Hello everyone,

I really do hope you are all doing well, and a HUGE hug to all of you for making it through the hardest month of the year whilst in a lockdown. Today's post and youtube video is all about healthy habits that will improve your life in lockdown. These are all things that I do to help improve my mental health and mindset every single day in lockdown. 

I know that so many people are happy going with the flow and that is completely, 100% fine. But I will just never be the person who stays in their pj's all day watching Netflix, because for me personally, I know how much of a negative effect that would have on me as a person. I have spent the past 2 years of my life trying to figure out ways to make myself happy and overcome my mental health problems, and these are just a few things that I do that have improved my mental health in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Please do not feel like you have to do these things, but would have you got to lose...

1. Establish a morning routine...

This is quite possibly one of THE most important things you can do if you want to improve your life in lockdown. When you begin your day with structure and purpose this will then carry on through the rest of your day. I like to wake up naturally, of course make my bed and read a book. I WILL NOT touch my phone for the first hour I am awake unless its essential. I will journal and plan my day and then get ready and go for a walk up the hill. Having structure is one thing that has made days in lockdown so much more bearable and exciting and it truly sets you up for the day and improves your mindset massively. By 12 o clock you would have already accomplished so many things.

2. Read a book...

This is probably on every single blog post about improving your life and self development, but my goodness, reading is a habit that WILL change your life for the better. Whether it be a fiction or non fiction book, taking time away from electronic devices and picking up a book, there is just something so wholesome about it. My favourite books are ones that I know will help my brain and improve my mental state and help me learn knowledge I know will bring me happiness. I love reading a book first thing and not reaching for my phone, because once again, you feel like you have actually done something with your day. I would love to do a self development book post on here, but for now, some of the most life changing books for me have been; The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, Rich Dad poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, The Magic by Rhonda Byrne, Out witting the devil by Napoleon Hill and The Greatest Secret also by Rhonda Byrne. 

3. Write down what you are grateful for...

Reading the Magic by Rhonda Byrne made me realise that in order to receive more in life, you have to be grateful for what you already have. if you think about it, why on earth should you have more of something if you can not be grateful for what you already have. Surely if you are not grateful for what you already have you will never be grateful for more that you get. Writing down and noticing even the smallest things you may be grateful for can be so beneficial and improve your outlook and the way you see things. Even the smallest thing like, I am so grateful for my sleep I had last night, if you are truly grateful for what you have, that is when you receive more...

4. Stay off your phone...

Staying off your phone in the morning when you wake up can make you feel so much more accomplished in your morning. think how much can get done in the time you may be sat scrolling pointlessly through your phone. I can assure you if you try not to go on your phone for the first half an hour to an hour of your morning, you will feel SO much better...

5. Listen to a podcast  

If you do spend a lot of time through out the day on your phone, even if it is just scrolling through Instagram, why not put on a podcast to listen to whilst you do it. This then turns pointless scrolling into learning time. I love to do this because it actually makes you feel like you have done something with your day. My absolute favourite podcast of all time is The school of greatness hosted by lewis Howse. This podcast has so many incredibly inspiring episodes and has nothing that will help pretty much anyone in any situation and it is just a wonderful source of happiness, positive attitudes and a place that will help you to develop an outlook on life that will guide you to happiness. 

6. Plan your day 

This is something I do absolutely every single day in lockdown! It’s something I was doing before lockdown began and it was really having a positive impact on my life. I plan my day from hour to hour just to give me a righ guide of everything I need to do and get done, but of course I won’t panic if I don’t stick to it, it’s just a rough guide. I use my iPad to plan my day as I brought a digital planner from Etsy, which is an absolute life changer, and honestly works a treat. Sometimes planning your day can just make you feel like you have structure added back to your day and stops you from drifting through lockdown life. 

7. Write down your thoughts (journal.... scary word I know) 

For me, writing down my thoughts has some what changed my life. If you suffer with an over active, worried, anxious brain, I could not recommend getting your thoughts down on paper enough. I always heard so many people talk about journaling and thought it was silly but honestly it literally FREES my brain from hours of pain and worry. It can be tough sometimes but there is honestly no trick to it, you just write down your thoughts on to paper, I guess I use it as some form of mental release...

8. Establish an evening routine 

I must say my morning routine has come along a lot nicer than my evening routine ( I’m currently up at 11:30pm writing this post which is not what I would usually do in my evening routine, but you know I’m hoping I will get there soon). But establishing some form of evening routine may just help improve your day in lockdown. Winding down time is so incredibly important because we need our brains and body’s to relax in order to be in the best state possible for sleep. I love to light some candles, do my skincare routine, turn off my lights and pop something comforting on my iPad whilst I read my book of choice. It just really helps to relax me before bed. And if I really feel the need to go on my phone I will scroll through positivity and inspirational quotes on Pinterest to put me in a really good mood before going to sleep.

9. Stay off your phone an hour before bed 

Now I know it’s currently 11:30pm and I’m up writing blog posts on my iPad, but if I wasn’t feeling so inspired to write this I would pop my phone to a side for one hour before bed, just so I’m not scrolling through Instagram. This just means I can focus on watching relaxing content in the background on my iPad and focus on reading my book and really relax properly before I go to sleep and it works so well and makes me feel so much better for not going on my phone straight before bed.

10.   Watch only positive and comforting content 

I am a sucker for mystery videos on YouTube, however, right not, my brain really is not in the right frame of mind to be watching this sort of content. I just love to watch content that inspires me, comforts me and just benefits my life in some way. Even through out the day I just love watching wholesome YouTube videos and some of my favourites at the moment are, Madeleine Olivia, Lydia Millen and Josie from fashion mumblr. Honestly I aspire to be like these ladies and watching their content inspires me to become a better person and to never give up on who I want to become. I also love popping on interviews with Dr Joe Dispenza because this mans knowledge is just incredible and this is the sort of thing I need to be consuming before bed. Ps if you haven’t heard of Dr Joe, his story is truly inspiring and just incredible... 

 

If you would prefer to watch my content, I actually made a YouTube video all about these 10 habits to improve your life in lockdown, click HERE , if you would like to give it a watch 

I really do hope you enjoyed this blog post, writing self development content and helping others comes so naturally to me and I have never enjoyed writing more, see you next time...

Cristy N 

Thank you 2020...

 

Hello everyone,

A very happy new year to each and every single one of you reading this this evening. I can not quite believe 2020 has been and gone, my goodness was it tough but my gosh did it teach me some lessons I will carry with me for life. (Editing Cristy here; This blog post is a pretty deep one actually I wasn't expecting it to go to such depths so a little note to say mental health in general is the topic for todays post, just for those who may need a little warning; )...

The past two or so months have been massively strange and incredibly tough for my mental health, as I can imagine it has been with A LOT of people all across the planet. I used to think ' I wish I could be someone who doesn't suffer with their mental health' but I actually came to realise that everyone suffers with something in some way shape or form. I feel like my worries and OCD have been playing up a little recently, especially at the back end of 2020, but honesty I am so ready to be my most incredibly positive, happy and grateful self and put all the life lessons that 2020 taught me, into action.

If 2020 taught me anything, it would be; Take care of your self, your soul and your mind, because when you die thats what you take with you and carry forever, you want it to be a good place to be. I found a really amazing quote ...

I think that 'learning to sit with all the things and figuring out what to take with you and what to leave behind ' is a metaphor for facing your problems, sitting down with your thoughts and issues and asking yourself, my god is this truly worth the pain if I continue to carry this with me. I truly believe 2020 was a year full of purpose and learning. Some of us may have already had lots to deal with mentally and some of us may have discovered our problems during lockdown and during 2020. But I truly think that 2020 was the year that taught us, when stripped of holidays, festivals, nights out, going out for dinner, even going to work, seeing your loved ones, you are left with; time and your mind. For some, the mind can be a pretty good place to be, but for others it can be quite the challenge. 2020 made me realise that in order to enjoy life, You have to make your mind a happy and wonderful place to be.

 ' when life is good, you are happy, when you are happy, life is good'

This quote really resonated with me and it made me realise that life can be great because of so many external factors that make you happy, but when you are truly happy within yourself, the simplest of things make you so happy and truly grateful to be alive, you see good in everything and you are just grateful for everything in your life.

2020 was a HUGE year for me, there were highs and lows, but I will always continue to see the world through a positive lens, and that is what I want to take forward in 2021. Since writing my blog post about my OCD in 2019, the feeling I got from writing it and publishing it, with the thought of someone possibly reading it and it helping them made me feel such an incredible feeling inside. I feel like for the past 2 yeas especially, I have come so far with my mental health. Don't get me wrong, I often still struggle ( a lot), but I'm learning every day how to control it, I have really come to the realisation that life can be incredible and if spreading positivity, creating wholesome, helpful content across my social media channels may help just even 1 person, it would truly mean everything...

So I guess from now on, you may be seeing a little more posts across my social media relating to mental health, positivity, self help, self help books, and just in general how we can try to over come the issues holding us back in living the most incredible life... 

Just a little note to say; we all have our own ways of dealing with our problems, I respect that not everyone may agree with my mindset and ways of thinking and thats okay. I realise that everyone has their own luggage and have a different way of carrying it and that IS OKAY too. I am also NOT a professional, I have NEVER trained or qualified in any Mental health studies, my words are purely from what I have experienced in my own journey of my mental health, I know you will all be kind and respectful of that. If me sharing my experiences and how I deal with them can help and resonate with just one person, I would feel truly blessed ...

See you next time and keep smiling 

Cristy N