Soo since school is beginning again for many of us, I thought I would compile a masterpost of every self care method possible to ease your way back into things!
Stress and Anxiety Reduction
Declutter your space- Clear out all trash, make your bed, and make your desktop space clear. This will make for a cleaner head.
Put yourself in a happy place- Do yoga, take a power nap, whatever you need to put yourself in the most positive head space possible
Put your health first- To state the obvious, drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and keep up with your personal hygiene. But this also counts for mental health. Put yourself first, your hobbies, your passions, and anything you do to keep yourself sane. Buy yourself nice treats as a reward after completing tough tasks, or reward yourself with anything you like doing.
Make a bullet journal- A bullet journal can really help you plan out your days/weeks/months to a T and help you stay organized. A lot of stress can be caused by a frantic and unknown schedule, and planning can ease a lot of that.
Take a moment out of your day to sit down and schedule everything out- Take time out of your day to write down what your day has in store. What times are you free? What times are you working, studying, eating, ect…? Make a list of everything your doing then translate that into a bullet journal, planner, or anything else you use to plan.
holla @ this 4th masterpost; let’s rock this semester together, and, as always, i luv you xx (if you are the blog that created one of the lists i credited, let me know and i’ll link the creds to your blog ♥)
high school advice
33 Things High School Seniors Wish They Knew As Freshmen
Expert nutrition tips for high school athletes
16 Studying Hacks For Finals Week
School Tips
High School Advice
13 Incredible Back-To-School Hacks You Won’t Believe You Survived Without
Senior Year Advice
studying
study techniques
tips for a productive study break
tips to help you focus
chrome site blocker
time management
The Five-Paragraph Essay
Using Punctuation Marks
Deadly Sins Checklist
Formatting Your Paper
holidays (creds to the angel that made this)
huge Halloween master post
Halloween master post
Halloween movie master post
Halloween movies & programs master post
Halloween costume master post
CheshireChloe’s Halloween master post 2015
The “I can already smell the pumpkin cider” master post
it’s October mother fucker
Halloween master post
Sarah’s annual spooky master post
Amanda’s tv show Christmas episode master post
Ultimate Christmas master post
videos to make you smile (creds go to whoever built this badass list ily)
a wild ass ride of a Spanish soap opera
Aladdin
an elk in a place of religious practice
Ariana Grande killing radio talk show hosts & their sexist comments
beat box recorder
best fake squirrel (dogs)
blue is fuckin’ tight
cats & helicopters
cats “sarah help me”
caught him (a cat) slipping
dog on skateboard
dog president
dog whining when forced to wake up
emergency: my bowl is empty
how homophobes should be treated
igloo Australia x Lisa Simpson
it’s lit
Jeffery Marsh’s vine
kids & Muppets
Middle Eastern next level footwork
Muppets
Parrot can’t stand plastic cups
play with me!! pup life
Pot Noodles commercial
pulled over by the police
Reba trying to say “ice”
Sara Hopkins’ funny vines
schnauzer
trans teen gets their first dose of hormones
turning up on Christmas day like
ukulele playing
what does it mean
why the fuck you lyin’ studio version
woman surprises girlfriend with kidney donor match
wrinkly lil puppy whining
you better work it
misc.
master post for rough times
100 books to read before you die
kiara’s ultimate guide to sex
masturbation master list
50 things the public education system failed to tell you about sex
badass trip on a not-so-badass budget
read on tigers & help them
creepy wiki articles
emotions and school
Being a Studyblr isn’t all fancy pens, straight As, and aesthetics
back to school master post
back to school maser post 2
Encourage Healthy Studying
Procrastination Does Not Define You
Morning Motivation
Manage Stress by Becoming a More Peaceful Student
Avoid Breaking Down During the School Year
Studying is Not Everything!
Bipolar Self Help Strategies Masterpost
Everything You Should Know About Bipolar Disorder
How University Can Trigger Bipolar Episodes
Anxiety keeping you from being able to call?
Mental Illness Apps
Practicing Mindfulness
Self Care Masterpost
Positive Distractions
Dewey Decimal for Everything You Need to Know Regarding Physical/Mental Health
Understanding Depression
Battling School with Depression
Prepare for School When You Have Anxiety
Tips for When You Have an Anxiety Attack
Things to Help You Chill Out
Help a Friend Who Has Anxiety
writing/reading
A HUGE WRITING MASTERPOST
read some slam poetry
help with writer’s block
find the word that’s on the tip of your tongue
zen writing tool
nanowrimo start kit
Alternatives to ‘said’
read books online for free
10 sites to download free audio books
download free books
download free kindle books
focus
sleep calculator
how to find focus
noise generator
concentration playlist
study playlist
coffee shop blues
masterpost of sounds of nature
get a cute kitten after doing your work!!
movies and tv
watch tons of tv/movies
movies for when you can’t sleep
disney movies
list of scary movies with recovery
list of teen movies
Disney Channel Movies from 1998-2013
One of the best movie selections
tumblr dedicated to find finding movies
How I Met Your Mother
Orphan Black
Orange Is The New Black
American Horror Story
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Criminal Minds
Freaks and Geeks
true crime documentary master post
stayin fit
daily workout
tone your arms without weights
bye bye muffin top
get a flat stomach
literature
approaching poetry analysis in an exam
rhythm and meter terms
tons of poems
understanding and explicating poetry
how to read a poem
FREE classics
general study tips
15 steps to success
The “Secret” to Doing Well in School
What NOT To Do When Studying
How to Underline/Highlight Effectively
the basics of efficient studying
how to review in less time
how to pull an all-nighter effectively
get back on track after missing school
Answering multiple choice questions
Check spelling and grammar
Coffitivity
Cornell note taking
Essay writing Exam survival tips
Notetaking Strategies
Online calculator
Online Ruler
Pull an All Nighter & Do Well On Your Exam
How to make study guides
How To Make A Study Schedule
Number World
Science translated to English
Chem Equation Calculator
Annotation Method
Steps To Writing A Research Paper
Discover Your Learning Style
behind in school?
stop procrastinating
effective reading/note-taking
note-taking styles
visual notes
how to take lecture notes
reading and note-taking
note-taking tips
making organized notes
how to mindmap
efficient note-taking
lots ‘o mug recipes
Chocolate Espresso Mug Cake | Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake With Vanilla Glaze | Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mug Cake | Banana Mug Cake with Coffee Ice Cream | Chocolate Hazelnut Mug Cake | Carrot Cake Mug Cake | Vegan Sweet Potato Mug Cake | Lime Coconut Mug Cake | Chocolate Orange Cake | S'More Mug Cake | Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Cup | Fudgy Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Glaze | Pumpkin Coffee Cake in a Mug | Lime and Coconut Mug Cake | Dark Chocolate Mug Cake | A Cup of Coffee Cake | Vegan Banana Mug Cake | Chocolate S'Mores Mug Cake | Instant Blueberry Muffins | Baked Oatmeal in a Mug | Cinnamon Roll in a Cup | Coffee Cup Coffeecake | Banana Bread in a Mug | Mac and Cheese in a Cup | Nutella Mug Cake | Strawberry Mug Pie | Sticky Date Pudding in a Mug | Berry Cobbler | Brownie in a Cup | Eggless Chocolate Mug Cake | Sugar Cookie in a Cup | Almond Cake For One | Blueberry Coffee Cake in a Mug | Mocha Mug Brownie | Banana Mug Cake | Red Velvet Mug Cake | Chocolate Peppermint Mug Cake | Molten Marshmallow Fudge Cake | Blueberry Mug Muffin | Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake | Clean Eating Chocolate Mug Cake | Flourless Emergency Chocolate Mug Cake | Peppermint Brownie in a Mug | Sticky Toffee Mug Pudding
angry?
lifeinneon
gruntle me
your quiet place
the thoughts room
anxious?
dolldivine
rainymood
calm
reduce anxiety
color method
depressed?
having a bad day?
Make a comfort box
10 Things to Do When You Feel Like Crap
how to find a new normal in the middle of depression
you are not alone in the way you think you are
reasons to stay alive
how to stop trying to think yourself into happiness and actually arrive there
hey bros, I thought that since Seasonal Depression Time is starting to haunt my ass I thought I’d share what I do to help myself feel better
• brush my teeth and hair and wash my face. I’ve started washing my face daily with a cleanser I bought to treat myself and it really helps get the funk and muck out. I’m worth the energy to keep myself clean, even if I can’t shower.
• stay on top of meds. not only my brain meds but my birth control, allergy pills, and Vitamin D. I am worth the effort to keep on track.
• put away stuff and clean little messes. this keeps the tasks from being too daunting, and keeps my depression from manifesting physically in a messy room. if I can handle something small now I can keep it from becoming big. I am worth the time it takes to tidy up.
• allow myself time to rest and relax. as a whole we need to be kinder to ourselves. we need to listen to ourselves, and let our bodies and minds rest when we are tired. too often I associate rest with laziness, but that is not true. I am worth the off time to rest so I can do stuff later.
• communicate my feelings. this journey is rough but I don’t have to go through it alone. I have friends and family who care about me, and can help me when I need it. I’m still learning that talking about my emotions is okay to do, and I know it’s not always easy. I am worth the strength it takes to talk about these things.
• don’t isolate myself. I have the habit of hiding away from the world when I get really down. I end up stewing in my own sadness. it’s ok to have a resting day now and again but too much creates a bad cycle. I’m worth the energy to go out.
there’s other things like hobbies, my comfort objects, indulging in some of my favorite things, but those 6 things are the big ones. those help me to keep moving forward. those allow me to function.
the most important thing I want to share is that YOU ARE WORTH IT. you always have been and you always will. you are worth the time and energy. things get hard, believe me I know, but we fight on to keep moving forward, to see another day.
I’m so proud of all of you. take care of and be kind to yourselves, ok?
At some point in your academic life, you’re going to burn out. It happened to me last year, and it was honestly one of the worst things that’s happened to me. It wasn’t just that I lacked the motivation, it was also that I completely lacked the energy to keep myself disciplined enough to work through the rut. Following this, I learned some tricks and techniques on how to avoid it in the future, and how to cope with it if it happens, and I’m going to share them with you below:
Avoiding Burnout
The primary cause of burnout is overworking, and getting stuck in a rut where you really don’t feel like you’re learning anything new, and so your learning experience becomes stagnant. I find that I come closest to burnout when I’m reviewing and revising my notes before a test, and being aware of this helps me to plan for it and avoid burning out. The most important things to do are as follows:
Plan your work and take breaks: I found that I could get 5-6 hours of studying done per day for 80% of the days I had over the holidays, and the key to that was taking regular breaks, and when taking breaks, to completely switch off from learning and revising and stop working when I said I was going to instead of being tempted to continue over the breaks (more on my productive holiday study routine and how to make one here). The key to effective studying is essentially to allow you brain the time to process what you’ve learned, and you need to remember to take breaks during a day of studying, and to take days off whenever you can.
Socialise:This is partly tied to the taking breaks, but if you put yourself in what could be considered a kind of solitary confinement when you’re working, your brain will learn less effectively and get distracted more quickly, and it is also likely to affect your mood. You may notice that the best students also party the hardest, and that’s because they know that they need to counterbalance the hard work with being sociable and doing things that aren’t at all related to work. It boosts your mood, and having the reward of being sociable keeps your brain and motivation fresh.
Physically get out of your study space: Even if it’s to go to a local café, or to go for a walk in the woods, it’s important to get yourself moving every so often, firstly so your brain can get a little bit more energised, but also so you don’t feel physically confined by the space you are studying in, or again you’re going to get demotivated and possibly even reach the stage of burnout. When I feel like this, I tend to either go for a run, or head somewhere where I can practise my cello without disturbing other people, just so my body and brain are physically away from my work for a bit.
Do something you love: For me, this includes doing stuff like playing my cello, but this also means taking a break by watching your favourite film, or drawing, or baking, or whatever makes you happy and really isn’t studying. It’s important also that in your free time (which is different from your break time) you’re doing things like these, and not letting your academics creep in, because you need to set up a mental and physical space where you aren’t constantly running at full speed in academic stuff, because a lack of escape mechanism means you’re going to get stuck in a burnout, which is honestly the worst.
What to do if you burn out
You can tell pretty quickly if you have burnout. If you feel physically and mentally dead, and completely lacking in any kind of motivation or discipline to get yourself to work, then you probably have burnout. I find that my burnout feels like a mental and physically deadness, and my head feels really heavy, like the machinery is all turning, but none of the cogs are making contact with one another and turning, so to speak. If you feel like nothing is working, then it’s important to not keep pushing (I’ve touched on this in previous posts where I’ve burnt out in exam season, but it’s important to crash, take a breath, and start again). Try the following:
Take a huge break: I know this may not always feel possible, but if you take a day off and do absolutely nothing, or at least nothing to do with your studying, your studying will get overall more effective. I took a rest day like this in the middle of my A-Levels (which, for my non-British friends, literally determine if you can get into university), and even though in the back of my mind I was really questioning if this was a good idea, it ended up really boosting my productivity and helping me really get my studying into gear
Scrap your current plan and make another one: I know this also sounds like another terrible idea, but if something isn’t working, you can’t stick with what you’re doing, or you’ll drive yourself further into the ground. Re-plan your study schedule (you can obviously use the previous one as a kind of template) and make sure you have time to take breaks. Also, I find that planning things gives me the motivation to actually go out and do them, so this helps in regaining your motivation.
Seek new perspectives: Talk to other people taking your subject if they’re available to talk. Discuss problems in the subject. Teach each other. This is a kind of group revision where, if you’re not going to get distracted, you can really genuinely learn new stuff and figure out what you don’t know. I found this useful when I couldn’t bring myself to revise on my own because I didn’t think I needed to look over anything more in particular detail, but the person I worked with helped to pick apart the things I didn’t know and helped explain them to me.
Try something new: If you have sufficient time to learn something new on the side, then do it. Find something you’re interested in, and research it further, or learn a new skill like cooking or playing guitar or something. If you burn out without pressure from exams, then learning something new is the perfect way of stimulating your brain back into action, and this in turn will have an impact on how effective your studying is as a whole, thus rescuing you from burnout
If you ever feel yourself burning out, then take action as soon as possible: the more you wait, the more you end up driving yourself into the ground and the harder it is to rescue yourself. A large part of studying that often gets ignored is the impact on your mental health, and if it begins at all to feel overwhelming or is forcing you to burn out, stop what you’re doing and make adjustments. If it gets really bad, then speak to someone, because you can’t constantly work at full speed without some repercussions. Please, please, please, look after yourself and your mental health, as they are a priority over your studying, and a sound mind and body will help you study much more effectively overall.
Literally get into an activity that involves touching things or You. Will. Die.
It can be so easy in this day and age to feel like that’s not an option, and binge culture has made the sickening descent into couch-based isolation and lack of self-discipline not only acceptable but a “fun personality trait” for many. But sometimes, often, you need to give your brain a break from consuming and Create something. You need to give yourself time. To think. And maybe even do something with your hands while your imagination roams free.
I’ve been addicted to social media. I’ve defended social media. I’ve nearly fist fought my parents for trying to take my phone (they were absolutely in the wrong). I’ve had multiple twitters at the same time. I don’t have a twitter anymore. I’ve been depressed, and scared, and wanted nothing more than to escape the ceasless, screaming void that was my life.
Filling that void with the internet did nothing for me. It was help from my oldest sister that did. Her and her husband got me out of my house, taught me how to be a healthy adult, then set me loose.
What does this have to do with hobbies?
My wife has severe seasonal depression. This fall, she is doing amazingly better than usual, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She picked up sewing in September. Now she spends hours a day working on projects, watching videos, or planning what new dress she can make out of a tablecloth. It gives her mind something to do to take her mind off the cold. It also lets her interact with the winter by taking charge of her fashion and making warm clothes that she likes and has a personal connection to. And at the end of a long project, she always has a new piece of clothing. Something she produced and can take pride in.
It has also helped her relationship with others. In our group of friends, she has already gotten several requests to hem or adjust clothes, which makes her feel very needed and grows a sense of community. [Side note: I love my awesome wife and could gush about her all day] She also watches YouTube videos of clothing makers while working and gets all kind of inspiration from them that she loves to tell me about. When I see the light shining in here eyes my heart fills with the joy she’s found. Plus I got some new pajama bottoms.
I like vegetable gardening. I don’t currently have a garden but I’m working on getting a plot in the town community garden. In the meantime I’ve started following different gardening or nature-centric people on social media, and I’m going to start researching different gardening tips. The plan is to one day interact with other people who share my interests and make friends, but even just now I recognize how happy it makes me to look into those things. It calms my heart and reminds me to be kind.
I also realized I kind of have a knack for building things out of cardboard. First it was a box/jungle for our cat that I made from 12-4am for no reason but I love him, and then a dinosaur for a school project.
So—and this is where it starts getting applicable to your own life—I’m going to ask all my friends for their spare cardboard whenever they get it and I’m just going to make things. Animals. Decorations. Unsturdy shelves. Some of the things I make are probably going to be really crappy, but I’ll also get better as I go on. Hopefully someday when I have money to spend I’ll turn this into actual woodworking. But for now, I have cardboard and a pocket knife, and I’m going to put my grubby little hands all over it and have some fun.
Crocheting? Baking? Painting? Building? Making sculptures out of pipe cleaners? Practicing your handwriting? Scrapbooking? Cutting up all your blankets then stitching them together in different patterns?
It’s not only good but necessary for your mental, emotional, and physical health to take your eyes off of a screen and make your hands do something tactile every now and again. Or even more often than not. But right now, just start something. Anything. You don’t have to show anyone, you don’t have to be good at it as long as it makes you feel good. Looking for ideas or intimidated by how hard something seems? The internet, with all its greedy human pitfalls, is an incredible tool for learning things. Use it for good.
I saw this post from one of my favorite artists. It reminded me that, even as a therapist, my role is not to “fix” someone or alter their emotions. I can simply sit and offer support.
Adj: (of a person)weak and delicate Easily damaged, fragile.
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Looking at the prompt for @inktober day 8, frail, I’m reminded how I used to equate frail to introverted. It’s often seen as a negative to be less talkative or “shy”. Over the years as a therapist, I’ve learned being introverted does not equate to being frail. Introverted is (for myself) more in line with being empathetic and an attentive listener while still being able to advocate for myself and clients.
We’ve all dreamed about what our “perfect future” would look like, but did you realize just how much that actually tells you about yourself?
Each and every dream or goal you have for yourself can teach you a lot about your own personal values and desires. As such, it can also tell you what you truly need to focus on to get where you want to be!
Start by answering the following question: How do I want to live?
There’s no deadline of “…in five years” or anything like that. It’s just- what does your ideal life look like? In the form of bullet points, jot down any and everything you think of that you think is important to the ideal.
Then go back and answer a different question: What does my dream lifestyle say about me?
There are typically two categories of information you can glean from this exercise. The first is what you value.
At the very core, the center, of who you are, what is the absolute most important to you? For example, I noticed that a lot of my “ideals” that came to mind involved having the discipline to eat well or having more time and funds to throw into self-care and beauty routines. This tells me that I value my own health and physical appearance and it is important to me that I view myself in a positive light, even if no one else does.
For me, that is something I have struggled with for a long time, feeling confident in my own body. At some point, it became one of my fears and a weakness to me. However, what we fear about ourselves or the world around us can often tell us exactly what we value so deeply. The reason we fear certain things is because we have something to protect there, something we love and cherish, and we desperately want to prevent it from being taken from us. By focusing on those areas in our self-reflection, we can help strengthen those values and desires that are hidden there so that we can wear them more confidently.
The second category of information you can learn about from this exercise is what you desire.
While your values are your needs, your desires are your wants. Could you survive without them? Probably, but that doesn’t make them any less important to you. Your values are things that have always been a part of you, but have weakened over time and need to be given strength. A desire, on the other hand, are things that haven’t come to pass yet but are essential to your continued growth as a person. They can show you what pieces of yourself you have outgrown or the best building blocks to help you strengthen, or develop new, core values.
For example, when looking at my “ideals”, I can see that the words “confidence” and “discipline” and “self-control” pop up a lot, always in the context that they are something I lack. That’s not a negative way to write about myself, it’s simply that at my current stage in life, I have noticed this and now I am expressing the desire to change that. Due to my personal context, this tells me that I desire the confidence to speak when needed, to stay silent when it isn’t, and say precisely what needs to be said, instead of rambling anxiously and feeling uncomfortable in my own silence. If there is something about yourself that really bothers you, it’s your brain telling you that whatever is on your nerves is no longer necessary to you, that you’ve outgrown it and need something else now. In my case, I feel out-of-control in social situations and after looking at what my “ideals” actually are, can safely say that the issue is rooted in low, or a lack of, self-confidence.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if the phrase “self care” doesn’t resonate with you, try calling it “system maintenance” and see if that clicks.
My gorgeous boyfriend is raising money for him to get top surgery as he has been waiting on the NHS waiting list for over 2 ½ years now. He is told it could be 3 years before he actually gets surgery but with going private it can be as little as four weeks waiting. Although, it is £6000. It would be greatly appreciated if you could donate something so he can start living his life. If you can’t donate, no worries, just sharing this would be great! Thank you so much ❤️
A quick message for all my ex-cult peeps and PIMOs :
This is not the end of the world, I know the media is acting like it and I know how whatever cult / religion you’ve come from or are currently in will be influencing this shocking event for their own gain, but its not the end.
This is not some precursor to a deity committing mass genocide, this is not a divine judgement, this is not a sign from above telling you to come back to the cult.
These are the actions of a mortal human, this is an attack by someone of our own species, this is not the first time it has happened and I doubt it will be the last.
So take 5 minutes to breathe and calm yourself, if you need to, stay off social media or avoid posts concerning the Ukraine + russian conflict, put yourself first and look after your mental health.
If you are in Ukraine, I know words are meaningless especially online but I hope you see this from a safe place, I hope you have enough to get by and I hope you aren’t in any physical pain. If you’re grieving or are scared out of your mind, I’m sorry for your loss and for what you’re going through, I wish I could hug you and support you as much as possible in person.
