Sources of inspiration when you feel like sh*t

Sometimes it can be really difficult to generate a drop of positivity, let alone a glass half full. There are times when all those cute memes telling you to sparkle, be a unicorn, and have a cup of positivi-tea, will make you feel even worse than you already do.

It may also make you throw your phone across the room in rage, there’s nothing worse than people who don’t understand what you’re going through telling you to ‘keep your chin up’.

I’m sure they mean well, but it’s still annoying isn’t it?

I’m not here to tell you to ignore your feelings, in fact I say embrace them. Sometimes one of the best things you can do is listen to your emotions. Get angry, scream, cry, throw things around the room if it gives you a release.

Sometimes it’s fine to not feel ok.

I wanted to share with you the things that don’t necessarily cheer me up, but provide me with some inspiration that helps me cope with things.

TED talks

You can learn absolutely anything by watching TED talks, they are amazing. Thousands of brilliant individuals have filmed bitesize chunks of wonder and they are all free to watch through TED’s website or on Youtube.

From discussions on body language, to complex mathematical equations, to stereotypes and practical life hacks, there is TED talk for everything. I personally, love the ones about cognitive processes and personality traits. You might not feel 100% happier, but you learn something really interesting and thought provoking.

The Self Help Hipster Blog

You can tell I have major feels for this blog because it’s one of the few I specifically type into my browser to read instead of browsing through on BlogLovin. As the name suggests, it’s a blog with loads of posts about self-help. I love the way that Lianne writes, she’s so cool and hilarious and tells it like it is (fangirl here). Even if she wrote about something I have no interest in, like Football, I’d still read it because of her style. She actually has a podcast too, which for some reason I have never got around to listening to, and she’s from Rotterdam so I’m sure I would fall in love with her voice too.

The Guilty Feminist Podcast

Speaking of podcasts, this one is the bee’s knees. This comedy podcast is presented by two hilarious comedians, Deborah Francis-white and Sophie Hagan, in front of a live audience. Each episode is based around a topic to do with 21st century feminism which they discuss with a guest (another comedian) and confess the things that make them a “bit rubbish” at feminism. When I listen to it, I just feel like I’m having a conversation with my friends and it always makes me laugh.

Exercising

You didn’t think I was going to write a post about positivity without mentioning exercise did you?! I love love love working out, it never fails to improve my mood or take my mind off things. When I’m in a bit of a funk, I will try and go to the gym, or go for a run outside, or even just a walk, because I know it will change my outlook on things. Sometimes it’s just good to give yourself time to think.

Talking on the phone with my sister

My sister and I are thick as thieves; we have been ever since we were little. Whenever I feel down, or angry, or confused, I always call her because even just hearing her voice makes me feel better. She’s really logical and good at solving problems so she always helps, or she takes my mind off whatever I’m worrying about by chatting about something else.

Writing

This blog is a great outlet for my thoughts, it really does help to get something written down on a page so you can see things clearly. I have so many drafts that I haven’t published on here because it’s just ramblings which no one would read, but it served its purpose at the time. Sometimes I’ll write stuff down in notebooks instead, like a doodle book for those who can’t doodle.

The Positivity blog

Ok so I know I said this wouldn’t directly try and cheer you up, but I find the posts on here really uplifting. It’s more of a collection of action plans than articles, which makes it easy to follow. Even if you don’t end up doing any of them, it’s nice to think about changing behaviour.

So there you go, these are the things I do to try and keep my anxious mind occupied. If you’re feeling worried about something then give these a try because they might just help, although my sister might be a bit confused why she is getting loads of phone calls from strangers….

Hannah x