you’re like me and love singing in the shower!

7 . Bumper Retro Sweet Selection Box. £11.50

Sweets and chocolates are a great way to do a bit of self-care; and retro sweets are so yummy! This should keep you going for quite a few weeks too, and are great for a movie night!
8 . Weighted Fitness Hula Hoop. £12.99

We’ve all heard a million times about how exercising is good for our mental health as well as our physical health, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! Which is why I’ve put this fitness hula hoop in here!
9 . Glow In The Dark Star Stickers. £11.99

I’ve had these for quite some time now, and they’re just plain great. I will warn you though, I stuck all of mine above my bed on the ceiling and it took about 1/2hours in total. But the result in completely worth it! Especially as someone with mental health challenges, these really help my mind settle when I’m trying to get some sleep.
10 . Burt’s Bees Tip and Toes Kit. £9.99 in the sale and £12.99 usually

Finally, good ole Burt’s Bees! Because who doesn’t like stuff from Burt’s Bees?! A great way to take care of yourself is with a bit of pampering, and using things like this are a great way to distract yourself from any anxiety or panic thoughts.

So that’s it for this weeks post! I just thought that a little bit retail therapy never hurt anyone? Well at least these prices won’t! And the majority of these can be bought with prime so you get free next day delivery!

And remember, no matter whatever some people may say, ‘self-care is not selfish.’

Have a great week everyone! Let me know if you decide to get any of these gifts to yourself! Love,

DIY Self Care Kit

If you’ve been following me a while now then you’ll know that this month I’ve been trying to focus on my mental health and self care, so at the start of May I begun by writing myself some self-affirmations. And to carry on with my self care this month I thought I would finally get round to making myself a self care kit for when I’m having a tough time.

The past two weeks have been pretty stressful and I’ve had a lot on, I’ve had family members in hospital, college assessments and my niece finally arrived (that one was a happy thing but stressful with the days in hospital waiting). Luckily everything I was stressed about worked out and it was then that I then realised I had neglected my self care a bit.

So how do you start/make a self care kit? Well you need to get yourself the following:

• A box
• Pretty paper
• Sharpies or coloured pens
• Tape or glue
• Anything you use to relax

Here’s how my box started out:

Here’s how it looked after I had decorated it:

So what sort of things did I decide to put in my self care kit? Well, things that can shift my focus from what is causing my stress and panic; for example different sensory items. I found that face masks, hand lotions, essential oils (in spray bottles diluted) and stress slime work well.

Here’s everything in my box:

• Notepads.

I added these in my kit because I love drawing and writing, and I found that these were good for writing down what I am grateful for, positive quotes and doodling.

• Coloured Pens.

These are obviously to go alongside my notepads for drawing and writing. Making patterns with them and drawing mandalas is a great distraction for thoughts that are stressing me out.

• Clay Mask.

I added a clay mask (you can use any kind of face mask) to my box as it’s nice and cooling on your skin which is a great distraction from any anxieties, stresses and panic thoughts.

• Nail polish.

This is another good distraction as  you focus on your nails rather than what’s going on around you, and you get to give yourself a mani pedi and have pretty nails!

• Headphones.

Great for tuning out background noise and relaxing with your favourite tunes or any meditation/mindfulness apps.

• Hot chocolate drink sachets.

Having a mindful drink (especially if it’s sweet!) is great for relaxing and helps me calm down in pretty much all situation.

• Essential oils.

If you have any favourite smells then this one is a good one for you. I have several essential oils due to the fact that I make bath bombs, but you can get them online for pretty cheap on places like amazon (amazon is just amazing, it has EVERYTHING). Put the essential oils in a small spray bottle with water and you can spray that on fabrics and just yourself in general which is a great way to feel comforted if there’s a smell that you are familiar with.

• Hand lotion.

This ones similar to the face masks as it’s a good way to distract yourself from everything, it’s cold and cools you down (it’s a great way to help panicking if you put cold things on your wrists!) and you get great soft hands!

• Comfy socks.

Comfy socks may not seem like something you’d use for self care, however; in regards to myself, I’ve pretty much always got cold feet, so getting some comfy warm socks on is a good way for myself to get comfortable and calm down.

• Fidget spinner.

These aren’t classes as cool anymore (by my younger siblings as they were happy to tell me..) which is fine by me!! I found this is a great way to distract and prevent myself from anxious nail biting and picking.

• Tissues.

Pretty obvious one, I felt like I needed these because every now and again you just need a good cry.

• Positive Notes.

Positive notes are always a good shout as it’s easy to forget little life lessons and mantras when you’re in crisis and are having a bad day.

So those are just a few of the things I’ve got in my self care kit. It’s also important to remember that if you are in crisis there are people you can call to talk too, for example the Samaritans, who are there for all mental health challenges, whether you’ve got a diagnosis of anything or not, they’re just there to listen.

If you decide to make your own self care kit then please let me know what you put in it and if you’ve got any suggestions then please pass them on ad my box is always evolving!

Have a lovely weekend everyone! Love,

A Letter To My 10 Year Old Self.

Dear Victoria,

It seems a bit bizarre writing this letter to you, since I am you(just older), but here we go. It’s been 12 years since I was 10 years old, and it honestly feels like a lifetime ago; so try not to waste a moment. You may not realise it now, but time is a truly precious thing.

There are so many things I want to tell you about. You’re 10 years old at the moment; which means you’re about to go through some pretty big changes soon, like moving up to a big secondary school, becoming a young woman, finding love, creating friendships and so much more. You’re going to get stressed about grades, homework, being bullied and getting a boyfriend. Try not to freak out at this point. I know it’s already sounding like it’s the end of the world moving schools and growing up, but there are so many great things that come from it. I’ll tell you about them a little later on.

One thing you should know; all of these worries and stresses you’re having, well.. everyone around is having them too. Yes, even the ‘cool’ girls. And believe it or not but the second you go to secondary school you’ll understand. Speaking of secondary school, there are some things I’ll let you know about in advance.

• The FIRST day.

You’ll spend the majority of this day learning teachers names, trying not to get lost, finding your form group (and yes, you will have to put up with them for 5 more years.. so do your best to make friends!), your timetable and clinging to the one person you recognise from primary school. Oh and just a heads up, you’re gonna miss the bus home.. yes, on the first day. So when this happens don’t panic. Mum will come and get you within half an hour and all will be well. Just know that when you miss the bus again (you only do it two more times so you can breathe a bit haha) you’ll know what to do and not to freak out.

• The Bully.

You’re going to come across bullies in all walks of life. Sometimes you’ll know why a person wants to pick on you, other times you wont. What’s important is that you don’t let it get you down too much(easier said than done I know), because you are worth so much more than that. And yep that’s right, you do get bullied. (I know, I can sense your heart sinking already). Don’t dwell too much on this. It actually makes you a better person in the end and we meet some great people who are going through the same thing. Also, I’m not proud of it, but one day you will hit a bully back. Hard. Then you’ll apologise profusely. It just goes to show that we’re a good person because even when we hit someone back after being repeatedly punched and kicked in the ribs, head and back for a laugh, we still knew hitting someone was wrong. On the plus side, you’ll learn that you’ve got a fairly good right hook if you ever need it.. haha. The bullying will end once you leave secondary school, and although that seems like a long time, you’re better off for it. It’s made us who we are today.

• Picking your GCSE’s.

You’re going to be stressed and think you’re picking the wrong things and you’ll question yourself a million times. Just know that mum and dad are here for you and will help you through it.

You’ll find that they’re the most supportive people you know, and if you ever have a row it’s usually because they want whats best for you(and they’re right..). They’ll encourage encourage you to take the subjects you enjoy. I want to say right now, do the subjects you enjoy. Taking subject you enjoy is so important especially if you don’t know what you want to be when you’re older, which I’ll say right now is not the end of the world. I thought it was the case for a long time, but in the end, everything works out alright!! And if you decide at a later date that you want to go down a certain career path, you can always go to college or university in specific subjects. It’s not all worry and stress with GCSE’s though, because you’ll actually find that you love school and learning; and you’ll work hard and pass them all(go you!).

• You. You and more you.

So, since you’re 10 at the moment, you’re going to be going through puberty pretty soon and with this will come a few things, body hair, getting smelly, getting boobs, spots and hormones going mad. I know it sounds like a lot. It doesn’t all hit you one morning like a slap in the face, don’t worry. You’re going to want to change your body all the time, you’ll hate certain parts of yourself and I hate to break it to you, but you’re going to have a lot of bad hair and makeup days. But you know what, when you’re older you’ll realise that the things you wanted to change about your body are beautiful as they are. And you are unique, clever, strong and pretty. Don’t think that you need to look like girls and women in magazines or on telly, they’re photoshopped and fake and are there to make you want to buy stuff. You’re going to be scared to experiment and go against the flow of what everyone else is doing. But please do it anyway. You’ll find that you will enjoy yourself more and love how you have something different about you. Find your own style, however weird and wacky it may seem. After all, you’ll look back at those times and smile because you’re only a young kid once.

Remember when you’re going through tough times, just think, it’ll all work out in the end. Because it will. Because you’re smart, beautiful, independent, have a top notch personality and can do anything you put your mind to. When it all feels like it’s getting too much, you can always turn to mum or dad and there’s loads of people you can call up for free just to talk. Don’t take them for granted, you’ll appreciate how much they mean to you and how much they do for you as you get older. And lastly, don’t waste any opportunities, you’ll be terrified of doing something wrong or making a fool out of yourself, the only thing you will do is regret not taking a chance.

So, that’s basically it from me. You’ll realise when you’re older how amazing you truly are, it may not seem like it always, but you are. And it’s important that you take time to take care of yourself and love yourself for you. No one else.

Love,