During all of the drama due to Coronavirus, I felt like I got to a stage where I lost myself. I was stuck in a rut. I was eating far too much. Dressing like a frump and not feeling or looking after myself. I ended up reaching a point where something just snapped in my head. I realised that I had to make some big changes to my life in order to make myself feel better. It took quite a few weeks/months for me to get back to my happy place. But, I had to have a big change up to get back into a better mental and physical space. So, I thought that in this blog post I would share some of the things that I did in order to have a positive change up!
Daily Exercise.
I actually like to exercise and that is something that I never thought I would say. My passions are cycling, jogging, HIIT and walking. I started slow and built myself up to where I was before lockdown. The thing with exercise for me is that I really do see it as a help with my mental health. It gets me out of the house, gets my endorphins going and I feel so much better for it. I think to begin with I was just going on a 20-minute walk after my working day. It felt bloody incredible to get a little fresh air into my lungs!
Making an Effort.
I normally wear makeup everyday of the week, with the exception of a Sunday. When lockdown happened and I was working from home day in and day out, there was no need for me to get ready anymore. Honestly, getting changed out of my pyjamas into my sweats and doing nothing other than cleansing my face, I felt bloody awful. My hair and makeup normally gives me a boost and some extra confidence which I find helps me to do better in work and with my personal life. I put myself back on my normal schedule and felt so much better for it.
Creating and Sticking to a Meal Plan.
I think that the saying is so true that you are what you eat and after around month 2 of lockdown I literally felt like I was just a big bag of fat and biscuits. With my whole OCD thing and need for routine, I map out all of my meals and snacks and it keeps me on a good track. We are back to healthy and wholesome meals, don’t get me wrong there are still many snacks in there, but I am feeling better, more energised and fully back on track with my health and my physical fitness and boy was it needed!
Cut One-Sided Relationships.
I feel like everybody at sometime in their life will realise that they have some friendships are not necessarily built on equal respect. Going into lockdown and having so much distance between me and my friendship group, it was easy to see at a glance those that went out of their way to check in on you and check you were ok. It was very funny that on so many circumstances as soon as I stopped reaching out to certain people on a regular basis, the friendship halted to a stop.
Pushing Myself to Be Social.
Honestly, sometimes I could sit in my house for week after week without ever leaving and speaking to anybody. I am quite the opposite of a social butterfly. However, it was my New Years resolution for 2020 and something that I am still trying to work on. I began arranging nights out with the girls again. Going on date nights with my husband. Inviting my family to my house for drinks and games nights. It was needed and it made me feel so much better. Maybe 2021 will be the year that I finally nail this!
I know that to most people these are all probably very small things. But, they really helped me to change up the rut that I was stuck in. I honestly ended up feeling so much more positive and lifted, just from making these changes. Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know if in this past year you have had a change up, or have you made some realisations because of the situation that was 2020!