So over here in the UK it's coming into winter. And the UK isn't known for its rain for no reason at all. It seems like all of a sudden the world has decended into this cold, grey sludge and as soon as you dare to step foot outside your nips turn into two small frozen peas and niagra falls descends from your nose. Unfortunately the winter always brings me out in a funk, and I know many other people feel the same. So what do you do when you're cold, glum and your head feels like a bucket of cold mashed potatoes? This week I knew something had to change as i'd been feeling run down for a good few weeks now, so I had a little mini-break to my friend's in Suffolk. And over there (admittedly enhanced by psychedelic experiences), I found quite a few of the answers.
So here's Opal Rose's guide to self care!:
1) Think of yourself as a friend
When you're feeling down, it's so easy to forget that you, yourself, are actually a human being with human needs and a brain wired almost identically to many of your friends and loved ones. What always helps me out is to think, if my friend felt crappy, what would I recommend to him/her? If there's someone with similar guilty pleasures to you, think what you'd tell them to do. Whether it's ordering 5 types of takeaway and watching the entire gilmore girls back catalogue or going on
a 10 mile bike ride, you'll know just what to try.
2) Treat yo'self
If the world won't cut you some slack, get the scissors out and cut it yourself. Pull out the full monty and have a big bubble bath, complete with candles and whale noises (or 90's pop or post-hardcore, whatever makes you feel good), the whole shebang. Get yourself something posh from the shop for dinner and eat it with your fancy plates in front of your favourite tv show. You might feel like a bit of an arse to start with, but I can assure you that you'll come out of there feeling faaabulous.
3) But don't go too wild with it
The key here is moderation. If you want a glass of wine or a couple of cigarettes or a big fat pizza, or your drug of choice, then go ahead. But if you fill every day of your winter with sitting on the sofa in your pants, smoking a fat joint and eating nutella out of the tub with a spoon then things will only get worse. You could lose all motivation to do anything, including seeing your friends and going to work etc. When you feel absolutely rubbish, physically or mentally, it's easy to get hooked on anything- food, booze, drugs, sex, sleep... the list is endless. Instead, even if it's only once a week to start with, throw something new into the mix. Go
for a walk, or go out with friends. It's not great being a hermit.
4) Art
If you can find the motivation, art is a brilliant thing to do to kick you out of a slump. It doesn't have to win the Turner prize- it doesn't even have to look like anything at all! Some days just throwing paint onto a piece of paper or punching the shit out of clay feels good.
Other days, I get into it and attempt to create something vaguely reputable. I rarely succeed, but at least I didn't spend that time in bed, slumping into a pile of my own dribble, so that's something.
Look after yourselves today guys! <3
I'll leave you with some badly painted but blippy things I made the other night....
Opal xx
