Sometimes I feel so low that it feels as though the gravity is pulling me out of this earth. In this moment I feel so tired; it’s a weird kind of tired, the kind of tired where you can’t find the right words to express yourself.

I think we have all got to quieten the voice within ourselves that tell us to keep doing more and more each day.

There are times when we all feel like this, and it’s ok to, we are not broken!

Sometimes life just seems harder and sometimes for no reason at all. Let’s just breathe a moment, acknowledge how we are feeling, and know it’s ok.

Be gentle with yourself

It’s often I’m posting uplifting things so I wanted to make sure you all know that even the optimistic, the positive people, the ones that lift others up can feel like this too; and it’s ok.

know feeling like this won’t last and just pause and be gentle with yourself; fill yourself up full of love; not hate.

Today whatever you do, let it be enough. Let’s be kind to ourselves and accept that we are only human trying to do the best we can do.

Therapeutic Aromatherapy Play doh

As your child plays with the play dough, they will reap the benefits of the essential oils aromatically. The oil scent will be released as they squeeze and mold the play dough.

It’s very easy to make. Some use the pan method to cook it but I personally find it just as good and easier to add boiling water to form the doh rather than cooking it on a cooker.

I have added in a gluten free recipe too. The method is the same

Recipe

2 cups of plain flour

2 cups of boiling water

1 cup of salt

A few drops of food colouring ( optional)

1 tablespoon coconut oil  (vegetable oil, olive oil..any oil will do)

1 teaspoon of cream of tartar

5 drops of your chosen essential oil

Store in an airtight container or ziplock bags.

Gluten free recipe

• 1 cup baking soda 

• 1/2 cup corn starch

• 3/4 cup water

• 5-10 drops essential oils 

• OPTIONAL: food coloring 

Method

Put all of the dried ingredients food colouring and olive oil into a large bowl.

Pour in the boiling water and Mix thoroughly until you get a dough.

You can use your hands to bring it all together more if needed once cooked a bit, but please be careful as it is hot!!

One cooled down, add 5 drops of essential oil of your choice and knead in.

And there you have it, a nice therapeutic doh for your children to play with ♥️🐝♥️

*Top tip

If you want to use some calming oils then here are some ideas:-

Lavender , chamomile, rose, bergamot,lemon and frankincense

Peppermint and lemon is a good combination if you want to promote concentration.Rosemary is good to aid in good memory.

Cinnamon, ginger, wild orange is a great combo that have immune boosting properties ( smells like Christmas too)

Respiratory Support- Peppermint, eucalyptus, lime, and thyme

Uplift mood- Bergamot, tangerine, wild orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit

Ground emotions- Frankincense,roman chamomile, and bergamot

*safety warning* https://www.lovingessentialoils.com/blogs/essential-oil-tips/64673667-7-must-know-essential-oil-safety-tips

Here is a link to must know essential oil safety tips. Please give this a read if you are not familiar on how to use essential oils.

Self -care is super important. Finding the balance is definitely key to live a happier and healthier life. What we can do is be in charge of creating ourselves as happy as we can. We can not reply on others to give it to us, we need to create it for ourselves and it can be different for each and everyone of us.

Eat that slice of cake

Cooking or making a special dish- I absolutely love cooking and, of course, I love to eat. And I don’t know about you, but if I am feeling sensitive, or have had a bad day, I will often crave a certain type of food; usually it’s something sweet in my case, or I may have an urge to make a certain meal for dinner.

Take this opportunity and go and create what you are craving. Cooking is a way of winding down and it’s a real treat to sit and take pleasure in that special meal or snack you’ve made for yourself. After all, enjoying food is one of the best parts of life, right?

Obviously I don’t recommend eating things that are not so good for you all of the time, but it’s ok to treat yourself too. Whenever I’ve baked or cooked it feels good and it’s even better sharing anything left over with family and friends .

Music is therapy

Blasting some tunes- now this often helps me with my moods! Have you noticed if we are feeling gloomy we tend to listen to sadder songs?..why? There’s a reason for this! When we are feeling certain emotions, we need to release them, it’s our natural way of wanting to bring the emotion out to let it go ( we have these emotions for a reason). If we suppress these emotions they just pent up and will come out in other ways ( not good), so listen to those songs and cry, or scream or just dance about! It’s my way of processing emotions and expressing them, while switching my brain off from the world. Music is definitely a therapy in itself.

And breathe …

Breathe- yes, it’s simple, but do we take time out just to breathe? It doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it sounds either.

We often spend our days on the go, so I find meditating just for 5 -10 minutes a day absolutely great! Taking this time to stop, breathe, focus, and let go of your thoughts, ironically gives me more time in my day to be productive, thoughtful, energetic and capable. There are lots of YouTube videos to listen to and guide you to do this . All you need is a quiet space. I tend to do it when I’m in the bath with some tranquil music on, it’s part of my self care regime. Go on try it, it gets easier the more you do it and it quietens your racing mind. The brain is like a muscle and needs training; in my case a lot if training but I’m getting there

Some days, I really don’t want to do it but this tiny moment of my day is a small drop in the ocean, but it has a huge ripple effect on how I feel.

Putting down your phones

Put down your phones! Now I’m not ashamed to say this but I am definitely addicted to my phone. It’s my comforter, my friend, my work, my inspiration, and I’m often on it socialising ( especially in this climate that we are facing) , and researching, learning new things etc. I LOVE my phone. I can go anywhere in the world and not leave my house, it’s amazing and technology is rapidly evolving, but there is a big BUT; I also am on it out of habit .It’s incredible the impact mindlessly scrolling and looking at a screen can have on your mentality, especially before bed, so I would highly recommend you don’t have your phones in your bedroom before you go to sleep. I have been practising this ( it’s hard) and I have found I sleep better and easier . It has really improved my sleep, the amount of books I have started to read has enabled me to switch off from the online world when I’m winding down. I tend to fall asleep a lot easier and earlier, get a more restful sleep, and therefore feel a lot better the next day. Try it, you will feel the benefits .

Hygge

Getting cosy aka Hygge- I am a cosy person. I take great pleasure and make great efforts in creating a cosy space wherever I am in the house. I’m one of those snuggly jumper people with a mug of something hot in one hand and a hot water bottle on my belly. Even thinking about it makes me feel calm. So if I am feeling a little fragile, I know making myself feel cosy will immediately relax me and boost my mood. I personally need a lot of cosines in my life, and I will light candles, put my diffuser with essential oils in, watch things that make me feel soothed and that is part of my self care routine.

I didn’t realise this was actually a thing until recently; and it has a name; Hygge. It’s a Scandinavian way of living… they’ve definitely got it sorted!!

How are you?

Talking about it- Now this is very important! As humans we are good at pretending that we are ok. We don’t tend to tell people that we feel a bit crappy. We are always asking “ how are you?”, but we never answer honestly because “ I’m good thanks”, or “ I’m fine” has become a default in our lives. Communicate with people, reach out with the people in your life that are there for you and tell them how you are feeling.

It had made me realise that being open and vulnerable has so many positive rewards for my mental health and well-being. Talking about our feelings is one of the best ways to overcome and process them.

I have recently attended a short course on counselling for the non councillor. To begin with I was doing it to support my children but in fact I took more away from it for myself. I learned a lot about why I am the way I am , and knowing the reasons, I can accept it and move on. But it is liberating when you’re going through something, to be honest and open about it with the people you love and trust. Often they’ll have been through something similar and can offer you words of advice, or at the very least, be a listening ear. 

It’s about pushing yourself

Self-care is something I push myself to practise every day, to maintain good mental health. These habits have slowly helped me overcome many of my mental health problems, and the longer I practise them, the better I get at dealing with life. It can take some effort especially on those low days ,sometimes it’s really hard but the more I push myself the more confident I feel in myself and the more sure I feel of who I am, what I’m doing and why. It takes practise and will power but even making small changes can have a big positive impact .

So if you’ve not been taking care of your body and mind, realise that you are worth it!!

Once you make self-love your number one, everything else started to fall into place.

It had made me realise that being open and vulnerable has so many positive rewards for my mental health and well-being. Talking about our feelings is one of the best ways to overcome and process them.

So if you’ve not been taking care of your body and mind, realise that you are worth it!!

How Beeing Lou came to be