Hello my precious blueberries

*Not my photo. I wish it was.

Altogether now, kids:

"Seatbelts on, it's a long'un"

I haven't done a blog piece in a long while... quite a few months I believe! I'm so sorry!

I hope everyone is as okay as they can be!

(even if you're not, that's okay, too)

A lot has happened this year... DUH!

Of course it has. Our entire collective lives have completely changed from the start of the year. Everything that has happened will have impacted everyone's life in one way or another.

I wanted to write a little bit about everything that has happened, both on a general level to everyone, and a personal level.

I'm gonna try and put off saying the "C" word for as long as I can because it's inevitable that once I start saying it, I'll not stop!

I don't think it is a surprise when I say that this entire ordeal with the pandemic, along with brexit and everything else that is happening with our country, it's taken its toll on us.

Here are some statistics from the government website showing the statistics on the impact the pandemic has had on mental health.

☾ Almost one in five adults (19.2%) were likely to be experiencing some form of depression during the pandemic in June 2020; this had almost doubled from around 1 in 10 (9.7%) before the pandemic (July 2019 to March 2020).

☾ One in eight adults (12.9%) developed moderate to severe depressive symptoms during the pandemic, while a further 6.2% of the population continued to experience this level of depressive symptoms; around 1 in 25 adults (3.5%) saw an improvement over this period.

☾ Adults who were aged 16 to 39 years old, female, unable to afford an unexpected expense, or disabled were the most likely to experience some form of depression during the pandemic.

☾ Feeling stressed or anxious was the most common way adults experiencing some form of depression felt their well-being was being affected, with 84.9% stating this.

☾ Over two in five (42.2%) adults experiencing some form of depression during the pandemic said their relationships were being affected, compared with one in five (20.7%) adults with no or mild depressive symptoms.

We're all cooped up with nowhere to go and nothing to do other that work and sit on our butts watching tele while scrolling endlessly on on your phones.

It's going to make an impact.

We are social creatures who thrive of each others energy and desire to be around people we love. even the introverts need to socialise sometimes. But this whole ordeal has been such a strain, not only on the economy, but on us. Everything is confusing and the bumbling buffoon at No.10 hasn't made it easy to understand the rules.

A really lovely thing that has come out of this situation is that I have managed to reconnect with a few old friends this years and properly catch up, but that's more for later on. But speaking to my friends and family, even those who had never experienced or even quite understood things like depression and anxiety, have at least had a brush with it during our on-and-off lockdowns.

I think it would be difficult to say that nobody has experienced any sort of difficulty or overwhelming feelings or even just gotten pretty darn stressed at the whole situation. But while this may be the case, I do believe there has been an increase of compassion breaking through. People want to help and support each other. People are becoming more empathic to the struggles of others as they realised they face the same struggles, seeing that we're not so different from one another in that respect.

It's so important that, while we may not understand specifically what each other is going through, we are all going through it together.

Reconnecting

I think one massive positive that has come out of this year has been the ability to reconnect with so many people.

Let's be honest, we spend most of the time at home nowadays. With most social places shut or on much stricter rules. A lot of us

aimlessly scrolling through our news feeds, not taking much notice. This year alone, I have reconnected with people I haven't spoken to or seen in years and years. It has been wonderful catching up with old school friends over social media, even if we can't really do it in person most of the time. It's important to reach out at this time.

Realising

Since we've been spending most of the time at home, unable to go out and socialise, a lot of us have had a lot of time spare. This spare time has, personally, been really important.

Being so isolated these last few much has definitely taken its toll on mental health and I can put my hands up and say I have often let it get the better of me. I have a rubbish habit of overthinking. But while some of my time alone has been a horrid spiralling pit that sometimes gets out of control; a lot of my time alone has been spent just thinking, but with less of a negative and paranoid twist, but more of understanding myself a little bit more. More realising why I say and do certain things, the way I have acted and behaved in the past, how I want other to perceive me etc. It's taken since the start of lockdown in March for me to begin to understand myself better, but I already feel that, even from March. I have become aware of a lot more, been able to understand my actions, and ensure that my behaviour and attitude adequately reflects who I am as a person, and who I want to be. I have been able to take responsibility for my past and move on in a much healthier way. I have addressed myself and taken steps to improve my lifestyle.

Self care - not just bubble baths and face masks

of course it is nice to have a pamper day every so often. Long bath with too many bubbles, candles, a face mask, a good exfoliate, a shave, maybe a manicure, hair mask? Who could really resist.

Of course the way we feel on the outside is important, and a good place to start when having some 'you' time. But in or

der to really look after yourself, you need to go above and beyond. You need to understand that self care also means setting boundaries for yourself, being honest about your feelings. It's not just about making sure your skin is good and your hair feels good, but making your mind and soul feel good! Self care is really just taking some proper time for yourself. Time to reflect on yourself and see how you can improve your life and mental wellbeing.

While I am a sucker for a fancy bubble bath with Netflix on the balanced laptop, self care isn't always just a case of slapping on a face mask. Sometimes it is literally something as a simple as giving yourself a bit more sleep by going to bed earlier, sometimes it's finally setting that boundary (in a civil way, hopefully!) with that friend/family member who you haven't wanted to mention anything to, but now you've realised that your feelings are valid and you have every right to feel the way you do.

My dad sometimes says:

"You're no good to anyone dead"

in the bluntest terms, you're no good to anyone else if you're not okay yourself; if you're too held back by your own issues.

and i think that's really important to remember. Not in a selfish way at all, but I think sometimes we need to put ourselves first. And it is okay to do that!

This year has been manic, We are literally living through history now.

Be kind to others, but remember to be kind to yourself, too.

We're at that horrid awkward phase where we're not quite sure what is going on, what tier is who in? What tier am I in? the rules are very vague. It's all confusing.

And the fact that there isn't a definite date or even goal set as to when this will all be over and we can get back to 'normal' - if that is even possible.

But it's the not knowing that is getting to us and it's stressful and overwhelming and we're not quite sure what to do.

Welp...

Basically, be a decent human.

I have started sharing some photos of the new HT House on Instagram so head over there if you want a bit of a nosy noo.

Hello my precious blueberries

*Not my photo. I wish it was.

"You're no good to anyone dead"

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