Slow Days of Healing and a Bit on Mental Health

Hey guys, welcome back to my blog!! Every time I say that I feel like such a 2016 youtuber, similar to the ones I'd watch when I was little. Today's post is a bit general, just about life with a bit of motivation and some kind words to keep you going. I am currently writing this like a queen, I am in bed and have turned around one of my monitors so I can write in bed. I'm also listening to some old BTS music for nostalgia. I'm a dedicated EXO-L but I also stan Stray Kids, Ateez, Enhypen, Shinee, TXT and many other groups. I've been in the Kpop game since 2016 so you shouldn't really be surprised. Also, this opinion is very controversial amongst newer BTS stans (armies) but I am not a fan of their newer music, their old songs had so much meaning and were genuine art but their newer stuff just hasn't been hitting the spot. I can still appreciate the effort they put in and the talent they have but I guess unless we have a solo album from any of them, I don't see myself stanning BTS. Let's move on from the Kpop talk and onto the actual post.

Recently, I've really been taking care of myself. It feels odd to say but taking care of yourself, which is a basic human need, is a really hard thing and I feel like with the society we are in, we just don't get any credit for simply just living and getting through each day. When you get stuck in a cycle of not being able to get yourself to do anything but simultaneously stressing about not doing anything productive, it's difficult to get out. It feels like each day is so much longer and even if you physically rest, you still wake up feeling tired. It's draining to say the least. 

A friend of mine once told me that you wouldn't go to a doctor with a person who's already dead, you'd go when they're showing signs of illness. She then went on to tell me that we should be treating our mental health the same. I feel like when I talk about mental health, people confuse it with mental illness. We all have mental health, just like how we have physical health. However, we all do not have mental illness. Mental illness can be caused due to genetics, trauma, biological imbalances and many other reasons. A way to prevent (some) mental illness is to take care of your mental health consistently before it starts to plummet.

As of late, I've noticed that I've been very drained and at that point where I know if I let myself carry on with the way I was living, I would have probably spiraled. I don't have any condition, I just tend to have a bad habit of overworking myself a bit too much. I decided that I need to make a change. Change is the only way to improve the situation you are in and I realised that I know what to do in order to improve my situation. I know what to do to make a better life for myself. 

I started actually sleeping instead of studying for stupidly long hours. It sounds easy but when your mind is constantly telling you that you need to be doing everything you can to be a certain way, it's easy to neglect basic human needs like sleep. I made myself understand that sleep is not a luxury, it is something I need to function. 

I have also been listening to my body a lot more. When I feel hungry, I go and eat and don't make any excuses. When I feel full, I don't force myself to eat more in order to avoid hurting people's feelings. I have also been a lot more intuitive with my workouts, I workout when I feel like I want to and don't force myself to do workouts that last hours.

I write all this with a lot of ease but it's taken me about six and a half months to get to the mindset I am at right now. I have always been very good at helping others and sometimes a bit too good. I find it easy to help others sort out their problems and provide guidance but I also easily abandon myself quite often. Trying to make a change when you don't even feel like you want to get out of bed is hard. That's why the title is 'Slow Days of Healing'. Change doesn't occur overnight, it takes a lot of willpower and self support. 

Once you make it through, the new habits come to you like second nature and that stage is just amazing, being able to battle off the negativity of the world and creating a safe little bubble for yourself is the best thing. It's allowed me to realise that I love myself, It's allowed me to realise that I am worthy of loving myself. Lastly, it also allowed me to realise that I am worthy of the compliments I receive, the world doesn't lie when people say you're beautiful or when people say you're talented.

I just wanted to end this by saying I am so incredibly proud of you all for making it through 100% of your bad days. I hope you enjoyed this post!! See you next week, love you guys <33