Posts Tagged: Mental Health

Monday, January 08, 2018

Self-Care in 2018

Posted by 10 Comments


 
New Year, New Me, right? 2017 was a rough year for me, personally and just on a larger political scale. I am really hoping 2017 will at least bring good things on a personal scale or at least won’t try to take me on an intense emotional coaster; however, I am not holding any high hopes for not experiencing high amounts of stress because the world is falling the fuck apart. I am not trying to be pessimistic though, I just know that even if good things happen, I ~will~ be stressed out and so since the year has only barely begun and I haven’t experienced any high amounts of stress yet, I thought I’d do a post centering around what ~I~ plan to do for self-care this year. Having a plan for self-care is important, in my opinion, because it offers at least some measure of control when things get rough? THAT’S JUST ME THOUGH. You do you if you handle stress and anxiety in different ways!
 

1. De-stress by taking care of my skin

I did this a lot last year. I loved putting a face mask, doing some pore-cleansing strips and just washing my face after all of that. A clean face always makes me feel better and I know I am going to do that a lot more this year. Also 2018 is the year I want to focus more on my skin! HAPPY SKIN = HAPPY ME

2. Get Fresh Air

This is something I am really bad at doing. Like really really bad and I need to work on it. Walking outside has always helped me re-evaluate and calm down a little but because I am such a home-body sometimes, it’s hard for me to actually get the courage to leave

3. Adult Coloring Books

I’ve never really spend a lot of time with them but I own one and I think I should at least try it as a self-care technique. Like put on a tv show and unwind. Using pens stresses me out though so I’ll stick to color pencils and crayons like back in elementary school. Going back to the roots, amirite?

4. Journaling a little bit

Not like a bullet journal but like a diary/planner, maybe? I’ve also just need to be consistent with my planner usage because planning makes me happy. I like having everything written down and planned out and I need to be better about actually doing that because it makes me feel better. There have been a # of times when I am feeling overwhelmed by things and just writing stuff out and claiming some sort of control over my environment has always been helpful.

5. Choosing not to read sometimes

This may be the most surprising thing on here but I tend to stress myself out by forcing books on myself when I don’t want to read? There are definitely moments when reading is the answer and reading helps me unwind but I have to be in a reading mood and I need to stop forcing books on myself when I cannot handle it.

What are some of your self-care techniques? Do you have any plans in place for 2018? Let me know!

A Raw and Poignant Exploration of Mental Health: A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

Posted by on 09/27/2017 • 6 Comments

Everyone raved about Our Chemical Hearts when it came out last year but because my tbr is overflowing and I am always short on time, I never did get around to reading it. A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares immediately caught my attention because it had such a cutesy title, cover & blurb but don’t let any of that fool you because this book will fucking break your heart.

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares is such a raw, poignant exploration of mental health and I don’t even know where to begin unpacking my feels for those books. (But also, can we all agree that unpacking feels for books you love is so much harder than talking about books you hate?)

Esther Solar believes her family has been cursed…

A Semi-Definitive List of My 5 Worst Fears/Nightmares

Posted by on 09/18/2017 • 3 Comments

Hey hey hey! A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares is an important book that addresses mental health/phobias so I decided to share some of my fears/nightmares with y’all. Things are about to get weirdly personal (but also a little silly because that’s just who I am so if you’re not into that, I say it’s time to close your browser or email and do something else.

A Semi-Definitive List of My 5 Worst Fears/Nightmares

1. When I was a kid, I developed an odd fear of heights that never went away. When I was a kid, it wasn’t that the height scared me but more that I would lose something or someone important to me. Now it’s both?

2. Dying alone. I know a lot of people will share this…

Giveaway: Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes

Posted by on 05/19/2017 • 23 Comments

Hi everyone! Today we are partnering with Paula Stokes to giveaway a copy GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE to one lucky winner! GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE was one of my favorite books of 2016 and honestly such an important book. It does such a great job talking about mental health issues and also has an incredibly swoony romance.

 

About the Book

Paula: Hi everyone! Girl Against the Universe releases in paperback on June 6, 2017 and I’m so excited about that I decided to do an entire blog tour of giveaways to celebrate! In the story, main character Maguire creates her own list of seven challenges to help her overcome her fears. This week I have seven challenges for you, and seven chances to win a shiny GATU paperback 😀 These…

5 Books Carrie Mac Wishes Were Around When She Was Growing Up

Posted by on 03/21/2017 • 1 Comment

Hello and welcome to Xpresso Reads’ tour stop for 10 Things I Can See From Here. Today, author Carrie Mac shares 5 books she wishes were around when she was growing up! Her list is full of many wonderful recs (and some new to me titles) so I am definitely piling up on those books! I hope you’ll check the books and 10 Things I Can See From Here!

PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR, Carrie Mac!

I’ve picked books aimed at younger readers, say 8-12-years-old or so because that’s when kids need to see the people they are, or will become, represented in books. When they don’t—because the book hasn’t been written or they’re not allowed to read it—that’s when feelings of isolation really set in, just…

Reminicient of Breakfast Club: Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen

Posted by on 02/22/2017 • 4 Comments

My feelings about this novel as about as complex as they get. Optimists Die First does some really great things but also needs a whole lot of work. Keep in mind that this is all based on an ARC version of the book as opposed to the finished copy and ARCs and finished copies can be worlds apart.

For starters, this book is about as cute as it sounds and looks. It is short and sweet and all about friendships and journeys. As one character in the book says, Optimists Die First is a ‘twisted version of the breakfast club.’

There is a complex portrayal of MH without any real labels and that was great. Petula has to go to mandatory art therapy and kind of really hates it. She doesn’t like any…