“When life gets busy, we soon find that our mental health and well-being take a back seat. That lovely self-care routine you had going for a while comes to a quick halt as life takes over, often creating stress and overwhelming feelings. Finding a nice, delicate balance between self-care and ‘reality’ can be super difficult, but it IS important for your health and peace of mind, especially if you have certain areas of your life that make you feel anxious or stressed out. You need that balance to keep you grounded. Below I have put together a few small ways you can change your mind set every day, without adding too much to your already long list of priorities.

Start an organisation diary: Most people have a diary to keep their lives in check, but their diaries don’t normally help them prioritise things. By starting an organisation diary, you can make a list of what you need to do and when, and which things on your list are most important. This way you can control and monitor how you’re spending your time, as well as meet any deadlines you have.

Let the negativity flow in, then out: As anxious people, we tend to feel things very very intensely and I believe it’s important to embrace those feelings in order to stop them from overwhelming us and causing distress. One thing about negative feelings is that they do pass, if you let them. Start by accepting that this right now is how you’re feeling, try to understand why you are feeling so negatively and then let it pass rather than fighting your feelings – as most of us do. Let it flow through you then let it go, this way you won’t be holding on to that negativity anymore.

Set your intentions: Start by writing down one intention every day, whether that’s to make sure you water the plants or to reconnect with an old friend, as intentions can be the driving force that help you mould and organise your day. You will also find that your intentions give you a sense of purpose, which we can’t always spark within ourselves as much as we’d love to.

Be kind to yourself: We’ve all heard the saying ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ right?!? Well, for someone with anxiety this is way, way, WAY easier said than done. But the truth of that little saying is that life isn’t easy, so you need to make sure you’re easy on yourself. If something goes wrong, try not to blame yourself. Let the moment happen and then just let it go. Things will always go wrong and it isn’t always our place to fix them. You’re doing the best you can, so be kind to yourself!

Give yourself a minute: No matter how busy your life gets, you have to give yourself a minute (or 30) to truly relax. Do something you enjoy: read a chapter of your favourite book or have a cuppa in front of the telly. For me, this works best at the end of the day when I know that everything ‘important’ is complete and I can finally switch off and take some time for me. I also like to have little ‘me’ breaks whilst studying; switching off totally to have a cup of coffee and play piano/guitar. Whatever it is, make sure you schedule this time into your day.

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