Introduction

In a world where almost every recommendations post I see involves a sponsorship, I wanted to take a moment to share all of the things that have actually made a difference to my life and mental health – completely not sponsored or endorsed by anyone. The things in this list vary quite considerably in terms of their themes but I thought a post like this would be the best place to showcase them.

Meditation

I remember first trying meditation as an antidote to my anxiety issues. I found it off my own back but shortly after, my doctor also recommended I look into mindfulness (basically the same thing but I think meditation often comes with more connotations of spirituality, so mindfulness is the more stripped back form of the practice). For a number of years, I considered it part of my ‘treatment’ of anxiety and nothing more than that. While I’ve always been a spiritual person, the two worlds didn’t collide.

It’s only in the last year or so that I’ve truly taken the time to consider how meditation has helped me in other ways beyond emotional regulation. Besides preventing the boiling pot of thoughts from spilling over into anxiety, it also allows me a specific type of mental space that I can’t seem to find through other activities. It stops the noise in my head enough to allow more positive thoughts and ideas to enter. When consistent with my practice, I find myself having really good ideas for projects or problem solving. I also find myself to be much more intuitive to those around me or wider events in life.

My preferred method of practice is using the Calm app (not sponsored – I’ve been paying for it for years and don’t have any codes to share for it) but I’ve also come across some really good guided sessions via YouTube.

A Skincare Routine That Works

I’m giving away my age by saying this, but I come from the era of more is definitely better and if it burns, it means its working. Obviously, looking back at that mentality, I cringe and can’t believe I actually even have skin these days. I also spent several years using prescription strength acne treatments (with minimal observation from anyone as it was via a GP rather than a dermatologist), no sunscreen and found myself in a position of hating the way I looked.

Now, years on from then, I’m working to rebuild what was damaged from my past routines. For the longest time, I assumed I was a lost cause. If prescription strength treatment wasn’t fully working and spending an extreme amount of money never helped, what was left for me? The answer – the opposite of what I thought.

I’d been using extremely drying products on my face in an attempt to make it inhospitable to acne but in reality, this had damaged my skin barrier to the point where it was making it worse (I’m not an expert but this is the only logical explanation I have). I switched to products that support the skin barrier and also, due to premature aging signs (past lack of sunscreen and prescription creams), products aimed at those more than double my age. I also utilised red light therapy, facial massage, and daily collagen supplementation.

I never knew how much finding the right skincare routine would help me in healing some of my self-confidence issues, but it’s honestly changed my life.

Hobbies That Don’t Involve Screens

Screen time is a big problem in my life. I have to use screens for both my job and blogging, but I find myself glued to scrolling Instagram, even when I know I should be doing other things. I also noticed, over time, that my sense of reality was becoming warped. Social media is a highlight reel, and it wasn’t right that I started to feel down about my own life because of the comparisons I was making to those online.

I decided to really focus in on screen-free hobbies. I decided to try a few – ones for when I wanted more mental stimulation and ones where, if I’m tired, I can just do it without much thought or effort. My favourites so far have been crochet (simple blanket making or following a pattern) and heading out for a walk where I purposely don’t use my phone throughout. I also really enjoy going to an exercise class at my local leisure centre as it helps me to be with ‘real life’ people rather than only ever seeing highly edited people online.

Getting Control of My Finances

The cost of living crisis hit everyone hard. I remember a time before where things just seemed so much more affordable. As prices rose, I felt that I needed to prioritise how I used my money. Gone were things that didn’t add value or help me in my day-to-day and in was things I now feel my life would be very difficult without. I still enjoy luxuries in life, but I now feel that everything is carefully considered beforehand.

What helped me to initially gain control over my finances was beginning to spreadsheet out every single thing I need to spend on a monthly basis – housing costs, food costs, and other miscellaneous bills. From there I was then able to identify how much money I had leftover and where that money was going each month.

To be completely honest, I noticed a huge amount of money would be spent on eating out or convenience food such as meal deals. I also noticed that I would overspend in shops where the items were more affordable – it was like, because the items were cheaper, I would add more to my basket and still think I was getting a bargain despite spending more overall. Gaining this understanding and being able to analyse where my money was going on a day-to-day basis gave me so much more mental security that I never knew I needed. Being stressed about money, in my opinion, is probably one of the worst stressors you can have (behind health) so gaining control of my finances and pausing to think more often allowed me to decrease that stress.

Getting Off Birth Control

I appreciate that this section is not necessarily for everyone as going on or quitting birth control is a very personal decision for each and every person. I’ve already written a full post on my experience of quitting birth control but, to very briefly summarise here, before coming off it my mental health was extremely changeable. I noticed that I felt emotionally numb, lacked creativity and moved towards a tendency of isolating myself from friends. I also had a huge number of physical side effects which bothered me in my daily life. Coming off birth control allowed me the space to begin feeling like myself rather than whatever I was feeling like due to the medication.

Finding Joy in Movement

Back in my distant past I used to treat exercise as something I ‘had to do’. It was something we all had to do to support health and fitness, to lose or gain weight or just generally because it’s good for us. Somewhere along the way I noticed I lost the joy for it. I’m not sure whether it was the monotonous routines or the environment that I was in, but I knew I had to change something up to begin enjoying movement again.

In the last couple of years, I decided to try out as many things as made sense to try out in my life. I tried bouldering and climbing, I kayaked while on lake Windermere on holidays, I returned to horse riding after many years break, and I really hope to start surfing again in the near future. I also decided to work on my skiing, so I was more confident on the mountain or on the dry slope. While doing all of these things, I wasn’t really thinking about my health or fitness – it was purely for the joy of it. Something that surprised me was the physical benefits of each different sport I was taking part in. For example, when climbing, my grip strength improved, and my hands and forearms became more muscular. While improving my skiing, I noticed that my stamina for other cardio-based exercises improved. While I’m not any kind of fitness coach or expert, I’m a firm believer that you should enjoy whatever movement you’re taking part in – once you’ve succeeded in that, it’s easy to begin improving overall wellbeing through exercise.

Conclusion

In conclusion, taking control of various aspects of my life has been transformative. Whether it’s managing finances, making important health decisions, or rediscovering the joy in movement, each step has contributed to a more balanced and fulfilling life. It’s important to remember that these changes are deeply personal and what works for one person might not work for another. However, by taking the time to understand your own needs and preferences, you can make informed decisions that lead to long-term happiness and well-being. Celebrate the small victories, stay curious, and never be afraid to adjust along the way. Life is a journey, and finding your own path is essential to thriving.